Video: First Look at Android 3.0 Honeycomb
After much anticipation and a lengthy wait, the first look at the upcoming version of the Android mobile operating system, version 3.0 "Honeycomb," has finally arrived. Feast your eyes on the future of Android.
Until now we've only had a few glimpses of the Android Honeycomb interface . While this video doesn't go into much depth, it does give a better look at just how much Android has evolved.
Android Honeycomb has been designed from the ground up to be a tablet OS . That means it's capable of using a larger touchscreen to convey information and organize data. As you can see in the video, there are select areas and screens for notifications and you can group them how you wish.
There is a line of app icons along the bottom of the home screen, reminiscent of the dock on Mac computers. Widgets are larger and feature prominently in the middle of the screen. Also of note, various bits of information and navigation tools have been dispersed to the four corners of the screen instead of crammed along the top. The icon for the app drawer has the top-right corner all to itself.
The second page clearly reflects the focus on social media in mobile computing. Social widgets will track updates from multiple accounts and be customizable.
One of the nice things about all the screen real estate is being able to navigate through widgets and menus with multiple elements on the screen simultaneously. The demo shows several such things on the screen all at once, making it easier to move e-books around and customize folders.
The browser looks much cleaner and sleeker. It seems to have taken some influence directly from the Chrome interface, in fact.
The video also shows a bunch of other expected features, including video chat, Google Talk, Google Maps and Mail. Everything looks much more expansive and minimalist.
While all this looks great, remember that Honeycomb is not ready just yet and some things will likely change before it actually reaches any retail devices (so far the CES announcements indicate a decent Android tablet is still months away anyway). Also, manufacturers like to skin Android with their own interfaces, which means you may never see this particular interface anyway, depending on which tablet you buy.
