Schmidt remained vague about the Google's plans for its operating system during his speech, saying only that the next version of the Android OS will have a code-name that starts with an 'I', will be named after a dessert, and will combine Gingerbread (which is for phones) and Honeycomb (which is designed for tablets).
It is worth noting that two of the three scraps of information Schmidt provided are nothing new, as Brighthand has previously reported that the next version of Android is to be called Ice Cream.
Combining the Two Editions
Google threw mobile users a curve last month when it announced that Honeycomb, also known as Android OS 3.0, is intended only for tablets. This left smartphone users wondering what their upgrade path from Android OS 2.3 (Gingerbread) is going to be.
When Schmidt referred to consolidating Gingerbread and Honeycomb, he could be hinting at the use of the previously revealed Fragments UI, which helps ameliorate the issue of screen size differences between the smartphone and tablet platforms.
The only thing Schmidt mentioned about timing is that the updates have been happening on a "six month cycle" -- again, something that was already widely known -- so this means that we could have a little while to wait before we see Ice Cream, seeing as Honeycomb has yet to officially launch, although it was officially announced in January.
Source: Brighthand
