Android 5.0 Jelly Bean Operating System Coming in 2Q 2012

Tweet

A new report originating from Asia is suggesting that Google may be interested in launching its next-gen mobile operating system as soon as the second quarter of 2012. Known as Jelly Bean, Android 5.0 could be unveiled ahead of this year’s Google I/O event that takes place from June 27-29, if the report above is to be believed, which is somewhat rather strange.

Google’s Ice Cream Sandwich OS, or Android 4.0, has been launched in late 2012, and it’s currently available on around 1% of all the Android devices out there, with most of them being Nexus-branded handsets, the Nexus S and the Galaxy Nexus. Most Android device makers are not yet ready to update their existing flagship devices to Ice Cream Sandwich. In fact, some of them could deploy Ice Cream Sandwich updates after Jelly Bean becomes official, something Android users must surely hate. Not to mention that the plethora of Android devices that will be announced at MWC 2012 in just a few weeks from now will most likely run ICS when launched, and some of them could hit stores only in the second quarter of the year, again, after JB is unveiled.

We would have assumed that JB is coming out in late 2012 and not earlier, so why is Google bringing JB out well ahead of an expected launch? According to “Taiwan-based supply chain makers,” Google wants to see OEMs adopt Android 5.0 and Windows 8 in the same tablet PCs, although I’d be surprised to see Microsoft agree with such an arrangement:

Android 5.0 will be further optimized for tablet PCs, while Google will also integrate its Chrome system functions to push dual-operating system designs. Brand vendors can either choose to adopt only Android 5.0 or add Android 5.0 to Windows 8 devices with the ability to switch between the two OSes without the need to shut down the computer.

Through Android 5.0, Google also wishes to earn another chance to enter the notebook and netbook markets.

Such DigiTimes reports must always be taken with a grain of salt, as the publication has not always been right when reporting on such matters. However, it’s interesting to hear that Google would want its future Android 5.0 OS, a mobile platform based on a touch interface to run on notebooks and netbooks. Isn’t Chrome OS responsible for that? Is Google trying to merge Chrome OS and Android together? Not to mention that the notebook and especially the netbook market are not doing that great especially since a certain tablet came to town.

From a different point of view, Apple is certainly expected to introduce its own major OS update, iOS 6, at some point in the coming months and make it available to most iOS device users thereafter. With that in mind, I think it’s safe to say Google won’t be able to effectively take advantage of Android 5.0 no matter when it would launch it since OEMs will still not be able to properly deploy it. It’s because of all the differentiation in this mobile ecosystem, that Google wants us to believe it’s a good thing.