Tablets are for Honeycomb, not your phone

January 21, 2011 | by Andrew Kameka

Android 3.0 is designed for tablets, not phones. Google made that abundantly clear when promotional images and videos of the Honeycomb version of the operating system debuted at CES, but that hasn’t stopped people from wondering if it will ever appear on handsets.

Not likely based on current conditions according to Dave Burke, Director of Engineering of Android. In response to a question posed by TechRadar, Burke said, “Right now, it’s a tablet operating system.”

That’s not to say that it will never happen, but there’s no clear-cut path for Honeycomb to appear on mobile phones. The Android UI was completely redesigned with tablets in mind, so putting the phone on smaller screens would likely take some re-engineering.

As it stands now, Android has forked into 3.0 being for tablets and 2.3 being the latest version of the operating system for phones. Google plans in the future to have the two numbers cross paths again, but that doesn’t seem to be a top priority at the moment. Google is more focused on improving the UI so companies will be discouraged to do it themselves.

“We don’t think one size fits all with Android, but sometimes changes [people make to the UI] miss the point – then again, sometimes it amazes us.”

TechRadar

Android 3.0, Android tablets, fragmentation, Google, honeycomb, tablets

7 Comments

jakewharton says:

January 21, 2011 at 10:44 am

I think you mean "Honeycomb is for tablets, not your phone".
adomanico01 says:

January 21, 2011 at 10:45 am

Pure Quote: "We don’t think one size fits all with Android, but sometimes changes [people make to the UI] miss the point – then again, sometimes it amazes us.” With my edits: "We don’t think one size fits all with Android, but sometimes changes [people make to the UI] miss the point [MOTOBLUR, TOUCHWHIZ] – then again, sometimes it amazes us [HTC SENSE].”
droid.manic says:

January 21, 2011 at 10:57 am

That is completely absurd. I am starting to get irritated by Android and the manufacturers. None of them produce a quality and comparable cheap tablet. They kill the speed of Android development unless you go to a custom ROM, now google makes this separation between phones and tablet devices? Come on you are better then this Google.
@GodsMoon says:

January 21, 2011 at 11:00 am

Andy Rubin (link: http://kara.allthingsd.com/20101214/d-dive-into-m… and Matias Duarte (link: http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/07/exclusive-inte… have both said that Honeycomb is coming to phones. The whole point of "fragments" is to support both tablets and phones. You would think they would know… My recent post Predictions for 2011
- Travis says:
  
  January 21, 2011 at 11:21 am
  
  GodsMoon nailed it. I was literally going to post this same thing, without links, so I'm glad you posted first. Having links is way better. I'm not concerned at all about Honeycomb not being on phones.
David Simpson says:

January 21, 2011 at 12:06 pm

Josh Topolsky recently interviewed Matias Duarte the new head of Android experience and he said his first order was to help fit Honeycomb on to phones. check it out here :http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/07/exclusive-interview-googles-matias-duarte-talks-honeycomb-tab
Jared says:

January 21, 2011 at 3:43 pm

Hahahahaha Check out Dj Skee Promoting for Metro Pcs Funny video Dope Android phones

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