New tablet os version soon, integration with mobile version later.
Google's upcoming Android 3.1 is coming for tablets, of course, but it's also improving Google TV's interface. Even better, Google TV gets the Android Market as well.
Here are some of the nicest new features in 3.1:
• Expanding, resizable widgets
• Android devices can be USB hosts, so you can hook up keyboards, mice and game controllers (like the Xbox 360 controller)
The 3.1 Android release will launch in Q4 2011. Of course "launch" is a relative term for Android releases, since historically, new builds only hit Nexus phones first.
The Ice Cream Sandwich release, on the other hand, doesn't have a release date, but will put all of Honeycomb's new features into phones. One new feature is facial detection with the camera, so video chat will automatically focus on the speaker who's talking (if there are multiple ones)
Update: It's unclear whether or not Android 3.1 is Ice Cream Sandwich. They talked about both, and talk about Ice Cream Sandwich being "one version of Android on all devices", but didn't mention explicitly that 3.1 is Ice Cream Sandwich. We'll clarify when we know more.
Update 2: There's still no version number for Ice Cream Sandwich, but it's probably something like 3.5 or 4.0, and not 3.1.
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The New Features of Android 3.1 and Ice Cream Sandwich [Android]
Google's upcoming Android 3.1 is coming for tablets, of course, but it's also improving Google TV's interface. Even better, Google TV gets the Android Market as well.
Here are some of the nicest new features in 3.1:
• Expanding, resizable widgets
• Android devices can be USB hosts, so you can hook up keyboards, mice and game controllers (like the Xbox 360 controller)
The 3.1 Android release will launch in Q4 2011. Of course "launch" is a relative term for Android releases, since historically, new builds only hit Nexus phones first.
The Ice Cream Sandwich release, on the other hand, doesn't have a release date, but will put all of Honeycomb's new features into phones. One new feature is facial detection with the camera, so video chat will automatically focus on the speaker who's talking (if there are multiple ones)
Update: It's unclear whether or not Android 3.1 is Ice Cream Sandwich. They talked about both, and talk about Ice Cream Sandwich being "one version of Android on all devices", but didn't mention explicitly that 3.1 is Ice Cream Sandwich. We'll clarify when we know more.
Update 2: There's still no version number for Ice Cream Sandwich, but it's probably something like 3.5 or 4.0, and not 3.1.
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