dave burke
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Google details some of the Honeycomb features coming to Ice Cream: action bar, 'hologram' visual style
Google has already confirmed that its Honeycomb and Gingerbread iterations of Android would be combined in the next version of OS -- dubbed Ice Cream by all accounts -- and it's now also providing a few more details about what Honeycomb features will be carried over to smartphones. Speaking to Phone Scoop, Google Android Engineering Director Dave Burke said that the contextual "action bar" at the top of the screen on Honeycomb tablets will be used on phones as well, but that the system bar at the bottom of Honeycomb might not make the transition. You can apparently expect the so-called "hologram" visual style of Honeycomb to carry over though, along with the multitasking app switcher that provides a snapshot of each app running. That's about all the details there are at the moment, but you can be sure we'll be digging for more.
Motoblur coming to Xoom as software update, still considered Google flagship product? (update)
Maybe you thought the Motorola Xoom would be devoid of -- or dare we say, spared from -- a coat of Motoblur. Being the inaugural Honeycomb device, you'd expect Google to keep the tablet as vanilla as possible (e.g. G1, Nexus One, Nexus S). Indeed, Android's director of engineering Dave Burke tells CNET UK that Xoom is a flagship product for Mountain View, but in the same reported meeting, Motorola's Jonathan Nattrass said Motoblur will be coming to the tablet as a software update. In what form? We don't know, but if we had to guess, it's gonna be much more isolated that previous devices -- special widgets, perhaps, and services for backup or tracking a lost slate. Let's play wait-and-see on this one, at least until the top bar gets a cartoonish blue aesthetic. Update: Motorola reached out to Phandroid to say that, yes, this is a "Google Experience Device" and as such, you should expect the platform and UI to be Google's. Doesn't exactly explain where Nattrass got his talking points, but for now let's call it a strong rebuttal and move on. Certainly we'll have a clearer picture once we can actually try Xoom / Honeycomb out for ourselves.
