Google's new Android 3.0 or "Honeycomb" operating system might not convert a dedicated iPad owner, but the combination of the OS and the Motorola Xoom demonstration hardware packs an impressive punch.
By itself, however, Honeycomb has room for aesthetic improvement.
For now, Android 3.0 is being reserved exclusively for tablets, according to a Google spokesman. "Features" will be sucked out of Honeycomb and applied to Android over time, which implies that the OS has forked somewhat into a tablet OS as well as a separate track for smartphones.
That lends Honeycomb a fresh look, which isn't necessarily a good thing. For those looking for a consistent Android experience between the various flavors of Android smartphones, Google TV, and tablets - well, you won't find it here. You'll have to get used to Honeycomb's new quirks and tweaks. ((You can check out Google's take on Android via its presentation, too.)
Are you going to like it? Android users will, but even as an owner of a Google TV and an Android smartphone, I found the interface barren. Perhaps it was the blue-black combination, but my reaction to the home screen was "moonscape". I assume that users have the option to add their own default background image, which might warm the experience.
A large, empty space
The relatively large screen of the Xoom presents an empty plate upon which a user can fill up the home screen with apps, widgets, and other pieces of data. So far, Motorola has refused to skin the Xoom's Honeycomb interface, which means that one's initial impression of Honeycomb is a sea of blue and black. But the small default size of the icons means that a user is going to be impressed with the sparse, neat appearance of the interface, or else clutter it up with apps galore. I confess that I prefer the HTC Sense interface, which plants a massive flip clock on the home screen by default.
The tablet felt comfortable in the hand - thin, but sturdy. I can't speak for long-term use, but I couldn't find any flaws here.
Android users will be used to several hardware buttons on the bottom of the screen, including a "home" key, a "back" button, some form of a "menu" key, and the "search" icon. No longer. Honeycomb buries these, and has transformed all of them into software icons. The first three are hidden to the lower left, where you might not notice them on first glance.
The "search" key seems to move, depending on the interface. In general, the "search" button (the small magnifying glass) is tucked into the upper left portion of the screen, next to the word "Google". But in the Android Market, for example, it shows up in the top middle of the screen; in Google's Music app, search appears in the top right-hand corner. It's a bit odd, but not off-putting. Generally, to its right is a small microphone icon, which triggers the voice search/voice action functions that Google added late last year. Voice commands allow a user to play a specific song, for example, or search for "pizza places in Mountain View", which triggers Google Maps.
Pressing the "windows" button (the generic "windows," not the Microsoft version) opens a list of most recently-used apps, which are listed, one on top of the other, on the left-hand portion of the screen.
A software keyboard opens by default when a user needs to enter text inside of a box. I flicked a few keys, and the keypad (though smaller than that of the iPad) seemed responsive. I'm fairly sure, however, that most will prefer the iPad's keypad; Honeycomb's feels a bit like an afterthought.
Widgets generally look the same as their Android 2.2 counterparts, although Honeycomb adds the ability for them to be layered, one on top of the other, so that users can see a cascade of YouTube videos, for example. Time will tell whether or not this feature is just a curiosity or something more useful.
Swiping back and forth on the home screen allows a user to shift and back and forth between different home screens - I confess I don't know how many that Honeycomb offers, but the relative tiny size of the default icons and widgets means that a user can probably squeeze quite a few into the real estate, if he or she feels like it.
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Quirks: orientation button, camera
One quirk a user may not like is that there does not appear to be a default button for locking down the screen orientation, a complaint among some iPad owners. The product manager I spoke to felt that "Google does a pretty good job" of determining what orientation the user wants to operate the tablet at. I'm dubious; I would prefer the additional control.
Although camera quality and resolution remains one of my priorities on the smartphone, the sheer size of the tablet will probably scare away the casual snapper. Holding a plate the size of a hardback up to capture the moment simply seems strange. But the additional screen size allows Google to display several buttons that most phones hide behind tabs or other icons. It's a minor thing, but I appreciate the convenience. I didn't have a chance to use Google Talk, but the two demonstrations Google executives made during the presentation didn't show Talk off to advantage; the video looked choppy, and the audio was distorted. In their defense, however, the tablets shared a room that was already saturated with Wi-Fi connections.
The default layout seems to place six apps at the bottom of the home screen: the Browser, Gmail, Google Talk, Music, Books, and the Android Market.
Each app retains the same functionality of its desktop counterpart, with a few differences. The browser, for example, now includes tabbed browsing, as well as the ability to launch Incognito tabs, for private browsing. (Why? Because the tablet is a "shared device," I was told.) Gmail looks much the same as the PC version, with the ability to drag and drop email between different folders. Google's Music app now uses an offset 3D view to display album covers. (And, before you ask- no, Google Music's rumored music store is entirely absent). Like iBooks, Google Books presents 3D images of your books, and the new 3D Renderscript technology allows for pretty page-turning animations.
The revamped Android Market was a bit buggy, possibly because the demonstration tablets Google presented weren't truly set up with credit cards or user payment information. Upon launching the market, a user sees an interface screen that looks similar to the Android Market on most smartphones, with a carousel highlighting apps, and a list of paid and free apps. Although developers now have the option of adding videos and other promotional materials, the experience is comparable to the Android Market you're used to. Note that this is a bit different than the new Web version of the Android Market that Google launched on Wednesday as well.
I'll delve into some of the apps in a separate piece, but I can tell you that the tablet's form factor and horsepower gives apps heft, weight, and clout. I also suspect Google's laissez-faire attire toward app approval is going to attract developers, especially now that Google has added in-app purchases.
One Google app did come as a surprise: Movie Studio, an app that Honeycomb includes and that doesn't show up on the Android (version 2.2) Market. Although I didn't see a demonstration of it (the tablet I used didn't have any video stored on it) it appears to be a video-editing app, although far less sophisticated than what Apple offers in iLife.
One last note: Google's on-tablet metrics of battery life weighed in at over 8 hours, although that reportedly is a glitch, a Google product manager said. The tablets were plugged in the entire time.
Honeycomb: a colder, more alien Android
Android's appearance on tablets certainly means that the iPad faces some formidable competition. Apple's appeal is that it provides a tightly unified experience, connecting features to services to other iOS devices. Google's new Honeycomb maintains the integration with Gmail and its other services, but the connection seems more tenuous than before. A smartphone assumes a use case where a user is out and about, searching for places and businesses based on proximity, snapping pictures with the camera, playing music.
When they were first launched, the iPad and other tablets were erroneously placed somewhere between a smartphone and a notebook PC. Instead, I think that they're more of a combination of a phone and an HDTV - a living room device, rather than a mobile device. Google and its OEM partners need to do a better job positioning the Xoom and other Android tablets in this category. Right now, the Xoom feels more like Google's CR-48 Chrome OS notebook than a true consumer device.
Fortunately, all Google or an OEM needs to do is roll out the welcome mat, with a warmer, more welcoming interface. It will be up to Google's partners and developers to humanize this version of Android. Honeycomb needs some sweetening.