Android 3.0

Its a tablet only version and is much different from the one released for mobile devices named as Gingerbread.

In ongoing mega event CES 2011 at Los Vegas, Google has come up with a new version of its android OS named as Honeycomb.

Just to mention that after Mobilink’s Galaxy Tablet launch, we may see more tablets makings their way to Pakistan. Galaxy Tab is powered by Android OS 2.2 (froyo), while We are yet to ascertain the possibility Galaxy’s OS up-gradation.

The feature getting the most buzz, as you know, is support for Adobe Flash Player 10.1. This will be included in Android 2.2 on new devices and available as plug-in for devices that upgrade to the new OS. It relies on an API in the new Android and cannot be installed in older versions. Engadget has a thorough rundown of what to expect, including a Q&A with Anup Murarka of Adobe’s Mobile and Devices team.

Some Features of Android OS 3 (Honeycomb)

The UI looks nothing like earlier versions of Android. However, multiple home-screens still exist and will shelter application shortcut icons and widgets.

The widgets also seem to be redesigned, making better use of the larger screen area as compared to a smartphone. The browser looks a lot more like Google’s Chrome browser on PCs, with tabs that occupy the top-most row.

There’s also a Google eBooks app with the same page-flipping animations seen on the iPad.

Another design aspect “inspired” from the iPad’s UI is the new Gmail app, which shows a message list in one pane, while the actual message in the pane next to it.

And  the most killer feature of the mobile OS is its Google Talk Video chat compatibility. That’s going to be a huge stab at Apple’s FaceTime, which currently works only on some iOS devices and Macs.

Google Talk’s video plugin works in any browser, thus with all popular OSes (Windows, Linux, Mac). So, this will not only enable video-conferencing from one Android tablet to another, but also from any Honeycomb tablet to any computer. We hope the same thing comes for smartphones soon!

Lastly, the new Google Maps 5.0 that was shown off last month with its 3D panning mode and other cool features were also shown in the video posted at the android’s youtube channel