Google released Android 3.1, an upgrade to its Honeycomb tablet OS, and will bring its features to mobile phones with the Ice Cream Sandwich version of the OS set for the fourth quarter.
Honeycomb is geared for Android tablets, which thus far haven't yet attained the popularity of Apple's iPad. Upgrading from 3.0 to 3.1 should offers user interface refinements, a new movie rental service, and the ability to plug in USB devices such as keyboards and game controllers.
Tags: Android, Honeycomb, Ice Cream Sandwich,
• Larger elements in the calendar app are designed to improve readability and touch-interface accuracy.
• An update to the e-mail app makes it sends both plaintext and formatted e-mail with a message so it displays properly regardless of how the recipient is viewing it.
• A handful of tweaks should improve performance in some areas such as caching and hardware acceleration.
• Web pages can be saved for reading offline, and the quick controls interface is redesigned and beefed up.
• Wi-Fi networking gets better, with support for high-speed connections even when an idling Android device's screen dims. "Users can take advantage of this to play continuous streamed music, video, and voice services for long periods, even when the device is otherwise idle and the screen is off," Google said.
• An update to the gallery app supports the Picture Transport Protocol (PTP), designed to ease the import of photos from cameras. Android 3.1 also supports the Media Transport Protocol (MTP), an interface to handle activities such as receiving notifications that a camera has been attached, managing files on that device, and transferring files.
• The USB support can be configured so that, when a particular device is attached, the Android device will look for a particular application, offer to launch it, and present an appropriate Web address if it's not installed.
• The browser now supports hardware-accelerated rendering for plug-ins. That's something Adobe Systems expects will improve the performance and reduce the battery-life pain of its Flash Player.
• The browser also gets better support for the CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) Web page formatting technology--specifically, CSS 3D, animations, and fixed positioning.
• The recently used apps list is now much larger, with a vertically scrolling list that shows live thumbnails.
• Bluetooth and USB keyboards and mice are supported, though only a single-button mouse with a scroll wheel. Mice can be used to select, drag, scroll, point, and hover over active regions.
• Among the game controllers supported are those for the Sony PlayStation 3 and XBox 360. Game controllers can be connected with Bluetooth or USB.
• Home-screen widgets can be resized either horizontally or vertically.
The Motorola Xoom tablet on Verizon's 3G service--the inaugural Honeycomb device with Android 3.0--will get the 3.1 update today, Google said at its Google I/O conference here today. It's coming to Google TV devices from Sony, Vizio, Samsung, and Logitech, too.
