It’s that time of year again, when Google drops more Android love on to the masses. Google I/O has started and have we already seen some wonderful new toys. Not just content with officially announcing the next Android OS, 4.1 a.k.a Jelly Bean, the company also spilled the beans on their new hardware. More Nexus goodies are inbound, including the Nexus Q.

The next OS upgrade is built to run faster and smoother with the announced “Project Butter”. PB but no J is a new processing framework that can deliver 60fps of speed with the CPU and GPU working in tandem. With that harmonious union, scrolling and transitions are going to be much faster, fast enough for users to see and feel the difference. Google is tweaking the voice input, supporting offline voice to text as well as 18 new input languages.

The already slick notification center is getting a revamp, granting developers more APIs and even lumping messages from certain apps together. Android users can also have more control with their notifications, like instantly calling back a missed call or emailing contacts. Widgets are smarter now, they slide out-of-the-way to make room for new ones and automatically re-size if they’re too big. The camera app is getting some new tweaks, swipe to view snapped pics, trash the ones you hate and even share your faves.

Hit the break for even more Google goodness…

Search is getting a new feature called “cards”, condensed versions of info so users don’t have to wade through lists of results, although you still can if you want. Google Now looks to be promising, it analyzes past actions to deliver relevant info when you need it even sometimes before you need it. Android Beam is coming along for the ride, giving all owners of NFC capable phones the ability to wireless share pretty much anything they want with a tap. Even better is being able to pair Bluetooth devices supporting Simple Secure Pairing with just a tap.

Jelly Bean is scheduled to hit the Galaxy Nexus, Nexus S and Motorola XOOM by the middle of July. No other capable devices have been announced, don’t hold your breath though. Devs itching to start tinkering can do so now, the SDK is available already.

A couple of new Nexus devices hopped out from their hidey holes. The Nexus 7 tablet is first up, Google’s firing shot at the Nooks and Fires out there. ASUS and Google built this 7 incher around the Google Play experience. Powering the N7 is a quad-core Tegra 3 processor with 1GB of RAM, Wi-Fi, bluetooth, NFC, a front side camera, a 1200 x 800 IPS display and a tasty 4325mAh battery alongside Jelly Bean.

The N7 is available for pre-order now, expected ship date is mid-July. Two models will be available: an 8GB version for $199 and a 16GB version for $250. Each version also comes with a $25 Play credit, a copy of Transformers: Dark of the Moon, a Bourne Dominion e-book and several digital magazines. Which means peeps will have plenty to do when they first get it.

The Nexus Q was also brought out for the world to see, an orb shaped media streamer. The Q links with your Play account, allowing you to streaming any music or movies through it to your home entertainment center. Because it’s a social leaning device, friends that have access to your Q can also add their digital entertainment to it for a bigger streaming variety.

The Q has support for optical audio out, micro HDMI, Wi-Fi, ethernet and even NFC for the ultimate range of connectivity. Google also included a micro USB port so inquisitive geeks can hack that bad boy! You have to love it when a maker encourages you to tinker and fiddle with their products. The Q will only be available through Google Play and will cost a pretty penny, $300 to be exact.

There you go geeks, more I/O info than you can probably handle all at once. Anything set your geek sense tingling? Let us know…

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