Google has released a preview of its Android 3.0 SDK, allowing developers to get an early peek at the new tablet-friendly platform.
The Honeycomb SDK contains some pretty neat stuff, including improved Bluetooth support to allow Android 3.0 devices to connect to a wider range of devices - even simple ones like low-level sensors.
Google says that the new SDK preview features: "non-final APIs and system image, to allow developers to start testing their existing applications on the tablet form-factor and begin getting familiar with the new UI patterns, APIs, and capabilities that will be available in Android 3.0."
This means that developers will be able to begin coding applications in readiness for the platform's launch in the coming weeks, but won't be able to publish to the Android Market - the full SDK will be with us soon, according to Google.
A whole new box of toys
The new SDK features such developer delights as new UI widgets, a persistent action bar for easy access from any point in the Android OS, and support for multi-core processors.
There has been a worry that some apps coded for Android 3.0 won't be easily ported to smartphones, but while some features (such as advanced Bluetooth connectivity) won't work on older versions of the OS, newer handsets on other versions of Android should be able to handle the apps even if they're not updated to Honeycomb.
However, we'll have to wait and see on that front - let's just hope Google hasn't created completely separate ecosystems for tablets and phones.
