Android 3.0 “Honeycomb” to leave Galaxy Tab behind?

January 5, 2011 By Geoff Duncan

Android 3.0 "Honeycomb" may require at least a dual-core processor, potentially leaving the Galaxy Tab - and a ton of smartphones - in the dust.

Although many parts of the Android world are still waiting for Android 2.2 “Froyo” and other parts are already gnoshing on Android 2.3 “Gingerbread,” a report in PC Magazine claims that Android 3.0 “Honeycomb”—a forthcoming version of Android more tailored to tablet devices—may require a dual-core Cortex A9 processor and even a 1,280 by 720 screen resolution. If true, it means the only chipset in production right now that meets the requirements is Nvidia’s Tegra 2 platform—and that many existing Android tablets like the Samsung Galaxy Tab would be left in the dust once Honeycomb hits the streets. Also left behind: pretty much every Android smartphone on the market.

The article quotes Bobby Cha, managing director of Enspert, a South Korean consumer electronics firm.

Samsung has previously implied that its Galaxy Tab products won’t be upgradable beyond Android 2.3 “Gingerbread,” although the company has not made any official announcements. The tablet only went on sale in the United States at the end of October, 2010.

Google has revealed few details of what it plans for Android 3.0 “Honeycomb,” although last month the company showed a tablet device from Motorola running an early version of the operating system and a focus applications that require a good deal of real estate. If Google is indeed focusing Honeycomb on high-resolution, processor-endowed tablet devices, the company may be getting ready to divide the Android marketplace into two classes: smartphones and less-capable tablets (like the Samsung Galaxy Tab) and premium, high-resolution tablets more able to compete with the likes of the Apple iPad, offering higher screen resolution and Android 3.0 “Honeycomb.”

Showing 15 comments

Mark at 2:39am 1st April 2011 Given that they are bringing out new hardware so quickly I don't think it is safe to assume that the Android 3 will work on the old hardware.
babuthebabu at 10:41am 6th March 2011 Hey, i brought samsung galaxy tab on Jan'11, but the thing i am now very hated with samsung, bcos y the hell do like this, please watch youtube videos on which i broken my new samsung galaxy tab, request everybody to go any other brands except samsung. other u will be simply wasting money. The main reason for wat i am saying. y they allow different products withing couple of month. if there is no new update for Galaxy Tab means. then sure that it will happen for samsung Honeycomb. they will introduce another product in couple of month and tel that samsung honeycomb will be doorstop.
babuthebabu at 10:35am 6th March 2011 Hey, i brought samsung galaxy tab on Jan'11, but the thing i am now very hated with samsung, bcos y the hell do like this, please watch youtube videos on which i broken my new samsung galaxy tab, request everybody to go any other brands except samsung. other u will be simply wasting money.
babuthebabu at 10:30am 6th March 2011 Enter text right here!
bigwhoopitweet at 1:28am 17th January 2011 Wow people doing a knee jerk reaction thing, phones and single cores will 100 % get updates up to 3.0 the phone / tablets of android have been separated so your not guna get honeycomb on ya htc desire ..the tab is slightly different Coz A, it's Samsung who are one of the worst for uupdates &B, its single core but there will be loads of ROM 's and I still think it will get updated anyway they could put a lite version of honeycomb on the tab, ... I do agree with you though the speed of android's hardware development is fast, but its been like that fort ages I got a htc desire and 3-4 months later the galaxy x and htc desire hd came out , so I got nexus one and then galaxy s came out?
alabesta at 7:44pm 9th January 2011 Don't buy all these craps, if you want something last for long, buy x86 base hardware instead, my more than 10 year old plantium 4 still be able to run on today window 7 platform.
1. OMFG at 11:00am 15th February 2011 We're talking about tablets, not desktops retard (platinum 4? Wtf??), and linux craps all over any microsoft slugware. Apple is the new microsoft, Linux is the new Apple.
Majid at 3:41am 9th January 2011 I just bought Galaxy Tab two weeks before and now there is only one update coming for this !!! I think i don some mistake to buy this Tab and I can't return it we don't have any return policy so I think I'll wait for a while and if there is no new update for Galaxy Tab means no Honeycomb I'll sell my Galaxy Tab and ask my friends also to sell there Tabs and I think we all should buy cot Samsung or any Android phone or Tab because if in some months my tab become doorstop so I think Motorola or any other dual core Tab also become doorstop in few months and google will work with some other Brands with Quad core and then dual core will stoped!!! even I hate Apple but now i think i should go back to apple because thay don't do like google is doing with us now that is only my desision you do whats you think right ? sorry for my english I am from Saudi Arabia
Jason at 5:28am 6th January 2011 Samsung is in charge of the updates to its OS NOT Google. Anyone with a Samsung galaxy S phone waiting for the update can attest to that. (the fascinate is still stuck at 2.1) Carriers (esp Verizon) demanded they be allowed to change things so that's why there is a different google experience for each phone. It's terrible and really destroying the Android platform but I have a feeling once it takes over in market share, it will change. Give it time, its still better then the iphone. Also, Google isn't abandoning its phone platform. It is just optimizing its android 3.0 (honeycomb) OS for a tablet. This will wake everyone up to the laziness of apple for just porting a phone os to a tab. They possibly skipped android numbers 2.4-2.9 so they could have 6 more phone updates.
1. Refugio Luevano at 7:57pm 6th January 2011 how did apple get lazy porting phone ios to tab? the ios was made from bottom up for touch. true its costs more and tends to lack features, but that's the awesomeness of competition. thanks to android, apple has implemented some of these changes finally and will continue to do so. if anything android still has aways to go if my galaxy tab is any example, no real dedicated galaxy tab apps, most are just stretched android phone apps, the pinch or double tab is laggy and when you type its not always accurate. im actually hoping 2.3 gingerbread brings a better experience. was rather hesitant already owning a samsung blackjack 2 and knowing how slow samsung is to getting updates out. so we shall see if this stays or gets returned.
Robert at 3:22pm 5th January 2011 Let me get this straight Google is going to abandon the single core phone market (including their new developer phone the Nexus S) with the release of Honeycomb (now branded Android 2.4) (not even a major release) in 2011. Try and apply some logic people.
Richard Clement at 2:43pm 5th January 2011 If this is the case I will be really angry. I purchased the Galaxy Tab in November when launched in Australia on a two year contract. Can it really be the case that in less than two months it has effectively become a doorstop? One software update and then done? Thats faster redundancy that Apple for goodness sake and has really put me off Android as a platform - and absolutely highlights the complaints around fragmentation.
1. Refugio Luevano at 7:52pm 6th January 2011 yeah i'd be pretty upset as well. i had an ipad, grabbed a galaxy tab cash price and will definitely be upset if this is true. there's so much still they can improve on the galaxy tab. thankfully i purchased mine where i can return within 90 days. im going to wait and see how this pans out a lil more.
2. Mike at 3:01pm 8th January 2011 How does it become a doorstop? How does this "fragment" the platform? Your apps still run, the UI still works the same way it did before, etc. Android 3.0 is needed to support the bigger screens and new hardware on new tablets. You don't need it for the Galaxy Tab. Get some perspective, man.
Bob at 2:27pm 5th January 2011 This is lie why would google make a phone which would be useless in a couple of months, this just just seems like when android 2.3 was said to only be able to support 1GHz+ processor and that turned out to be a lie. Is this just a trick to get more views on your website?