Could Google be creating its own Ouya?
Google is working on its own games console and smartwatch concepts, according to a recent report.
The Wall Street Journal carries the claims that Google is branching out with its Android-based hardware plans.
With Android gaming growing at a massive rate after a somewhat sluggish start, Google is said to be designing its own console through its Google X and Android labs. It won't be turning to Motorola, which it acquired last year, for these new devices.
While Android-powered living room gaming has been in the news recently with the launch of the Ouya console (pictured), the report claims that Google's main aim is to head off Apple's own rumoured intentions for a gaming-capable Apple TV device.
It's a similarly reactive case with Google's smartwatch plans, states the report. Apple is rumoured to have a 100-strong design team working on a so-called iWatch, and iOS 7 is known to play far nicer with intelligent Bluetooth devices.
Google is said to be keen to avoid the kind of head starts Apple enjoyed in the smartphone and tablet markets with this potential new category of smart devices.
The report also carries claims that Google will revisit its failed Nexus Q concept. Last year's spherical media streaming device, which was the first to be designed and marketed by Google itself, was revealed to the public but never made it to shops. Google's second Nexus Q will apparently be much cheaper than the $299 original.
It's claimed that at least one of these new hardware devices will hit the market this autumn.
Another point of interest from the report concerns Key Lime Pie, the next version of the Android OS. Apparently, Google is working on making it better suited to entry-level smartphones, as well as alternative devices and appliances.
Next, catch up on the Best mobile phones of 2013.
