Honeycomb to be announced in March?

By Sean Brunett
last updated

As Gingerbread still bakes in the oven for most of us, rumors keep swirling about Honeycomb, the next iteration of Android, dubbed 3.0.

A story by Digitimes suggests that Honeycomb will be announced in March. Here is the quote (emphasis ours):

On the other hand, MSI is set to display its 10-inch Wintel-based tablet PC as well as engineering samples of its ARM-based Google Android model. MSI is also prepared to sell an Nvidia Tegra 2-based model in April or May after Google releases Android 3.0 in March.

OK, this is Digitimes we're talking here, with its usual unsourced vagueness. It's not the New York Times, or the St. Pete Times. Or the Times of Trenton. So a big ol' grain of salt is required. But we'll more than likely see Honeycomb officially at some point in the earlier part of the year. [Digitimes]

Sean Brunett
Sean Brunett
26 Comments
  • Awesome, that means Samsung should have Gingerbread on their Galaxy S phones in April or May
  • Sweet! Does that mean my GPS will be working by April or May? Because that would be totally neato!!
  • Ummm...what are you talking about? Maybe you are just being sarcastic, but none of the US Galaxy S phones even have an official release of FROYO yet & in other countries that have had Froyo a roll out..it has been bricking phones & been pulled.
  • Well the FIRST Samsung Galaxy device getting froyo is the epic, and its starting Dec 26th... That has already been documented.
  • Too bad that Froyo was released in May! Froyo bricking Samsung Galaxy devices in Canada has also been documented. Good luck next week!
  • FROYO would be nice!
  • Well, it would be more like June or July 2011 if the Galaxy S phones got Gingerbread. But I seriously doubt the Galaxy S phones will get Gingerbread. They can't even get Froyo out.
  • how is motorola going to show off their honeycomb tablet at CES with out showing off honeycomb? I think we're going to see it at CES with maybe a source release in feb or march.
  • So, Honeycomb will be out around the same time I'm getting Gingerbread on my Dell Streak, woo!
  • Enough time to save up the money for one and enough time to research each one which we should be seeing at CES
  • Wow, Gingerbread is already obsolete...and its not out yet!
  • I actually wish they would slow down with their software releases a bit. Maybe just 1 or 2 a year, that way manufacturers can get them tested and rolled out to ALL of their compatible models before a new one comes out. It seems better to me than continuing to get 3-4 buggy releases rushed out the door every 12 months with users still not even elgible for upgrades that have phones that are no longer supported because of the rate that the manufacturers have to go to keep up with Google.
  • I will be pissed off if this is true. I rather Honeycomb come out at the end of 2011.
  • I agree they are releasing updates too fast. Most people are on two year contracts. There are going to be devices still in heavy use running 2.1, 2.2, 2.3 and now 3.0. Who knows what will happen in the following year before people can finally upgrade. That's an awful lot of compatibility issues App developers have to deal with which isn't something you want when you are trying to get a large number of good quality Apps on a platform. You cannot rely on manufacturers and carriers to keep updating older phones. Look at Samsung. They are almost 2 updates behind in their top of the line phones.(ie Epic running 2.1 when 2.3 is out)
  • YEAHHHH TRENTON SHOUT OUT haha
  • That's the Google way. Launch on 1 or 2 new phones and move on to the next upgrade. They know you got a sweet tooth and they want to keep you wanting more even thought the upgrade aren't anything major. It's all psychological
  • As much as I like the "Google Way", they can kiss my behind in a year from now if all of these stagnant upgrade issues aren't resolved in a more tidy manner. However, the only way I am switching is if Windows is doing alright next year as well. A simultaneous upgrade for all devices? Windows says I got you man. Google does not, and that is very frustrating.
  • Don't blame Google. Blame the device manufacturer. And try not to forget the anger and frustration watching the painfully slow arrival of WinMo 7.
  • The finger deserves to be pointed at Google. Apple and Windows don't have the same problem with different carriers, Google does. Too much fragmentation in Android. Don't get me wrong, I love the OS, but it is easily the most annoying aspect of the platform.
  • the only people I hear complain about fragmentation are those who flash custom roms anyway.
  • That is curious. I would think it would be the other way around, as in stock users. I am a stock user, if I flashed a bunch of different roms, I don't think fragmentation would be much of a concern to me. However, getting a stock OS update is a different beast. When applications start coming out only on a certain base OS, and other "newer" phones are left without the option, that is an annoying situation.
  • i totally understand. From my experience, any friends who have android with an older OS or an iPhone usually don't even know there is an update until I ask them if they've upgraded. If they do run into a game they can't play, they fully understand that it's because they have an older phone and some of the new games need more powerful hardware. I know this isn't the case every time, but in reality, it's only a small percentage of users who actually know or even care about fragmentation. But for those of us who do care, it's a big issue! I'm all about openness but I really hope Google's UI overhaul helps put a stop to these crappy UI overlays and helps speed up updates releases for the carriers!
  • COOL Maybe I will get it on my Captivate by 2013 then!! AWESOMESAUCE! blah
  • The fragmentation is a bit much however, what does froyo bring to the table that Rom manager can't give to my fascinate now? Not too much. And my gps is working pretty good with dj05. Just sayin...
  • spam filter! arg! Google is playing catch up and also pushing forward as a mobile OS, slowing down the pace slows down innovation imho. Right now Android is feature rich but short on polish, consistency and usability in the UI. Honeycomb will hopefully address some of these shortcomings and is also purported to bring support for tablets, a fast growing segment. I would think if Honeycomb is the mature release I'm hoping it is then they can slow down a bit and do perhaps two releases a year. Most say iOS is too slow in releasing updates, now a lot of the same people are saying Android is moving too fast. Make up your minds please :-P
  • spam filter part deux: A strength of Android is the open-ish factor and this is why manufacturers have taken it and run, though at this point with no updates now it becomes a pain point. I think for Google to address this they need to work with OEM's and while the OS itself may be free it doesn't get a Google stamp of approval or the Google apps/market unless it meets certain critera. Upgrade path should be in that criteria, they can limit the devices lifecycle by time (updates for 2 years) or hardware(less capable, less features), just examples.