Android Honeycomb rumoured to require dual-core processor
And a high-def 720p display
Most of us haven’t even gotten our mitts on Android’s Gingerbread OS update yet – heck, I’ve only recently received FroYo – yet the internet rumour mill has now turned its attention to Android 3.0, a.k.a. Honeycomb.
It’s long been suggested that the focus for the next Android version would be tablets. A rumour has now emerged that you’ll need some pretty meaty specs to run it.
According to Bobby Cha of Enspert (a Korean consumer electronics company), Honeycomb will initially only be permitted to run on devices sporting a dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 processor. This would include the Tegra 2 chip that’s set to power a good portion of high-end Android devices in 2011.
According to Cha, a whopping 1,280x720 screen (that’s an iPhone 4-topping resolution, folks) might
also be a requirement.
Cha says that component costs are set to plummet over the coming months, which will allow the low end of the market to enter into the dual-core spirit of things.
Given that Google is already having to fight the issue of fragmentation among its many Android devices, we’re taking this rumour with a pinch of salt - especially as the company has only recently released its new flagship smartphone, the Nexus S, which runs on a single-core Cortex A8 processor.
Still, a multi-tiered OS is a possibility, with some advanced functionality locked away from single-core tablets and smartphones. How would you feel about that?
PC Mag