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Google opens Android Web store, shows 'Honeycomb' tablet software [San Jose Mercury News, Calif.](San Jose Mercury News (CA) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Feb. 02--Google took the wraps off its next-generation mobile operating system intended to allow Android tablets to rival the graphics, services and features of Apple's iPad. The Mountain View company Wednesday also launched a new Web-based Android Market that lets users buy apps on a desktop or laptop and install them on a phone or tablet in a single action. "We think it opens incredible opportunities for innovation in this new class of device," said Hugo Barra, a director of product management for Android, said of the version of the mobile operating system built specifically for tablets, dubbed "Honeycomb" by Google. "We can't predict what the developer community is going to build" with it. At a heavily attended announcement at the Googleplex, Barra and other Google executives, including Android chief Andy Rubin, showed off new capabilities for the Android operating system -- designed for tablets like Motorola's Xoom -- such as 3D "carousels" that allow users to scroll through books, music albums and other content stored on their devices. Video chat -- Google dialed up rapper and songwriter Cee-Lo on video chat to demonstrate the technology -- also will be built into Honeycomb. The new Web-based Android Market, which is now live at http://market.android.com, allows someone in a single action to buy an app from a laptop or desktop computer, and then instantly install it on an Android device, such as a smartphone or tablet computer. A user simply has to log on to the Android Web store with a Google account to integrate with any existing Android phone or tablet. Google did not unveil a new tablet device, disappointing some in the audience of nearly 100 journalists who attended the announcement. Google executives also declined to make any claims for the share of the market that Honeycomb can claim from Apple's iPad. "We don't want to make any predictions," Barra said. To see more of the San Jose Mercury News, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.mercurynews.com. Copyright (c) 2011, San Jose Mercury News, Calif. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For more information about the content services offered by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (MCT), visit www.mctinfoservices.com, e-mail [email protected], or call 866-280-5210 (outside the United States, call +1 312-222-4544) |