Google cracks $900 as it unveils a series of new tech treats

Wed 2:08 pm by Anwar Ali

Google's stock rose above $900 this morning.

Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) shares broke a new barrier as momentum builds ahead of the first few announcements at its three-day developer retreat in San Franscisco.

For the first time in its history, Google's stock rose above $900 this morning after analysts at Jefferies reiterated their buy rating and $1,000 price target.

The goodies for technophiles so far in the early stages of the Google I/O Developers Conference centre around APIs or application-programming interface technology. An API is a software-to-software interface designed to access web-based applications, meaning users do not directly control them. APIs are a cog in the wheel, so to speak.

Three APIs announced right out of the gate, Fused Location Provider, Geofencing, and Activity Recognition, are location related. Fused Location Provider supposedly makes it faster and more accurate for an app to access location. Geofencing builds virtual fences around locations that are triggered when users move in and out of these areas. Activity Recognition aims to hone in on a user in motion and identify the method of transportation: walking, cycling or driving, without depending on a GPS.

Google also used its platform to toot its own horn. It says Google Cloud Messaging, or GCM, which pushes data from servers to Android apps, has delivered 17 billion messages per day. There are a few new APIs related to GCM. One will give users the ability move messages in the reserve direction, i.e., from the cloud to servers.

Another GCM app, which drew a round of cheers, synchronizes notifications on multiple devices.

Google wants to cash in even more on online gaming, revealing new APIs for Google Play. Cloud Save allows a user to start a game on his laptop, for instance, and pick up where he left off later on, say, a tablet.

Rounding out the APIs, so far this afternoon, Android Studio is targeted at developers who build apps for the operating system. And to facilitate the creation of new apps around the world, Google is providing developers with an app to translate languages.

On the heels of Google Locker, and in a bid to compete with streaming music sites like Pandora and Spotify, Google is rolling out subscription-based Google Play Music All Access. The service will cost $9.99 per month.

Google was trading $19.15 higher at $906.25 as of 1:56 pm ET.