Android 3.0 HoneyComb Preview

The platform preview of the next version of Android (Android 3.0 codenamed as HoneyComb) is out. Now, there is no more confusion on the version number of HoneyComb and it is going to be Android 3.0. And, as many of you would have already seen it on the Andy Rubin’s video, HoneyComb is designed for devices with large devices like tablets. A new “holographic” UI theme has been introduced in HoneyComb. A preview version of the Android 3.0 SDK has also been released today for the developers to get familiar with the new UI patterns, APIs and the capabilities of Android 3.0.

Platform Highlights

• UI framework. New UI theme, components, richer widgets, drag and drop, and other new features are added to enable rich app development for larger screens.
• High Performance 2D and 3D graphics. A new 3D graphics engine called RenderScript has been included which enables adding rich 3D scenes. Also, there is a built-in GL renderer that lets developers request hardware-acceleration of common 2D rendering operations in their apps.
• Support for multi-core processors. Android 3.0 is optimized to run on either single or dual-core processors.
• Rich multimedia. New multimedia features such as HTTP Live streaming support and easy media file transfer through MTP/PTP, give developers new ways to bring rich content to users.
• Enhancements for enterprise. New administrative policies, such as for encrypted storage and password expiration, help enterprise administrators manage devices more effectively.

Android 3.0 HoneyComb Home Screen

  

Android 3.0 HoneyComb App Menu

Android 3.0 HoneyComb Widgets bar – Hard press on the home screen to get this.

Android 3.0 HoneyComb Browser. (Was crashing frequently)

Android 3.0 HoneyComb Search Bar (Onscreen Keyboard was not getting loaded)

SDK tools Highlights

• Preview SDK tools can be downloaded and installed from here.
• The Preview SDK includes: An early Android 3.0 system image for use in the Android emulator. An Android 3.0 library with non-final APIs. A new WXGA emulator skin for an extra large Android Virtual Device. The emulator performance seems to be slower than the previous versions.
• An improved UI builder has been included in the Eclipse ADT plug-in.

More information about the platform and the preview SDK can be found here and here.

-- Varun