Android Ice Cream Sandwich Made Official

Android Ice Cream Sandwich was just announced moments ago at Google I/O 2011. It’s okay to be excited as it looks to be an amazing release and the greatest change of Android to date. The main component of Ice Cream Sandwich is choice meaning that you can choose between any Android platform and the OS will work. Android 3.1 the update to Honeycomb will be coming to Google TV along with the market this summer and in Q4 when Ice Cream Sandwich is released smartphones, tablets, and Google TV will all be running the same OS and run on the same SDK.

Changes We Can Expect

Along with the combination of all three major Android platforms, Ice Cream Sandwich will bring Honeycomb’s Holographic UI to smartphones. It will include the updated application multitasking feature available in Android 3.1 that not only previews you open apps but previews all of your recent apps in the last state, so that you can seamlessly switch back and forth without impacting performance. The action bar present in Honeycomb will also appear on phones and will automatically adjust itself for your specific screen size.

Another new ability that the OS will feature is centered around the Camera and 3D functionality. For video calling with multiple people present instead of having a zoomed out view of your friends and family, the update now has the ability to easily detect who is talking and zoom in on just that person. When another person begins to speak they now become the focus of your callers view. Since the camera can now detect not only your head but facial features and motion, it has the ability to adjust the 3D picture on-screen along with movement. Basically if you move up and to the left the scene moves down and to the right displaying exactly would you would expect according to your movements.

Ultimate Media Experience

Ice Cream Sandwich will also come with the recently announced Movies and Music services with cloud connectivity making connecting your media on all of your devices instantly and OTA. With the addition of these services and the improved look and functionality of the OS the Android Platform is moving to another level. It will be the first to seamlessly integrate all of electronic media devices with one OS and one SDK for which developers need to design for.

The new changes will make application development faster, provide a seamless experience no matter which device you are using, and utilize the cloud in new ways that you never have to worry about where your media is stored as long as you have an internet connection all of your media travels with you. I for one am excited with today’s announcement and look forward to hearing more details about what Android Ice Cream Sandwich will bring come Q4. Keep checking back for all of your Google I/O 2011 related news.