Ice Cream Sandwich Release Date: Developer Ports ICS to PandaBoard One Day After Source Code Release (VIDEO)
A port for the soon-to-be released Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich operating system surfaced less 24 hours after the source code for the OS was made available to the public.
YouTube user pfefferzlinaro uploaded a video demonstrating Ice Cream Sandwich on a PandaBoard, low cost tablets that developers use for program experimentation.
Outputting the interface to a high-resolution television screen, the video shows that Android 4.0 "transforms into a Honeycomb-esque tablet UI," according to technology website Phandroid.
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Industry Insiders believe the port could be the very first developed entirely from the Ice Cream Sandwich source code.
Developers are excited about the release of the new Android OS, as it is the first that is compatible with both tablets and smartphones and is the first tablet OS update since Android 3.0 Honeycomb. It is also Android's first release of a tablet source code.
Google noted the release of the Ice Cream Sandwich source code would allow developers to view the Honeycomb source code as well.
Previously, developers used Android smartphone operating systems, such as Android 2.3 Gingerbread and Android 2.2 Froyo, to program tablet ports. One notable port is the CyanogenMod 7 that many use to power the HP TouchPad.
No Ice Cream Sandwich port has been released to the public; however, many enthusiasts may continue to anticipate them now that the source code is public.
The CyanogenMod team has previously stated that an Ice Cream Sandwich port may not be available to the public soon.
"If the transition from Froyo (2.2) to Gingerbread (2.3) is a model, it may take several months from the release of the Ice Cream Sandwich source code before a viable port is available," said the team.
