If the video and the SDK preview aren’t enough to satiate your hunger for all things Android 3.0 Honeycomb related, you’re in luck, Google will be holding an event at their Mountain View campus next week – on deck is the tablet-optimized version of their mobile operating system, Honeycomb.
The event will give a more in-depth look at Android 3.0, and have hands-demos to see the real deal in real life. When the Motorola Xoom was announced, we were treated to little more than a video demo looping Honeycomb features, so there was no direct interaction. With live demos of Honeycomb at this upcoming event, though, it’ll be the first time we’ll be able to get a first-hand look at the OS doing its thing.
Honeycomb was said to create a fork in the Android OS, but recent discoveries in the new SDK preview indicate that it may actually work its way down to smartphones at some point. But for now, Google’s focus with Android 3.0 is primarily for tablets. Tablets like the Motorola Xoom and T-Mobile G-Slate, which should be coming to us within the next few weeks if we’re lucky.
Google really stepped up their game with this version of the OS, and we’re definitely seeing the Duarte influence now. The question is whether or not this will be able to slow the iPad’s momentum. Chances are, it won’t this time around, as we’re expecting an iPad 2 relatively soon. That said, while Apple works on one device, Honeycomb will be found on many tablets, all varying in price and specifications, allowing the user to truly pick the tablet that’s right for them. It took Android a couple of years to dethrone the iPhone, but now that it’s more well-known, the time frame for Android tablets surpassing the iPad may be shorter.
While we’ve seen a few things about Honeycomb, I wouldn’t be surprised if Google still had something up their sleeves.