Android 2.4 update to retain Gingerbread nametag
Wednesday, February 9, 2011 - 10:49:28
Google is allegedly planning to replace Android 2.3 with version 2.4 in the coming months, while retaining the Gingerbread moniker, suggesting that it will be an incremental improvement, rather than a revolution for the platform.
This news has come from manufacturer Viewsonic, as it is claiming it will be the first to launch a handset based on Android 2.4 at some point in April.
The purpose of the update is thought to be a way of bridging the gap between the dual-core friendly Android 3.0 platform, which is designed for tablets and the largely single core user base of Android smartphones, allowing for cross compatibility of applications.
Last week it was speculated that Google would be borrowing elements from Android 3.0 without actually porting the whole platform to smaller devices and this news of Android 2.4 seems to confirm this, according to Pocket Lint.
So far this update could mean little to consumers, since the Google Nexus S is the only Android 2.3 handset on the UK market. This is all set to change in the coming months, but by Viewsonic's estimations, we could already be seeing Android 2.4 mobiles arriving before version 2.3 has even got a foothold.
A source within Viewsonic publicised the news and also hinted at the idea of Google releasing Android 3.1, codenamed Ice Cream, at some point this year.
The obvious conclusion to take from this is that Google will be pushing to make the distinctions between Android for smartphones and Android for tablets much clearer, with 2.x devices sitting in the mobile market, while 3.x tablets are obviously separate entities.
Android tablets were initially based on the same software as smartphones and while the likes of the Samsung Galaxy Tab were moderate successes, the divergence of mobile and tablet products is likely to benefit users.
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