Google’s Cloud to Device API
Why is cloud to device such a powerful new feature? Microsoft was actually the first to show off this function. They demonstrated playing a game on a Windows Phone 7 handset, assuming that a person playing the game comes home, one can instantly transfer the running game state from the handset to a Windows computer.
Now let us say that the person wants to sit in the living room, the game can then be transferred straight to an Xbox 360 console. Lastly, to form a whole circle, assume that the player now needs to go out, they can once again transfer the running game into their mobile device and be on their way.
After today’s I/O presentation, Google has shown that their Android can do the same. Of course, critics might say that Microsoft has Windows and more importantly, the Xbox 360. While it is arguable that Google is planning to match Windows for desktop with their Chrome operating system, Google has no console system of their own.
What people are missing is the fact that they are already working on a Google TV –and more importantly, they are working with Intel and Sony (yes, Sony, the same Japanese company that made the Playstation 3). It has already been shown that Linux can run on the PS3, and while the function may have been removed, it is not unlikely that the console would be given an Android or Chrome add-on in the future.
With Microsoft being a competitor for both Google and Sony, the possibility is always there.
The big question is not whether the technology is possible. The real concern is whether people really need this. Right now, the function sees use in eBook reading apps and games; it will be a while before this technology is adapted to support document editing and other computing functions.
