Android Ice Cream Sandwich OS revealed!
Today we’re going to tell you all about the new ice cream sandwich. But not the ice cream sandwich that you’re thinking of. This is a very different type – the Android Ice Cream Sandwich and the next version of an Android operating system(OS).
According to Google, this will be a ‘one operating system everywhere’ version, meaning an Android operating system that runs across both phones and tablets. There is still some speculation around what this new version will be called, some saying the Android 2.4 Ice Cream Sandwich and others the Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich.
The Android Ice Cream Sandwich OS will be very exciting as it will include the best features from the Honeycomb and the Android tablet operating systems and make them useable on smartphones as well. Android phones users will get the updated App launcher, multi-tasking panel as well as the interactive and new homescreen widgets. For the tablet fans out there, we have some great news as the system will be able to act as a USB hub and mice and keyboards will be able to be connected to them; great if you’re using your tablet for work as it’s still a portable device but can be made to fit your needs with additional equipment.
Google will be releasing a new set of APIs that will help them scale their apps to fit the various Android devices, from 3.5 inch smartphones to 10.1 inch tablets. Another great feature of the new operating system is that it will include face detection, extremely useful for snap-happy people who love using their device for taking photos.
So all in all it’s good news that Google intends on making the new Android Ice Cream Sandwich OS an open source so that everybody can be part of it. Google will also be introducing new guidelines where it promises updates for the operating system for the first 18 months for existing handsets. This will affect some of the more powerful handsets released in 2011.
Overall the new features of the Android Ice Cream Sandwich OS look fantastic and we’re as excited as you are to see how it will work on both smartphones and tablets.