News

Jan 05 AT 5:59 PM Taylor Wimberly 69 Comments

Android 3.0 Honeycomb gets an early video preview

Google accidentally published a video of Android 3.0 Honeycomb and then quickly pulled it down, but thankfully the internets captured it for everyone to see. Check out 90 seconds of the first version of Android “entirely for tablets” after the jump.

Source: YouTube

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69 Comments Join the discussion!

40 jayzeroeee 01/05/11 6:03 PM

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I think we can officially say the tablet selections are about to get much, much better.

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1 falmc 01/05/11 6:05 PM

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Simply stunning.

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UniqueNateGuest 01/05/11 6:05 PM

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I want a hands on. I want to see what will be optimized for a mobile version after 2.3

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JeffroidGuest 01/05/11 6:05 PM

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whoaaaaaa…. wowwwww…. weeeeee!!!!

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@nick_elliottGuest 01/05/11 6:06 PM

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I like the gchat video screen grab. Possibly a preview for the gingerbread phones video calling? Too bad honeycomb is only for tablets but then again it looks like it would only work on a larger screen anyway. Guess Google doesn’t care about the fragmentation yet. Has no one learned from UNIX yet?

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- treyGuest 01/05/11 6:16 PM
  
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  Why do people keep speculating that 3.0 is only for tablets. While I agree that there has been much hype about Honeycomb on tablets, I have never heard any mention that it will only run on tablets. I doubt that Google would not update phones to the same version. Although I have heard Honecomb would require dual-core processors.
  
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  - BiancaGuest 01/05/11 6:21 PM
    
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    I think on this thread people are assuming such because the video stated “Built Entirely For Tablets” towards the start. Sort of gives the idea that its exclusive to tablets.
    
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  - imrblankieGuest 01/05/11 6:39 PM
    
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    Well in the video it says that Honeycomb was built from the ground up for Tablets.
    
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  - Android BoyGuest 01/05/11 6:47 PM
    
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    it will be like iOS. there will be a version for both phones and tablets, but tablets will have special features. think ipad vs iphone.
    
    my source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=koIzhLaRJJo
    
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    - 0 codethief 01/06/11 10:22 AM
      
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      Having watched this video a while ago, I actually remember him saying that there were *not* going to be two different versions? (Instead they would introduce a new concept to display the same app with different layouts on devices with different screen sizes.)
      Which means Honeycomb will be the same for phones and tablet…
      
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- treyGuest 01/05/11 6:16 PM
  
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  Why do people keep speculating that 3.0 is only for tablets? While I agree that there has been much hype about Honeycomb on tablets, I have never heard any mention that it will only run on tablets. I doubt that Google would not update phones to the same version. Although I have heard Honecomb would require dual-core processors.
  
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- treyGuest 01/05/11 6:16 PM
  
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  Why do people keep speculating that 3.0 is only for tablets? While I agree that there has been much hype about Honeycomb on tablets, I have never heard any mention that it will only run on tablets. I doubt that Google would not update phones to the same version. Although I have heard Honecomb would require dual-core processors.
  
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treyGuest 01/05/11 6:08 PM

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This looks sweet! A totally revamped interface and native gtalk video chat. You go Google!

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40 jayzeroeee 01/05/11 6:11 PM

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Also, now I’m wondering what kind of shitty “Blur for Tablets” Moto is gonna put on their Honeycomb tablet.

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- dagamer34Guest 01/05/11 6:21 PM
  
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  Considering Motorola is making the reference tablet for Google, I don’t think they get to fiddle with the OS just yet.
  
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  - CoolioGuest 01/05/11 9:18 PM
    
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    Lets pray your right…
    
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- 0 ViktorPrime 01/05/11 6:23 PM
  
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  well dagamer34 beat me to it but yes just like the droid was the 1st with 2.0 and it was untouched it will be the same with the Droid Xoom and 3.0
  
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  - Gyro GearloosGuest 01/09/11 10:03 PM
    
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    Wrong..Verizon actually is the most guilty of “touching” Android. They cripple more features than anyone.
    And just FYI Nexus will be first for all updates.
    
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4 asifriyaz 01/05/11 6:13 PM

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just love android

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6 Gone 01/05/11 6:20 PM

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Awesome!!!!

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KrisGuest 01/05/11 6:25 PM

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So if 3.0 Honeycomb is tablet only wont this make fragmentation worst? its already sort of bad. Also if its tablet only wouldnt it be easier to call it some other name? like 1.0 for tablets? how would the upgrade path go for phones if this is 3.0, would phones jump from 2.3 to 3.1 or ?

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- 0 ViktorPrime 01/05/11 6:41 PM
  
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  since the market can weed out stuff that will not work with X.X version of Android we should a lot of 3.0 only versions of apps and games. my guess is that the phone side is still the 2.X till they can merge them together like Andy Rubin said at all things D awhile back
  
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- MeGuest 01/05/11 6:52 PM
  
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  They probably don’t have a phone version of this new design ready at the moment, so Gingerbread will probably remain the latest version for phones for a while. I don’t think they would fork it completely. Andy Rubin talked about how apps would behave on both tablets and phones using the new UI, so it will definitely end up on phones as well. They just need to… well… shrink it.
  
