It only seems like a matter of weeks ago that Google released Android 3.1, which included some nice incremental updates to version 3.0, aka Honeycomb. The jump from 3 to 3.1 included scalable homescreen widgets and some browser speed improvements, and now 3.2 looks to build out Android’s featureset further by introducing windowed or scalable app display (in much the same way the iPad does for iPhone apps), support for a wider range of screen sizes and resolutions, and improved media sync from SD cards.
The latest and greatest Android version is due to be hitting the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 imminently, and ASUS has publicly stated they are looking to bring the update to to their popular Eee Pad Transformer soon.
Google has released the 3.2 SDK to developers and has open sourced the portions of the code under the GNU license, however this does not include the entire Honeycomb branch of Android, which Google has said it will not open source due to its unsuitability for handset-sized devices.
The next major version of Android, Ice Cream Sandwich, will run on both tablets and handsets and will be fully open-sourced as with previous version – however Google was forced to rush Honeycomb to market to remain competitive with Apple’s iPad, and as such was not able to make it compatible smaller screen sizes. This resulted in something of a backlash from the open source community, who took Google to task for apparently breaking their promise to keep Android open.
As Android sales continue to surge, it would appear the development team are taking a leaf out of the Chrome team’s book and accelerating their development schedule. Although the iPad still remains the dominant force in the tablet sector, cracks are starting to show, and Google will be looking to capitalise on their momentum while iPad owners wait for iOS5, which is not due until later this year.
