Honeycomb on the horizon

Google is coming up with Android Honeycomb soon and there's been a lot of good reviews on the net. Things are looking very promising. This early, I can say that I am definitely not going to buy an ipad. It just seems to be lagging in features—actually, as it always has.

High on the praise list for Honeycomb is how widgets don't have to snap to a wide grid. This means that your tablet is already starting to work more like how a computer's user interface works. There will also apparently be options at the top of the screen where you can toggle menus and other application options. Again, computer behavior floating to the top.

This is the most fluid Android OS I've ever seen by far. Check out this hands on video from TechCrunch:

The obvious fault of early Windows tablets was that it was a computer OS shoved into a tablet. The processing power in the tiny devices just wasn't strong enough, rendering these early renditions too slow. But beyond that, using them they just didn't feel right. It was a mouse and keyboard centric world trapped in a touch interface (they even wanted you to use a stylus).

Apple started it right. They picked a behavior and built the tablet around it. Even the applications were built specifically for how the tablet was used. Although they were immensely successful at creating a new category, they now have to evolve faster than Google.

Google is already moving in the right direction. The ipad just isn't fulfilling its potential. Although for some people, simplicity is a distinct advantage, when Google cracks how to fully maximize the tablet, opening it up to a universe of applications that the ipad just can't hack, Google's OS will rise the way Windows 3.1 once did.

It doesn't help that Steve Jobs is sick.

The future of the ipad will mean that MacBooks will be rendered obsolete. If you can edit photos and videos on an ipad, when they reach 15 inches and more, when they have the processing power neatly hidden in a thin sheet, why would you still need a laptop? Google's laptop quite frankly sucks and failed with the critics. They've got nothing to lose moving into this direction. Incidentally, it was earlier reported that ipad sales were actually bigger than MacBook sales in 2010. So it looks like this is really the way to go.

So the question now is, who will get there first? And remember, there are two dimensions to this race: operating system and hardware. Honeycomb is definitely getting close to the ideal state. If Google can keep this pace and decent hardware options appear, watch out Apple, the end is near.