Today there’s some talk going around, some words being pushed that are re-stirring the sweet rumors that is Honeycomb supporting smartphones as well as tablets. Android 3.0 Honeycomb is a version of the OS created specifically to work well with larger devices, especially tablets. What’s been discovered today is the fact that although Honeycomb will open in its default resolution of 1280×768 pixels in WXGA, changing the screen setting (in the emulator running the Honeycomb SDK released a couple days ago) to WVGA, a different shell user interface is launched, this one lacking basically everything on the homescreen with launcher crashing soon afterward.
Well wait, doesn’t that suck? Isn’t that the worst? Well sure it is, but as long as you install a replacement (Engadget suggests LauncherPro) youll be able to get in and dig around for everything you like. This mode has a smartphone-friendly status bar, the current lock screen we’re all used to with slide to the left or right locks, and a browser without tabs. But what can we glean from all this info?
Lets ask our pal Robert Evans – you know he’s got some answers:
Here’s one possibility I haven’t heard yet: What if this is the bare-bones of some sort of plan for the Atrix? If Honeycomb can switch between a large display mode and a WVGA mode, maybe the Atrix is meant to (eventually) run a stripped-down version of 3.0 in handset mode, and a full version of Honeycomb in notebook mode? Beyond the Atrix, Google could be laying the groundwork for a generation of handsets that dock with full-on PCs and notebooks in a similar manner.
How’s that for an idea? Take a look at the Atrix 4G ad released earlier today to get an idea of what Robert’s talking about:
[Via SlashGear]
Wow that looks next level shit… and I want 1 or even 2 lol… Nokia stop being a Dick and go Droid ….
Amen.
OMG that is one intresting looking phone, I covet thee
Honeycomb’s design doesn’t support any physical buttons. So how’s it going to work with a smaller form-factor handset? Leave it up to HTC or Motorola, they’ll figure out a way to make the UI usable.
It does support buttons. The hardware manufacturer can use buttons or not.