Android 3.0 is here, and it's a stunner.
Released only for the Motorola Xoom tablet so far, the new operating system, which started life on Android smartphones but is now formatted for the larger touchscreen, will eventually make its way onto the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 as well as other tablets from big manufacturers like Acer, HTC, Dell, Asus, LG, MSI and Toshiba.
Google's improved operating system boasts a number of upgrades that could give the iPad 2's operating system, iOS 4.3, a run for its money.
Android 3.0 release date
The Android 3.0 release date is currently unclear. The Motorola Xoom is already out in the US, although other hardware manufacturers say they're still waiting for Google to give them the all-clear to put their devices on the shelves.
Needless to say, the official, final release is just weeks away. And when that day comes, expect to see a flood of Android 3.0 tablets explode onto the market.
In 2008, we sat down with Erick Tseng, then a senior product manager at Google and the main point of contact for Android OS, for an article on Google research projects.
Curiously, Tseng never mentioned tablets, but he did talk about a new operating system that could work on many different types of computing devices. Tseng had an Android prototype phone he let us view over his shoulder.
Android 3.0 is an open source project helmed by Google. From all reports, the company doesn't make a great income from the operating system and plans to derive revenue the way they always do: from ads that appear when you search.
Developers gain full access to the code base and searchable documentation.
One of the main issues with Android early on was that the code is flexible enough to run on a variety of devices but the interface is designed for smartphones. Android 3.0 makes better use of the screen size for tablets.
For example, Gmail on a smartphone runs best in a vertical orientation so you can quickly scan through emails. On a tablet, Android 3.0 provides a way for the email client to run with your messages on the left and a preview pane on the right.
Android 3.0 mostly accommodates the screen size, but there are a few times when the operating system could have been reformatted better, or when apps still run in a smartphone mode.
Compared to iOS 4.3, which is running on the iPad 2, Android 3.0 is much more streamlined for tablets. There are pop-overs, like a thumbnail view that shows you a preview of open apps, and the settings and status overlays are decidedly more advanced.
Also, Android 3.0 taps into the power of the Nvidia Tegra 2 dual-core processor for showing videos, letting you flip quickly through photos and album covers, and playing games.
Google is committed to the platform. Even in the first week after the release of the Motorola Xoom, the company released a new version that works with Adobe Flash, even before that software update became available
Your comments (14) Click to add a new comment
longshot
August 25th 2011
14. Question, new to pads so I'm unschooled. If I buy apad with android2.2 can I update it to say android 3 or 4 like I can do with my Dell
windows 7 machine?
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philipblair
April 1st 2011
13. So with all these questions about music, tv and video I can't understand why I am the first to ask the question; When will the damned thing be released for general download and when can we expect to be seeing it on existing tablets like the Samsung Galaxy S, 7 inch tablet?
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jbrandonbb
March 28th 2011
12. Radio, I will look into those things for you. When you say search for text, do you mean a text string in quotes? Also, the GPS comment was about indoor use, it works fine outdoors. And, for syncing, you have total freedom in that regard since we're talking about music not controlled by DRM. So I have the same songs on an Android phone as I do on the Xoom.
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meesterboom
March 28th 2011
11. Its a review of an O/S so thats why it doesnt mention battery life.
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shambolic2000
March 26th 2011
10. Is it just me or does the taskbar along the bottom look like it's been ripped off Windows?
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bradavon
March 25th 2011
9. What's battery life like? It's not mentioned at all in this review!
"Smartphone apps run in a window on a tablet and do not use the larger screen size to full advantage."
Surely there's a way to stretch them to fit? Even if it looks less than pretty.
It's good there is no Android skin overlay. MotoBlur is a mess! And look at the HTC Tablet with HTC Sense that works so well on smartphones but stuck on a tablet, it look ugly.
I really wish Xvid/DivX would be added! so many videos on the web are in this format and as soon I'd have to convert to play, I'm not interested.
One of the examples of "work in progress" being no TV/Movie rental is rather unfair. It's simply not an Android feature. Apple charge for MobileMe, Google offer this free. Does that make Apple's cloud offering a "work in progress" too?
