Google executives have said that Android tablet manufacturers and application developers will have to wait until the release of the Android 3.0 operating system before they are able to fully develop Market Place applications that are specifically designed for a new range of tablets currently being released into the Australian market.
According to Hugo Barra, director of products for mobile at Google, one of the reason for the lack of tablet specific applications is screen size and resolution.
Both the new Samsung Tab and the Toshiba Folio which is due to be released in Australia are built using Android 2.2 which has an upper resolution limit of 854 by 480 and limited pixel density.
For example, high density displays with 240ppi can support WVGA (480 x 800) on devices with screens measuring 3.3 to 4.0 inches across the diagonal. Those numbers change to 3.5 to 4.0 inches for screens that have FWVGA (480 x 854) resolution.
Information on the Android developer’s site reveals that lower density displays can stretch larger than the high density ones. For example, WVGA (480 x 800) screens with 160ppi can span 4.8 to 5.5 inches, and FWVGA (480 x 854) screens can read 5.0 to 5.8 inches across the diagonal.
This is why so many of the Android devices with 4-inch screens have the same resolution as those with 3.7- and 3.5-inch screens.
In their launch press release Samsung claims that their recently announced Samsung Galaxy Tab has a 7-inch screen measuring 1024 x 600 pixels. However, this resolution is not supported by the current operating Android operating system.
Barra said, “If you want Android market on that platform, the apps just wouldn’t run, [Froyo] is just not designed for that form factor. We want to make sure that we’re going to create a application distribution mechanism for the Android Market, to ensure our users have right experience.”
Currently the iPad has 25,000 applications that have been designed to run on the iPad. Consumers who buy a new Android tablet between now and late in 20111 will not be able to access any applications that have been specifically designed for an Android tablet say Google.
