Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, which was mentioned at Google I/O in May 2011, and then formally announced in mid October along with the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, has been on the market for exactly two months now. Is it a little soon then to start talking about Android 5.0? Probably, but that’s the industry we’re in. According to DigiTimes, who has a mixed track record, Google will launch Android 5.0 in Q2 of this year. It’ll be called “Jelly Bean”, continuing Google’s tradition of naming Android releases based on sweets, and it will have a focus on tablet optimizations. Where things get weird is when DigiTimes suggests that Google is working with partners to make sure Windows 8 tablets will be able to dual boot Android 5.0; the exact quote:
“Android 5.0 will be further optimized for tablet PCs, while Google will also integrate its Chrome system functions to push dual-operating system designs. Brand vendors can either choose to adopt only Android 5.0 or add Android 5.0 to Windows 8 devices with the ability to switch between the two OSes without the need to shut down the computer.”
Considering Google I/O is schedule to take place in late June this year, we wouldn’t be surprised to see not only Jelly Bean being announced, but that long rumored cheap tablet that Google is supposedly going to bring to market to compete with the Amazon Kindle Fire and Apple iPad. Other the quote above, we honestly have no clue what Jelly Beans brings to the table. In fact, it’s hard to suggest what Google should do to improve Android on tablets because there are barely any tablets on the market right now that even run ICS. There’s the ASUS Transformer Prime, sure, but it’s so buggy that we wouldn’t touch it with a 10 foot pole.
Anyway, for you Android tablet fans, all 37 of you, what do you want Google to do to Jelly Bean to make the tablet experience better?