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badgerboy1977
March 25th 2011
8. @radioactivebanana
The problems you talk about with iTunes are some of the main reasons I'm not keen on jumping on the apple bandwagon. With android you don't need to use any proprietary software to handle your media its just a case of drag and drop and there not linked to specific devices and your also able to shift them about or delete them as you like from whichever device you happen to be using.
Not entirely sure about the searching for text bit, never really had the need myself, can't seem to find a way to do it at the moment.
@jbrandonbb &James
Thank you for your response, the licensing problem does make sense to be honest. It is a serious pain in the butt though and quite frankly seems counter productive, surely it makes sense to have your product available to as many sources as possible though I guess big money wins over customers most of the time :(
As for download over streaming, for something like a tablet most of the time it will be used within a wifi enabled area eg: home/work and therefore streaming isn't a problem and also with a maximum of 64gb, space would seem at a premium for good quality video files.
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walk.away
March 25th 2011
7. Why is not having a "custom ui" a flaw? That would be like saying iOS doesnt have a custom ui. This is googles creation so the ui is the ui?
Your critcism of having to wade through a load of menu's to stop the auto rotation is invalid. You can set up the notification bar to have rotation as a quick setting, enabling you to use two touches to lock it.
http://cdn.androidcommunity.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/xoom-honeycomb-notification-bar-2-.png
As usual, a complete lack of knowledge is often shown by a techradar review.
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radioactivebanana
March 25th 2011
6. I have a few questions that maybe someone can answer:
1. Can you copy & sync your music to an Android device without being locked out like in iTunes? Can I say have music on two different computers and copy it to the device as I want, then say take the device to another PC and copy tracks back to another PC?
2. Can I delete music tracks on the device itself? Say I'm playing a track, decide I don't want it on there anymore, select it and select delete (i.e. as on iPhone/iPad I'd have to go home, find it in iTunes, delete, sync - its a pain in the posteria!!!).
3. In email and/or on the web, can I search for text? Another pet hate of mine on iDevices, have to resort to going back to the laptop!
4. When you say "The Xoom only works for GPS coordinates when you use it outside" - does this mean you were trying it inside a building? In which case I don't care if it doesn't work inside a building for obvious reasons. I assume it works say inside a car & outside just fine?
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Mentions in the review that on Amazon music "prices are reasonable": I think its worth noting albums that are say 3 months old are roughly $2 cheaper on Amazon. And Amazon has way more info & reviews on music.
I Googled a speed comparison between this and the iPad 2. Seems it is literally seconds faster at loading web pages which is nice. I'd guess it is faster for things like games but yet to see proof.
And have to agree with others and say you can't expect all apps to have special versions for the big screen when the device has only just come out, give the developers a few weeks.
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jbrandonbb
March 25th 2011
5. Badgerboy, you make a good point about watching movies and shows through the browser but the issue, as always, is licensing. Many of the sites you list are good, none of them have access to the same level of shows and movies on iTunes or even the Samsung Media Hub. It's not a personal preference issue or that we're pro DRM, it's just the reality of licensing content today. There's also something to be said for having the bits on hand as opposed to streaming them.
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daviddakota
March 25th 2011
4. Bit disappointing that Latitude isn't too hot indoors.
Personally, I think Google need to bide their time over TV and film rentals and link into the UltraViolet standard somehow.
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james
March 25th 2011
3. @ayuamarca see your point but we can only review the product that's put in front of us. When there are more apps, we'll update the review :)
@badgerboy1977 understand why you wouldn't be interested in that side of things. That's why, while it's down as a negative, the lack of movie rentals etc didn't affect the final score
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ayuamarca
March 25th 2011
2. And also why do you slate it for not having many apps??
It only just got released!
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badgerboy1977
March 25th 2011
1. Would it be possible for you to explain to me why you keep marking it down for not having a dedicated movie and tv rental service?
I ask because I personally wouldn't use it if there was one due to there being more than enough web based services that are easily accessible through the browser such as: Lovefilm, Blinkbox, iPlayer (and other channels), TVcatchup (for live tv) and many others (most being available due to having Flash onboard).
It just doesn't seem to make sense to me, maybe I'm missing something.
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