At Google I/O 2013 event, new new maps, music tools, phones, photo software

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  June 27, 2012: An Android display at the 2012 Google I/O conference in San Francisco. Google is expected to use its annual software developers' conference to showcase the latest mobile devices running on its Android software, while also unveiling other features in its evolving product line-up.AP Photo/Paul Sakuma

SAN FRANCISCO –  Google is expected to use its annual software developers' conference to showcase the latest mobile devices running on its Android software, while also unveiling other features in its evolving product line-up.

The gathering, scheduled to begin Wednesday morning in San Francisco, provides Google Inc. with an opportunity to flex its technological muscle in front of a sold-out audience of engineers and entrepreneurs who develop applications and other features that can make smartphones and tablets more appealing.

Reporters from around the world also will be on hand, giving Google a chance to generate more hoopla about its latest innovations.

Watch Google I/O 2013 live at FoxNews.com.

The company, which is based in Mountain View, Calif., made a big splash at last year's conference by staging an elaborate production to highlight the potential of Google Glass -- an Internet-connected device and camera that can be worn on a person's face like a pair of spectacles. Google co-founder Sergey Brin wowed the crowd last year by taking to the stage and then engaging in a live video chat with a group of skydivers who were in a dirigible hovering above the convention. When they jumped, the skydivers' descent to the rooftop was shown live through the Google Glass camera.

Some of the developers in attendance last year paid $1,500 apiece for a Google Glass prototype that was delivered to them in March.

Google hasn't spelled out what its executives will discuss during this year's opening keynote, which is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. PT and last for nearly three hours. Given that Google Glass is now being tested by the developers who bought the "Explorer" edition, the device might not be one of the featured attractions.

It's a safe bet the spotlight at some point Wednesday will shine on Android, which already has been activated on more than 750 million devices around the world. Google gives the mobile operating system away, making it easier for gadget makers to sell their devices at prices below Apple Inc.'s iPhone and iPad.

Android has helped Google make more money because its search engine and other services, including maps, are usually built into the devices that rely on the software. That tie-in drives more visitors to Google, giving the company more opportunities to sell the advertising that generates most of its revenue.

Much of the speculation about the conference, dubbed "Google I/O," has centered on a possible upgrade to the Nexus 7, a mini-tablet that debuted at last year's event as an alternative to the similarly sized Kindle Fire made by Amazon.com Inc. and the larger iPad. A few months after the Nexus 7 came out, Apple released the iPad Mini to counter the threat posed by Google's entrance into the market.

The next version of the Nexus 7 is expected to feature a much faster processor and a higher resolution display screen while maintaining the same $199 sales prices. If that turns out to be true, it could siphon even more sales from the iPad Mini, which starts at $329.

There's also speculation that Google will unveil a music-streaming service that would allow Android users to listen to their favorite songs and artists for a monthly fee. Google has long been rumored to be in talks with music labels to work out the licensing rights for a service that would compete with Spotify, Internet radio provider Pandora Media Inc. and other outlets that stream digital music to Internet-connected computers, smartphones and tablets.

Another Google-designed phone under the Nexus brand is also a possibility. Google also could use the occasion to introduce a model made by its unprofitable Motorola Mobility subsidiary.

A sneak peak at the next generation of Android, code named "Key Lime Pie," could be in the offing, too.

Other potential product introductions include laptops running on Android or another Google operating system based on the company's Chrome web browser.

Google also may provide more insights into the popularity of Google Plus, a social networking alternative to Facebook that launched nearly two years ago. Google Plus had more than 135 million active users at the end of last year, based on Google's last public disclosure about activity on that network. That left Google Plus far behind Facebook, which boasts 1.1 billion active users.

In an attempt persuade more people to use its social networking service more frequently, Google has promised to keep adding tools that aren't available on Facebook.

On other fronts, Google is believed to be working on a digital gaming center that could be unveiled Wednesday. Getting into gaming would give Google an opportunity to participate in one of the most popular activities on mobile devices.

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Lawmaker looks to rein in program after free cell phones sent to dead people

WASHINGTON –  Dead people don’t need cell phones.

That’s the message Rep. Tim Griffin of Arkansas wants to send Congress, after he says a controversial government-backed program that helps provide phones to low-income Americans ended up sending mobiles to the dead relatives of his constituents. Griffin has introduced a bill that targets the phone hand-out program, which has ballooned into a fiscal headache for the government.

“This program demands reform,” Griffin told FoxNews.com on Monday. “There is a lot of waste in it and we need to be asking ourselves, ‘Where do we draw the line? Do we give everybody an iPad next? A computer? Is that the role the federal government should be playing?’”

Griffin said the story of dead relatives receiving cell phones was relayed to him by constituents. He added: “I’ve also gotten calls from people who say their employees were bragging about having 10 phones.”

The program in question provides limited phone service to people on government assistance. Ideally, Griffin says he would like to get rid of the program created in the mid-80s altogether, but he knows he lacks the support to kill it -- and instead is asking Congress to scale it back. Griffin’s plan would get rid of the cell phones and provide only landline service and phones. 

Started in 1985, the Lifeline program was created to make sure people with low income levels weren’t cut off from emergency services, job searches or communication with family members. The program is funded by charges that appear on the monthly bills of every wireless and landline phone customer in the country. The money goes into a Universal Service Fund that pulls its revenues from fees that show up on most telephone bills as the “federal universal service charge.” The fees range but can go up to $3.22 a month. 

The cost of the program has tripled to $2.2 billion in 2012 from $819 million in 2008. The risk of abuse has also risen.

“This program is completely ridiculous and it speaks to the point that we are careless with taxpayer dollars,” Griffin said. 

Though the program has spanned multiple administrations, some conservatives have recently nicknamed it the "Obamaphone" after a viral video in 2012 showed an Obama supporter touting the mobiles. 

Some, though, say it isn't feasible to limit the service. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 34 percent of American homes use only wireless telephones. The CDC also reports that nearly one of every six American homes received all or almost all of their calls on a wireless telephone despite also having a landline. 

Under the program, there have been reports of multiple phones going to one person, cell phones being sent to underage residents and perhaps most shocking – phones being sent to the deceased.

The free phone program is open to those who meet federal poverty guidelines, or are on food stamps, Medicaid or other federal assistance programs. Under the rules, only one Lifeline subscriber is allowed per household. However, a recent audit of the program by the Federal Communications Commission revealed that 41 percent of the nearly 6 million subscribers did not meet the requirements.

The FCC defended the program to FoxNews.com and says it has helped tens of millions of low-income Americans afford basic phone options. But even they admit the program has holes. Last year the agency tightened the rules for the program and required carriers to verify existing members were eligible. The agency estimated that 15 percent of its users would be weeded out under the new process. The FCC also said its new rules have eliminated more than 1.1 million duplicate subscriptions and saved $214 million in 2012.

On Feb. 13, the FCC Enforcement Bureau issued citations to 11 people with multiple Lifeline accounts. It was the first time the FCC has taken action against individual subscribers for violating the “one per household” rule.

And on Feb. 26, the commission announced that two wireless Lifeline providers agreed to payments totaling more than $1 million to end an investigation into whether the companies violated program rules in Oklahoma.

But for some like Griffin, it doesn’t matter. He sees the program as a handout and one that should not be footed by taxpayers.

“I understand the FCC is trying to rein the abuse and my first question is, ‘What took you so long?'" he said. “I hear people saying we need this and we need that as a society but is it really fair for the government – i.e. the taxpayers – to provide people with cell phones? I don’t think so.”

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