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GeezagameGuest 01/05/11 6:29 PM

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Come on, this was a deliberate leak by google as they couldn’t have another company (moto) showing off android 3.0 before them

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- tonyGuest 01/05/11 6:52 PM
  
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  I totally agree!!!
  
  Although I like learning about products way before they’re released, it sucks how it also gives the companies free advertizing.
  
  Almost every single leak we hear of is a planned leak, especially the playstation phone and the htc evo shift, which were leaked way too much.
  
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6 Gone 01/05/11 6:32 PM

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@Kris If I am not mistaken I believe Andy said at D: Dive into mobile that Honeycomb was for both tablets and smartphones..

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- SteffenGuest 01/05/11 7:38 PM
  
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  He absolutely did say that. I don’t know why people keep saying otherwise. He said something to the effect of, “The Honeycomb API’s will allow for one application to behave differently depending on if it was on a tablet or a phone.” I believe on the user side many of the built in functions like the Launcher and the Lockscreen will be different. But in general it will still be one platform for both tablets and phones.
  
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CometGuest 01/05/11 6:59 PM

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Great video. I want more. By the way to clear people doubts. Honeycomb is not just for tablets. Honeycomb was built with Tablets in mind. Google wants to make sure that the consumer understands that their not just scaling their Android smartphone OS to a bigger screen like we saw with the Samsung Galaxy Tab. They want the consumer to understand that their actually building specific functionality for tablet devices. It is Android with built-in Tablet support.
The Samsung Galaxy S2 is rumored to be an Android Honeycomb smartphone.

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MikeGuest 01/05/11 7:05 PM

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“Chat face to face with hundreds of millions of Google talk users”

I’d love to see the CPU handle that :-P

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- some internet dudeGuest 01/05/11 10:40 PM
  
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  Tegra 2 more than capable.
  
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IchigoGuest 01/05/11 7:16 PM

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I am always excited to see a new android OS but I think google needs to chill a little. I mean seriously, gingerbread just came out and they’re already planning on releasing honeycomb. I personally hope it is just designed for tablets and I hope they can do a gingerbread 2.3.1 or something, so they can focus more on polishing the OS and make it perfect like making Copy/paste work in the whole OS the same way, add some nice smoothness like in windows 7 or IOS.

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Waleed AlviGuest 01/05/11 7:21 PM

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if you also noticed, Google is trying to make Android a bit more mature with 3.0 there was no shot of the robot, they are not using the the green like they did with the other advertising, everything looks dark. i think that Google is going with a different approach with there tablet line.

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lazycoder9000Guest 01/05/11 7:52 PM

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SHIT JUST GOT REALLY FUCKING REAL =O

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frankGuest 01/05/11 7:56 PM

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i like it. Looks like it;s coming along nicely.

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marioGuest 01/05/11 8:07 PM

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I guess you have to be sort of a fanboy to get excited about that. Only thing I liked or looked great was Google maps. Other than that, it looks just as pointless as all the other tablets since I already have a top of the line android phone and a decent laptop… I just don’t get “tablet craze”

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- Jack Treton 463Guest 01/05/11 9:04 PM
  
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  i remember people freaked WOW OMG as they saw pics of gingerbread. WOW look at the greenish design its awesome. Now, nobody cares about gingerbread any more and the most believe its a disappointment.
  
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- bobbyGuest 01/05/11 10:50 PM
  
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  Tablets are about 5 times lighter and slimmer than laptops. Theyre great for entertainment and awesome for books especially college textbooks
  
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YomamaGuest 01/05/11 8:18 PM

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Holy crap! That sneak was epic. I just hope the actual devices work as good as that demo. If they do then it could b a game changer

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Poor samsung qualityGuest 01/05/11 9:01 PM

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Very confusing. I think honeycop will be a huge flop!

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k1ngcor3yGuest 01/05/11 10:39 PM

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Ben Johnson, GAGuest 01/05/11 10:44 PM

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Welcome to a new round of fragmentation! Google seems to leave another bunch of users in the dust. Again. Incoming uproar. This will drive even more frustrated androids to apple. Im welcoming you, welcome aboard.

cheers, ben

sent from my iPhone 4

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- That GuyGuest 01/06/11 4:58 AM
  
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  Actually, it will probably encourage a ton of satisfied android users to upgrade sooner than they would have expected. With the rate technology is evolving today I think that is to be expected. Way to go Google. Us geeks love the rate of innovation! (At least I do!)
  
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NateGuest 01/05/11 10:45 PM

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Ive seen a lot of people confused about what the version numbers will be for phones since this seems to be a tablet only OS. I was just thinking that maybe something like the even numbered OS verions are for phones and the odd numbered OS versions could be for tablets. Like phones get 2.x, 4.x, 6.x and tablets get 3.x, 5.x, 7.x.

