Honeycomb, Google’s upcoming version of Android designed for tablets. It requires no physical buttons on a tablet. Instead, it displays buttons on the screen. The advantage to that design is that the buttons appear on the bottom of the screen no matter which way the user is holding the tablet.
“We wanted our tablet experience to be better, not just bigger,” said Mike Cleron, principal software engineer for Google.
Cleron showed off the way that widgets work in Honeycomb, saying that they are more powerful. A Gmail widget let him scroll through e-mail messages quickly from the home screen. A calendar widget works similarly.
Honeycomb also allows for widgets for individual contacts. That means a user can pin a widget to the home screen for a friend and see updates about that person appear automatically. The feature is reminiscent of the tiles that Microsoft features on Windows Phone 7 which allows users to create a tile for a person that updates with recent information about the person.
Gmail has been completely redesigned for tablets with Honeycomb. It displays columns with the left one listing folders, the middle a list of contacts and the right column showing recent messages.
Cleron also showed off Google Maps 5.0 with new features that were recently added. The audience sounded impressed with the feature that lets a user drag two fingers on the screen to tilt the map and show drawings of buildings.
Honeycomb receives notifications of new messages but includes a bit more data than in previous Android versions. For instance when a user receives an email, the notification that pops up includes a small phone of the person who sent the message.
Cleron said there’s a video preview of Honeycomb up on Youtube.
The tablet he displayed had a front-facing camera that allowed him to show off a video call using Google Talk.
Motorola is one hardware maker that has announced a tablet, the Xoom, based on Honeycomb at CES.
[…] Read the original post Samsung Galaxy Tab May Not Get Android Honeycomb – DeviceMAGLatest info suggests that Samsung’s iPad rival might not get the Android 2.4 Honeycomb … Samsung Galaxy Tab Successor Confirmed; to Sport Android OS 3.5 HoneycombAndroid 3.5 – android honeycomb, honeycomb, android …Honeycomb, Google's upcoming version of Android designed for tablets. It requires no physical buttons on a tablet. Instead, it displays buttons on the scr…Samsung confirm Android 3.5 Honeycomb for tablets – SlashGearSamsung weren't content outing their Galaxy Tab slate at IFA 2010 this morning; they also decided to scoop Google on the next version of Android afterSamsung: next-gen Tab will run Android 3.5 Honeycomb in 2011Samsung has confirmed that next-generation Galaxy Tab tablets will be powered by Google's Android 3.5 Honeycomb platform in 2011, more diverse tablet lineup.Samsung confirms Honeycomb as name of Android 3.5, more Tab models …Today, at IFA, Samsung executives confirmed previous rumors and outed Google’s next, next mobile OS’ namesake: Honeycomb (also known as Android 3.5).Android 3.5 (Honeycomb) to be on Samsung’s Next Generation of …Before we can even finish building our gingerbread house, Samsung's already looking toward the future at Android 3.5 (otherwise unofficially known asAndroid 3.5 Honeycomb Lands in 2011, Tablet Optimized – SoftpediaThe next flavor of Google's Android operating system was previously rumored to arrive on the market as Android Honeycomb, and further confirmation on this emerged today during the …Android Honeycomb due for March 2011 release tip insiders …Google has been coy on when exactly Android Honeycomb – the tablet-customized version of the open-source OS – will be launched, but Taipei sources may haveSamsung Confirms Android 3.5 Honeycomb For Tablets | Android CommunitySamsung is on a roll here. They announced the Galaxy Tab and along with it, they mentioned Google's Android version 3.5 will be coming for their tablets in theAndroid 3.5 Honeycomb arriving 2011 | Android CodexThe next flavor of Google's Android operating system was previously rumored to arrive on the market as Android Honeycomb, and further confirmation on this […]