Take a look at what could very well be the first shots of the Galaxy S4 Active from Samsung. This device has been an interesting one to follow, ever since the first reports of a water and dust-resistant Galaxy S4 hit the web back in April. It’s been reported that the device could launch as early as July, and with no word from Samsung yet, it’s interesting that they are allowing buyers to still gobble up the Galaxy S4 without presenting them with options first.

Google has long been rumored to release an updated version of its popular Nexus 7 tablet at this year’s I/O, however, specific spec details for this re-hashed tablet have mostly been scarce. Last night, details may have emerged thanks to KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. According to Kuo, the new Nexus 7 will indeed arrive at I/O next week along with a set of impressive specs, while retaining its ultra-affordable price tag. 

Google I/O 2013 is next week. Hard to believe, right? It seems like only a few weeks ago that we were freaking out as the Nexus 7, Nexus Q and Jelly bean (Android 4.1) were all being unveiled through Google Play as we were entering the day 1 keynote of 2012′s I/O. But here we are, almost a year removed from that event and six months out from Google’s cancelled winter event that was supposed to feature the Nexus 4, Nexus 10, new version of Jelly Bean (Android 4.2), and an updated HSPA+ version of the Nexus 7. So as we approach next week, we thought we should drop some of our own predictions, include a few rumors that are floating about, and even a few whispers that have entered our inbox over the last week or so.

Ready? Here is our list of Google I/O predictions. 

According to a member of The Verge Forums, Google Babel will be called Google Hangout (or is it Hangouts?) at public launch. Now, normally we don’t take random internet forum threads as being gospel, but this particular user also predicted/leaked every single thing that Google was planning to announce at its winter NYC Android event a full 10 days before it ever happened. We’re talking about the event that was supposed to be the unveiling of the Nexus 4, Nexus 7 3G, Nexus 10, and Android 4.2, yet never happened because it was cancelled due to Hurricane Sandy. You can see his post here. So we’re leaning towards giving this guy some credit.

Back to Babel. 

In one line of a report by the Korea Times, the world is now jumping to the idea that Google has already pegged LG as the creator of the next Nexus phone. Since LG produced the Nexus 4, they could easily create the next Nexus. Hell, even Samsung produced two Nexus phones in a row in the Nexus S and Galaxy Nexus, so it’s not out of the realm of possibility. The report comes as Larry Page stopped off to meet with LG CEO Koo Bon-joon in Korea to talk business. The report mentions specifically that the two met under low profile circumstances because “LG Group is working with Internet-giant Google to make another Nexus-branded Google Android smartphone.” So are they? 

Rather than a Nexus 5 is there a chance that Google releases a new version of the Nexus 4 this summer? According to a new rumor that is making the rounds and appearing in our inbox far too often, this is the word on the dark, back alley, make-sure-you-have-a-tight-grip-on-your-purse, streets. The rumor is this – Google is going to release a new variant of the Nexus 4 with both CDMA and LTE radios inside, along with 32GB of storage. It’ll be unveiled at Google I/O in May. So, what do we think? 

According to a report out of Reuters this evening, Google will launch a new version of its popular Nexus 7 tablet this July. The tablet will be made by Asus once again, but will use one of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon processors this time around in favor of NVIDIA’s Tegra line, “for power reasons,” one of their sources said. The new N7 will also sport a display with a higher resolution and a casing with a much smaller bezel than the current model. 

Over the last couple of weeks, we have seen a handful of reports suggesting that Google is on the verge of releasing a unified chat service called “Babble.” This new service was rumored to have merged services  like Voice, Talk, and Google+ Messenger into a cross-platform chat solution, hopefully ending the siloed and independent chat experiences that we all currently experience. While most of those reports were on the right track, we believe that the actual name of the new Google messenger service is called “Babel” rather than “Babble,” at least internally.