With Microsoft's Mango update and Apple's iPhone 5 slated for an October release, it's no wonder that Google wants Android 2.4 on devices during that same timeframe.
BGR has reportedly received word that Google is pushing to get Android 2.4 "Ice Cream Sandwich" out the door by early October.
Although no sources were specified, the report claims that Google wants the OS on the market in time for Apple's launch of the supposed iPhone 5 in the later September / early October window. The fear is that potential customers coming out of their 2-year contracts – especially those of us who signed up for the original (and now horribly decrepit) Motorola DROID – may find themselves drooling over the new Apple smartphone.
The big deal with Google's rather ambitious Ice Cream Sandwich build is that it promises to help eliminate Android's frustrating fragmentation. The OS will supposedly work seamlessly across various devices including smartphones, tablets and computers – possibly Google's answer to Microsoft's upcoming Windows 8 platform.
"Our goal with Ice Cream Sandwich is to deliver one operating system that works everywhere, regardless of device," the company said back in May. "Ice Cream Sandwich will bring everything you love about Honeycomb on your tablet to your phone, including the holographic user interface, more multitasking, the new launcher and richer widgets."
Right now all eyes are seemingly pointed at September and October as the battle between the Big Three heats up. Microsoft's big Mango (7.5) update is slated to arrive on Windows Phone 7 sometime around mid-October, packing around 500 new features including Twitter integration, multi-tasking, Internet Explorer 9 and more. And as previously stated, Apple's iPhone 5 and next-generation iPod Touch is slated to arrive in the same window.
That said, it's understandable why Google would would push for an October launch. So far the company hasn't announced anything official, so stay tuned.
You find that in tablets not the cellphones. Anyway, I just hope mobile companies push this update to android phones promptly.. not wait forever...
Maybe it's version 4.
Android code name start off with 1.5-Cupcake 1.6-Donut 2.1-Eclair 2.2 Froyo 2.3-Gingerbread 3.X-Honeycomb and then Ice Cream Sandwich. The next version after Ice Cream Sandwich should begin with a "J". Jelly Beans anyone?
Mangoes are bland tasting. Windows Phone 7 is the worst selling mobile OS available right now. Android is named after tasty foods. It also happens to be the most popular mobile OS in existence. Get my point?
That was what made me switch to the HTC Incredible, and then iPhone 4. It was amazing how different the experiences were between the Incredible and the Droid - the Incredible was faster but bloated with Sense, while the Droid was slow but almost ran a vanilla version (updates murdered performance though). I know several people (average consumers) who hate their Droids and are looking to switch to iPhones.
I find it odd that Ice Cream Sandwich is intended to "eliminate Android's frustrating fragmentation," but with the rate at which carriers update phones, it is just going to further it. Google needs to call up the phone carriers (no pun intended) and work out something with them so that ALL devices are updated; otherwise the fragmentation will self-perpetuate with future OS versions.
I think you're literally comparing mangos to ice cream sandwiches; most of the discrepancy is due to the number of phones. There are only a handful of WP7 devices (only one on VZW, the Trophy), but there are many more Android options and it's been around significantly longer. I'm actually tempted to try a WP7 phone once more come out, because I'd like to experiment with the W7-WP7 connectivity. I need more options than the HTC Trophy though.