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- 4 caffeinedependent 01/06/11 5:04 AM
  
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  You’re probably right there… there’s news out of CES that the version of Gingerbread on the Xperia Arc is 2.4
  
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- 5 Chris 01/06/11 10:57 AM
  
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  That would be fine and dandy if there were different versions for tablets and phones. But there aren’t, because that would be ridiculous.
  
  I’m not sure why people think that Honeycomb is a tablet-only version of Android. All it is is a redesign with tablets in mind, as Andy Rubin said that it would be coming to phones as well. I’d go into detail, but Comet already explained it nicely above.
  
  http://androidandme.com/2011/01/news/android-3-0-honeycomb-gets-an-early-video-preview/?#comment-80601
  
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22889Guest 01/05/11 11:36 PM

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I hope its a fake

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xpanzGuest 01/06/11 12:09 AM

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honeycomb will kill iOS?? Honeycomb, android 3.0 announced. http://bit.ly/gsGyX7

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- Claude TrichetGuest 01/06/11 12:30 AM
  
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  iOS is much much better and you can play games…iOS doesnt have severe SMS bugs like Android has
  
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  - 4 caffeinedependent 01/06/11 5:05 AM
    
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    Silly troll.
    
    You obviously haven’t tried setting an alarm on the iPhone recently then?
    
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0 antoniojr.chua 01/06/11 12:23 AM

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T-Mobile LG
http://antoniojrchua.wordpress.com/2011/01/06/261/

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Irfan SamuelGuest 01/06/11 12:55 AM

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So will there Android 3.0 devices announced in h1?

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Irfan SamuelGuest 01/06/11 12:56 AM

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So will there be Android 3.0 devices announced in h1?

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no thxGuest 01/06/11 1:23 AM

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3.0 < 4.2

iphone os is more advanced.

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- WTF!Guest 01/06/11 2:46 AM
  
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  Are you a phone and updated it once i could just skip to 5.0 does that make it better than the iphone or an android device? NO! your just another stupid iphone fan that loves the iphone because it has an i in it. How about you leave and do kiss apples ass.
  
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  - WTF!Guest 01/06/11 2:47 AM
    
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    Are you an idiot, if i made a phone and updated it once*
    
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RuhhssuhhllGuest 01/06/11 2:40 AM

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Who invited soo many iphone fanboys to android and me?

Honeycomb? Sign me up

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- ParadroidGuest 01/06/11 5:02 AM
  
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  Engadget. Oh, and that prick who writes for Techcrunch.
  
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6 pechano 01/06/11 4:28 AM

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I hope Google plan on releasing their own tablet in 2011, like they did with Nexus One for Android in general.

Most of all I hope I will be able to afford it. Damn this preview looks sweet.

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- HansGuest 01/06/11 5:01 AM
  
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  Isn’t that kinda what this is? In a way.
  
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  - 6 pechano 01/06/11 6:03 AM
    
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    No. This is a preview of Android 3.0, not a specific tablet. You know that carriers and OEMs will make their own custom UI and mess honeycomb up, just like they are doing on handsets.
    
    As far as I am concerned, HTC are the only ones who got it right. So I am basically hoping for a clean tablet from Google or something just as good from HTC.
    
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soronkGuest 01/06/11 8:09 AM

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http://video.golem.de/details/4201/google-zeigt-android-3.0-fuer-tablets.html
for better resolution…

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EdGuest 01/06/11 8:26 AM

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Is it just me or does it took quite laggy already! Android in my experience never flowed as nicely as iphone and I never get why…

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- Al BundyGuest 01/06/11 9:07 AM
  
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  Yeah I didn’t see CPU accelerated scrolling in that video which is what I’ve been hoping to have since the cupcake era.
  
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StellaGuest 01/06/11 10:19 AM

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I want my Honeycomb! The UI looks very nice and clean. I hope we get a Nexus Tablet (by HTC) in 2011.

For the iPhone fanboys/girls, you’re not helping with the discussion so move along.

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Paula WimberlyGuest 01/06/11 5:27 PM

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We all know the upcoming iPhone will blow this Honeytomb out of the water!!!

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Harry Grieme IVGuest 01/07/11 12:30 AM

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sorry but the tron theme video made me jizz

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jamesGuest 01/07/11 11:34 AM

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To be honest i dont think much of the scifi/tron look, IMO its a bit ugly and dated. On the plus size though its capabilities are way and beyond anything an ipad can do which is good.

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Android at heartGuest 01/08/11 12:13 AM

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Let’s assume honeycomb is formatted specifically for tablets… any insight as to whether common apps (i.e. dropbox) will have to be purchased twice in order to utilize on both my phone and tablet (as is the case with iOS)?

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RaptorGuest 01/09/11 1:57 PM

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Did you notice it’s always not perfectly smooth no matter what you do ?

Damn, these slates need 4 cores on 22 micron technology TODAY!

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