Android Honeycomb: Powerful and promising, but not perfect

Honeycomb is a whole different beast from the Android we've come to know. While previous versions of Google's mobile operating system were built for smartphones, Honeycomb -- also known as Android 3.0 -- is the first to be designed specifically for tablet-size devices. And seeing it in action, it certainly shows.

Motorola's recently launched Xoom is the first in a that'll run the Honeycomb OS. The Xoom has for its high-end specs: The tablet boasts a dual-core 1-GHz processor with 1GB of RAM. It has 32GB of internal , plus the option for additional storage via an integrated MicroSD slot. And all of that is housed beneath a beautiful (if slightly glare-prone) 10.1-in. display.

But the truth is, while the Xoom's hardware is impressive, it's the software that's the much bigger story. I took a long look at Honeycomb to see how it compares to earlier versions of Android and to its popular competitor, Apple's iOS for the iPad.

The home screen advantage

When you power up an Android Honeycomb tablet like the , you'll find yourself on one of the device's five available home screens. These home screens and the functionality they provide are among the most significant advantages Honeycomb offers over competing tablet platforms.

Where the iPad's operating system is basically a blown-up version of what you get on the -- static rows of square-shaped icons -- Honeycomb includes several features that take full advantage of the tablet's ample screen real estate.

Among the most useful features are the widgets, which are effectively live, functioning apps that run right on your home screen. You can have a widget for your e-mail, for example, that allows you to view and even scroll through your inbox. Other widgets let you browse your calendar, flick through news stories or see the current weather for your area, without ever opening a thing.

The idea of widgets, of course, isn't new to Honeycomb; as any Android smartphone user knows, widgets have long been a part of 's mobile operating system. With Honeycomb, however, widgets have become more interactive than ever -- you can now scroll, flick and interact within the widgets themselves. And given the large screen size of a tablet, their potential becomes far more significant.

On a single screen of the Xoom, for example, I'm able to simultaneously see my inbox, my upcoming appointments and my local weather forecast. I also have scrollable access to all of my Chrome bookmarks, synced continuously from my PC. I'd imagine that after growing accustomed to this kind of advanced-usage scenario, many users would be reluctant to return to the static environment a platform like Apple's iOS provides.

Honeycomb, like past Android versions, also affords you the freedom to use your home screen space as you see fit; you can drop any combination of widgets and app shortcuts where you like. The actual method for customizing is quite different in Honeycomb than in previous Android releases; while it may be an adjustment for Android phone users, it strikes me as a far more intuitive approach.

On an Android smartphone, adding a widget requires you to either long-press your home screen or tap your phone's "menu" button to find the command. Adding app shortcuts and changing wallpapers are separate processes.

In Honeycomb, on the other hand, you simply tap a "plus" icon at the top-right corner of the display to enter an all-in-one home screen customization tool. There, you find thumbnails for your five home screens, along with lists of every widget, app shortcut and wallpaper on your tablet. You can touch any item to select it and drag it onto a home screen. Then, on the home screen itself, you can touch and hold any item to move it around or eliminate it altogether.

Is it simple enough that a 2-year-old could figure it out? Not necessarily. But this is a tablet, not a toy -- and what you lose in foolproof simplicity is a trade-off for what you gain in powerful functionality.