Today Google held its Android 3.0 event, where the company gave us more details on their new tablet-focused OS as well as some other surprises. First up, the company used a Motorola XOOM to demo new widgets that will be used on 3.0, as well as a new camera UI and an unobtrusive notification system in the lower right corner of the diaply that can, include photos, like of a contact that just emailed you. Next up, Google explained Renderscript, which is the system used used to help create 3D animations in apps like Google Maps, Google Body, and various games made for Android. Google Talk Video Chat was next up, although things didn't quite go as planned initially (thanks, "Lady Killer"). The good news is that you shouldn't have any trouble using the Video Chat while out and about, as Google said that the app will be easy on bandwidth for use on cellular networks.
Although this certainly isn't the first time that we've seen Honeycomb in action, I have to say that everything looked pretty smoothly to me. The tablet-friendly widgets looked really great, and the notification system seems like the antithesis to what's available on iOS. The Video Chat demo seemed a little laggy to me, but I'll wait until I can actually try it out for myself before making any final judgments. What did you all think of the demo? Are you even more excited for the XOOM and G-Slate now?
(Image via Engadget)
