Honeycomb To Have Minimum Specs... Require HD and Dual Core

[jaycemiskel]

I kind of wonder how the manufacturers are going to differentiate themselves because it seems a lot of these tablets have the same specs.

 

[Cdjones187]

I read that it requires a 7 inch screen. that would make it for tablets only so I strongly doubt if this is true.

It makes no sense that Google would release a version of a mobile phone OS that only works on tablets. It is simply ludicrous. If tablet manufacturers want their own special Google OS, they can use Chrome.

Honeycomb was built for tablets, that was said a while ago.... Chrome was originally supposed to be for tablets but didnt happen and thats why they made Honeycomb (there is a article on this from a few days ago, on this forum..)

 

[ilikemoneygreen]

In a way this could be true guys so dont down on it just yet... Rumors do start from somewhere.. Remember way back when they started on mins? Maybe the "phone" game downplayed honeycomb to froyo? It would give some ground for the rumors to start if that makes sense. I wont believe it until google says it but i sure wont be surprised if it turns out to be true.

 

[Big Ry]

I thought it was common knowledge that honeycomb was strictly a tablet OS? PC mag aside, look at the commercial for the upcoming motorola tablet...that essentially states that honeycomb is a tablet OS.

Sent from my DROID2 using Tapatalk

 

[furbearingmammal]

Honeycomb was what Google has been stressing for months is the tablet variant of Android. So who knows. This mysterious 2.4 might be the cellphone version of Honeycomb. We will have to see. Maybe some light will be shown on the whole issue at CES.

 

[Big Ry]

I couldn't be more excited for CES

Sent from my DROID2 using Tapatalk

 

[Stretch2m]

It makes no sense that Google would release a version of a mobile phone OS that only works on tablets. It is simply ludicrous.

I was thinking this too. Can you imagine the outcry from the Android phone public if they had to sit back and watch tablets get upgraded with a cool new OS while they sit gumming their stale gingerbread? The collective envy would probably be strong enough to name a new sin after it.

 

[RW-1]

Speculation. Done.

 

[GrillMouster]

I thought that Google said Honeycomb was optimized so that it would work well on a tablet, but that it would work on phones, too.

 

[deputc26]

I'd rather they worry about the UI/GUI... processors and display with take care of themselves with the market (i.e. competition) but having a dual-core and hi-res screen doesn't mean squat when the manufacturer ruins it with a crappy GUI overlaid (eg. blur, sense).

Exactly this.

 

[jhoward18]

What about ram

I dont care if a phone has a quad core processor, with out enough ram the phone is still going to be sluggish. We need a 1gb minimum for ram.

 

[GodfatherIP]

I dont care if a phone has a quad core processor, with out enough ram the phone is still going to be sluggish. We need a 1gb minimum for ram.

Agreed, I have the D1 and the #1 wish I have is that it had more ram. The phone is plenty fast enough but sometimes it gets bogged down from too little RAM. All new android phones should have at least 512mb or even 1gb as you suggest.

 

[kodiak799]

720p is pretty much the max viewable resolution for a cell phone. IPhone's retina display is a true retina display outside of 18", and it only has 2/3 the pixels of a 720p display. So 720p would seem a pretty aggressive min. requirement for cell.

But it is inevitable that eventually the OS is going to make older phones obsolete. You can't expect the OG Droid to run the full OS into perpetuity.

The dual core requirement, if true, is more interesting to me. With HDMI ports, dual core with 1gig+ of ram is going to make these phones viable netbook replacements (just hook-up an external monitor and keyboard). I bet docking stations will make this a very practical reality.

 

[kodiak799]

Agreed, I have the D1 and the #1 wish I have is that it had more ram. The phone is plenty fast enough but sometimes it gets bogged down from too little RAM. All new android phones should have at least 512mb or even 1gb as you suggest.

Ding ding ding! Overloaded home set-ups is the main problem, simply because we can. But that's the power of Android - I think it has far more potential for business power users than current adaptation of either BB or IOS.

However, I'm holding out not only for 1gig+ of ram but the dual core. The ability to plug in a monitor and keyboard and use my phone as an underpowered laptop in a pinch (we are talking specs that rival laptops of only 3-4 years ago, which is plenty for 95% of use excluding mostly video editing and resource intensive spreadsheets and powerpoint presentations).

That ability is a homerun for me. If I don't need a lot of computing power, the option to leave the laptop at home when I travel would be a refreshing convenience.

 

[kodiak799]

I kind of wonder how the manufacturers are going to differentiate themselves because it seems a lot of these tablets have the same specs.

That's why most of the cell mfrs are overlaying their own UI. We are seeing a similar approach in the PC world where even the components are pretty much all made by the same suppliers.

Everyone complains about the mfr UI's, but the reality is it's becoming extremely difficult to differentiate on hardware as we approach useable limits (i.e., more is mostly non-value added overkill). Granted, the potential to replace netbooks/laptops/desktops is another frontier, but as a cell phone the screen size limits what most users would comfortably perform on their phone so more and more power becomes redundant.

That forces mfrs to find other ways to differentiate. If they didn't, the phone becomes a commodity (just like the PC) and margins become razor thin. The money in the PC business is in software, and so expect mfrs to get into the software business via proprietary UI's and apps. That's really not a bad thing because it will provide choice and increased competition in software is also a good thing. The downside, from a user perspective, is that switching will become more costly to the extent you've paid for apps that won't transfer to another mfr's phone.