A Brief Overview of the Android Honeycomb Operating System

Ever since the iPad 2 was released everyone has been watching the Android market to see Google will retaliate.

Honeycomb 3 is the answer Google has responded with and it is now the default operating system on most new Android tablets.

Honeycomb 3 is developed for tablets so it has lots of new technology to take advantage of the power of the CPU and the larger screen of a tablet.

As an extension of the Android OS for phones Honeycomb has rich notifications, enhanced multitasking, widgets, home screen customization, and more. But Honeycomb transforms the user interface with a vibrant 3D experience and deeper interactivity, making them feel they are in familiar territory but even better than before.

As the new OS becomes more commonplace more applications will be created to specifically take advantage of the extra media potential and powerful graphics capabilities.

Honeycomb provides two new bars. They are the "Systems" and "Action" bar. The "systems bar" will always be visible along the bottom of the display. So if you are running an application the system bar will still be visible giving system information and updates (i.e. incoming mail etc)

The "Action bar" is present while running an application. The "action bar" will give you navigation options, general options and will be a key point on the screen for accessing app information.

You can have the usual five customised home screens that give users access to everything in Honeycomb. All home screens have a grid orientation that allow placement for home screen widgets, app shortcuts, and wallpapers using a dedicated visual layout mode to be placed as wanted.

There is now an enhanced version of the Android keyboard. New keys have been added for more efficient text input as well as the keys being reshaped and positioned for improved typing. You can now switch from text/input modes through a special button in the system bar and touching and holding keys will bring up a menu of special characters.

Honeycomb now includes a variety of new connectivity options to greatly enhance the usability of an Android tablet. With support for cameras and MP3 files you can now easily sync your media files with a USB connected camera or PC without having to connect a USB hard drive. Users can also connect full keyboards over either USB or Bluetooth.

Included in Honeycomb is a brand new browser. The new browser has features that lets users navigate and organize their workflow more efficiently. Multiple tabs replace browser windows and a new "incognito" mode allows anonymous browsing.

The Email application uses a new two-pane interface to make viewing and organizing your mail much quicker. The app lets users select one or more messages, then select an action from the Action bar, such as moving them to a folder or deleting them. With the new email Widget users can keep track of their emails with a quick glance. You can also keep track of attachments for later viewing.

A new camera application has been re-written to take advantage of the extra screen real estate. There is also faster access to exposure, focus, zoom, flash, the front facing camera and a few more extras. To let users capture scenes in new ways, it adds built-in support for time-lapse video recording. The Gallery application lets users view albums and other collections in full-screen mode, with easy access to thumbnails for other photos in the collection.

Google Honeycomb now gives people a choice. Not only is there now an option other than the iPad but we are also seeing a wide variety of Android tablets coming into the market place that have a different appeal to different users. If you want a smaller tablet that is more portable you have that option. If you need something bigger or something more powerful to play games on or be more productive then that is also available.

The author has a blog on portable technology and enjoys writing about the latest gadgets. For a review on one of the latest affordable Android tablets that doesn't skimp on features

Android Honeycomb