Google is preparing to give us a deep look at Android 3.0 Honeycomb tomorrow and the company’s bigwigs are already saying that this is the most significant platform update since the little, green robot debuted.
The folks at Mobilized sat down with Matias Duarte, who is the man responsible for the new user interface on Android 3.0 Honeycomb. Duarte has some crazy chops too, as he designed the elegant webOS interface and holds a special place in my heart because he also designed the Helio Ocean interface.
“It used to be that Android was something that you held in your hand and you would use in these relatively fine slices of time throughout the day, and then when you sit down at a table or a desk or you go home, that Android stays in your pocket or goes in a charger,” Duarte said. “Now your experience with Android is alternating between these fine slices and these longer periods … So we need to think of Android as an experience that you have 24/7, throughout the entire day. What that means is that you are doing a lot more and you are doing a lot more for longer periods of time.”
What this means is changing this to make it easier for consumers to use these devices for longer. As we noted in our preview, the app switching is no longer achieved by long-pressing the home button and having the apps appear in the center of the screen. Now, you hit the menu/app switcher button and running apps appear from the bottom of the screen with a neat little effect.
Duarte didn’t dive into specifics about the Android 3.0 Honeycomb changes but he emphasized how important devices like the Apple iPad were for the advancement of large, multi-touch interface.
He also said that Honeycomb is being designed specifically for tablets but the platform is being designed to go on a wide variety of devices including smartphones, refrigerators and even large Microsoft Surface-like devices.
We’ll be coming to you live from Google’s event tomorrow, so keep it locked here.
[Via Mobilized]