Google raises registration fee for I/O 2012

Google has released the registration details for its annual Google I/O developer conference in San Francisco on June 27 to 29. Not only is the company charging attendees a higher registration fee for the three-day event ($900), but also developers will be required to make payments online using Google Wallet. For many this is a small price to pay for the wealth of knowledge and hands-on experience that comes with Google I/O, but for others looking for an easy way to snatch up a free tablet or Chrome book, it may be too high a price tag. Registration for the conference kicks off at 7:00 a.m. PT on March 27, and I expect that tickets will sell out in short order. Last year's event, which was attended by approximately 5,500 developers, sold out in just under one hour so considering that Android has done nothing but skyrocket since then, I hope that Google's site will be able to handle the demand. As to what exactly will go down over the course of three days remains to be seen, but that will likely shake out in the coming weeks. Previous years have focused on Chrome, Google TV, and of course, Android. I'd look for this year to center on NFC, Android 4.0, Google+, Chrome, and the Play initiative.