Google unveiled a new Android operating system, Android v3.0, codenamed Honeycomb, at the CES 2011 and Motorola XOOM is the first tablet to run Honeycomb. It is the groundbreaking, latest and greatest version of Android operating system, which is designed especially for tablets. It is capable of supporting 3D applications, multitouch and multitasking.
Android v3.0 is packed with lots of features like –

• Refined multi-tasking.
• Support for video chat using Google Talk.
• Support for multi-core processors.
• 3D desktop with redesigned widgets.
• Optimized tablet support with a new user graphical user interface.
• Hardware acceleration
• Web Browsers enhancements, including tabbed web pages, bookmark, private browsing, auto-fill, and syncing with Google Chrome.

Honeycomb was shown on Motorola XOOM 10-inch tablet, which is powered by micro Tegra dual-core Ge-Force chip with 4G support on Verizon Wireless network. The one thing you will notice is that there is no dedicated hardware button for menu options; instead, it will be displayed on the screen. The system is designed to support 2D hardware acceleration and superior graphics.
Google has redesigned the home screen, widgets and other graphical user interface functions, and has also re-imagined the lock screen in Honeycomb. They have redesigned the GUI of Honeycomb to make it more usable for tablet. The application bar on the top changes when you interact with different applications and objects. The homescreen of Android 3.0 takes full advantage of large screen of tablets, which means that there are many widgets on the screen.
The multitasking is a key feature of Android v3.0. Users have a quick access to the system status, notifications and virtual navigation in the System Bar, which is located at the bottom of the screen. Google has also redesigned the camera application to take full advantage of large-sized tablet screen and users have fast access to the several camera functions like zoom, flash, exposure, focus, etc.
When compared with Gingerbread and Froyo, Honeycomb is a beast that will give tougher competition to Apple’s iPad. Moreover, Android is an open source operating system and tablets manufactures are allowed to add their own layers to the operating system. Therefore, there are chances that we will see different variations of the operating system.
It has not been officially released yet, but it will be very interesting to see that if it would give a tough competition Apple’s iPad.