Google IO keynote is flying solo this year

Google IO
Lots to look forward to at Google I/O 2013

The Google I/O conference is only days away, and today the tech firm released the schedule for the 3-day developer gathering.

Attendees (of which TechRadar will be one) have a smorgasbord of sessions to choose from, but they may want to pack a snack for IO's solo keynote session.

Typically the conference features keynotes over two days, but this year the company is going with a single, 3-hour talk-fest on Day 1 (May 15) that we think could reach epic proportions.

Though we don't have official word from Google on the reasoning behind the lone keynote, it comes off as an attempt to coalesce Mountain View's various services, products and hobbies into one unified front. Plus, the company will want to top that live Google Glass sky dive from last year, right?

Let's mix this all together

When Andy Rubin, former head of Android, was replaced by Sundar Pichai, we postulated Pichai was brought in for his record of convergence - he was to take over Android while also retaining his duties over Chrome and Apps, creating a bridge between the divisions and presumably developing deeper integration.

We expect a host of announcements to come from every corner of the company during the keynote. At the same time, we wouldn't be surprised if Sergey Brin and Co. make a point to demonstrate cross pollination, if not announce new integrated services.

There's word of a new Nexus phone (either a Nexus 5 or Nexus 4 with LTE), a synthesized G-chat service called Babel, a second coming of the Nexus 7 tablet, and a follow-up to Android, either in the form of Key Lime Pie or Android 4.3, are all in the IO cards.

In short, there's a lot to look forward to, and the keynote will hold many of these keys, possibly on a single chain.

Or, perhaps Google is just trying to cut down on main theater rental costs. You never know.

Michelle Fitzsimmons

Michelle was previously a news editor at TechRadar, leading consumer tech news and reviews. Michelle is now a Content Strategist at Facebook.  A versatile, highly effective content writer and skilled editor with a keen eye for detail, Michelle is a collaborative problem solver and covered everything from smartwatches and microprocessors to VR and self-driving cars.