Google Hangs On to Honeycomb - Analyst Blog
1:33p ET March 25, 2011 (Zacks.com)
Businessweek reported that Google Inc (GOOG) will not immediately release the source code to its Android 3.0 OS, or Honeycomb, as it is better known. Google said that this was done to restrict Honeycomb use to tablets. By way of explanation, Google said that in its haste to deliver a suitable Android OS for tablets, the company had taken certain short cuts that could impair its performance on smart phones.
While critics have jumped on Google, saying that the company’s open source policy is in fact closed, there is nothing exceptional in the process. Google usually delays the release of the source code, while it fine-tunes the application programming interface (“API”). In the meantime, the company released the code to the members of the open handset alliance (“OHA”). The code is also available to other hardware makers on condition that they sign an agreement with Google.
This is not necessarily a negative, since protection of the code in the initial stages increases the chances of a better coupling of hardware and software, which improves user experience and prevents dilution of the Android brand name.
Therefore, while the delay could set back some developers, there will be no holding back the Xoom tablet released by MOTOROLA MOBILITY (MMI) last month (except that it is exorbitantly priced) or tablets from Samsung, Dell Inc. (DELL), HTC and Acer later this year.
On the other hand, speculation is rife regarding a possible splitting of Android, creating one strain optimized for phones and the other for tablets. This could be something of a headache for developers, since they would have to write two versions of each application, compared to Apple Inc’s (AAPL) iOS, which is the same across the iPhone and iPad platforms.
We still tend to think that there may not be reason for dissatisfaction, since the split may be expected to improve user experience, which will drive sales and thus revenue for software developers. Additionally, Android is growing rapidly, so the separate markets for smartphones and tablets should be quite big, making the effort worth the trouble.
Negative sentiment has been piling up on Google over the last few months, as the company received an adverse ruling in the Books deal and is up against strict regulatory scrutiny on privacy and competitive concerns.
We have a short-term Sell rating on Google shares (Zacks Rank #4), while Apple is rated Hold (Zacks Rank #3) and Dell Strong Buy (Zacks Rank #1).
Just kidding. hehe. Looking back I wish I had gotten the wifi only version of my pad. I would have saved a few bucks. One thing I disabled was the email. I got tired of deleting the spam. I can turn it back on if need be. As someone who never had an Apple anything I was not a happy camper to start out with, but folks around here helped me a lot. Especially in the "Why this?" department. Thanks again guys. 
