Honeycomb, Google’s next version of its Android mobile operating system, could come with some hefty system requirements. A dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 processor and a display capable of a resolution of 1280 by 720 may be required, according to Bobby Cha, managing director of Korean consumer electronics firm Enspert.
The processor requirement alone would eliminate most existing tablets, leaving only devices using Nvidia’s Tegra 2 platform capable of meeting the requirement until other processor manufacturers release their own dual-core chipsets. This would fragment the nascent Android tablet space, with one set of less powerful tablets running Gingerbread and higher-end tablets able to take advantage of Honeycomb.
What this means for smartphones is also uncertain. Google’s Andy Rubin suggested last month that Honeycomb would feature the capability of displaying different views on different devices. But a dual-core processor requirement would leave behind all but future dual-core processor smartphones. Could there be a separate Honeycomb version for smartphones instead?
I have a feeling that the Honeycomb story is not quite over yet…