The Wall Street Journal is always a bit of a hit or miss when it comes to rumours and its sources, so take this with a pinch of slat. Google is reportedly developing its own Android based gaming console, inspired by the Ouya, says the publication according to “people familiar with the matter”. This doesn’t come as a surprise because a start up funded by Kickstarter has already pioneered this idea in the form of the Ouya, and just like what Google did after the Kindle Fire, we guess it will take the opportunity to follow through with the disruption.
Apart from that, WSJ says that Google is also gearing up for a major Android release that will expand its usability over different form factors like the laptop, a PC, a smartwatch and even a refrigerator, and at the same time, bringing a much more scalability for lower end devices with less RAM and low hardware specifications. This huge refresh has the gaming console at its forefront from what we can infer from WSJ’s reports.
Expanding on the laptop/PC situation, it is reported that HP is working on a Android based laptop, with better support for mouse/KB and other forms of input rumoured for the next Android release. We already saw a touch AIO from HP based on Android, so a laptop doesn’t seem far off. And yes, Google too is working on a smartwatch, so is Samsung, with bluetooth watches in the pipeline for both the companies reportedly. Google already does wearable computing with Glass, so a smartwatch with Android compatibility would fit right in.
Looks like Google wants in on early technological breakthroughs, much before Apple or any other company that tries to innovate in any given space, and if the sources are indeed true, Google seem to be investing in more devices than before.