Android 4.0 ICS Will Support USB Controllers
As with Android 3.x, the newer version AKA "Ice Cream Sandwich" will feature USB hosting for connecting USB-based devices like external hard drives and game controllers.
The Sony Ericsson Xperia PLAY won't be the only Android-based hardcore gaming smartphone for long, as Google's latest build of Android, aka "Ice Cream Sandwich," will fully support USB-based gamepads when it begins to roll out in the next few months. The news arrives by way of Android engineer Romain Guy via Twitter who said that "with Android 4.0, you can use USB gamepads and HDMI to turn your Galaxy Nexus into a video games console!"
USB hosting support actually arrived with Android 3.x "Honeycomb," but this will be the feature's first appearance on a smartphone. Tablet owners can actually connect with USB-based devices like an external hard drive, keyboard, mouse or an Xbox 360 controller to use with games and emulators. And until now, smartphone users had to rely on Bluetooth devices (Wiimote) and 3rd-party apps to incorporate any kind of external controller.
Given that Google has created a "one size fits all" OS with Android 4.0, it probably shouldn't come as a surprise that the feature will also be included on smartphones. And with native support, users seemingly carry a miniature PC in their pocket -- or in this case a miniature gaming console -- right out of the box... if the device sports an HDMI-out jack, that is.
Last week Google revealed a huge list of changes and improvements to Android with the upcoming release of Ice Cream Sandwich including native stylus support, resizable widgets, better multitasking, a revamped camera with tools, Android Beam for sharing content across two NFC-enabled devices, Wi-Fi Direct and more.
I know the controller may connect now but they might not register as game controllers. I need to try this out when i get home to see how it works now if at all.
replacing a monopoly with another. dumb.
Only one problem with that statement. Windows 8 runs on Arm. Don't think Intel is going anywhere anytime soon either. Their profit earnings is through the roof.
But let's not forget the whole purpose of these smartphones is to have an all-in-1 device.
You start adding accessories and you start losing the whole point.
Printing is already supported if you have a Ethernet-based printer. Simply install PrintBot or similar printing client and you can send the jobs to your printer (as long as you enable Wifi on your device and it is on the same subnet as your printer). I've never had any problems printing with my Xoom or my phone, even when I visit other locations (as long as I know the IP address of the printer, it works).
...so yeah.
Only one problem with that statement. Windows 8 runs on Arm. Don't think Intel is going anywhere anytime soon either. Their profit earnings is through the roof.
Disregard razorblaze42
linux is free or at least most is to the public
microsoft will never do one for free
And this is a good thing that we have an unchallenged monopoly for decades?
And Windows 8 isn't running on ARM yet. It's not running anywhere yet. It's still at least a year away. And also it is a big fat OS. And even if they optimize it for ARM and runs fine on tablets. Your dream applications like Photoshop, the full Office Suite, etc. won't be optimized for touch interfaces and they won't run properly on tablets at all.
What about the millions of people who don't have ethernet printers and want to use the USB support that is now being offered by ICS.
I think the questioner was alluding to the hope that printer manufacturers will start to offer Android drivers alongside the current standard offerings of Windows, Mac and Linux.
Now THAT would be cool.
Those applications know that Windows 8 with touch optimization is coming soon, you seriously believe that they don't already have a team of boffins working with Windows 8 already to knock out a new version just for that purpose?