So we’ve just installed Google’s initial public-access preview of the tablet-focused Android 3.0 Honeycomb operating scheme, an early build of a platform’s SDK which features “non-final” code as well as APIs; it’s intended essentially for developers who wish to get the conduct begin upon making their inscription app dreams come true, but naturally, we indispensable to install it and take it for the exam drive ourselves. Here have been the discerning observations:Like Android SDK emulators before it, Honeycomb’s is extremely delayed — nearly to the indicate of inability in this box. We’ll give them the mulligan given this is the preview build, but severely, we wouldn’t suggest installing this unless you enjoy pulling your hair out.There appears to be a little sort of orientation bug which prevents us from starting landscape, which is what we really longed for. Sorry about which! We’ve shot the video sideways and rotated all of the images; if we’re able to figure it out or a newer setup is expelled with course properly operative, we’ll update.The browser looks great — specifically the UI, which is starting to have desktop browser users feel right at home maybe more than any other tablet browsing knowledge to date. As with the rest of a emulator, it was too delayed to really make use of — as well as it kept crashing upon us — but we’re digging the look.The scheme for adding as well as handling widgets is a happiness to use — it creates your complete desktop accessible from the singular screen, as well as we similar to the volume of detail you can preview for any widget before deciding whether to make use of it as well as where to place it.In general, a window animations and shade transitions seem cold, but nothing were smooth or quick sufficient in a emulator to know for certain. Jury’s still out until this gets faster or we’re using Honeycomb on actual tablets.We’re not in adore with the dim, squashed segmented monitor which Google is using for the time in the reduce right; we’re anticipating there have been copiousness of pick fonts available.Since the emulator doesn’t yield a “Google experience” build with access to a Android Market, Gmail, or other “branded” Google apps, we weren’t able to deep-dive upon how real-world applications are starting to look on a height — though with any luck, Motorola’s Xoom should be shipping inside of the few weeks. In the meantime, check out the video after the mangle!

Update: We’ve figured out a orientation pretence — you need to uncheck involuntary orientation in Settings, afterwards flip a emulator from landscape to portrait (counterintuitive, we know). We’ll be updating the media as soon as we can!

Update 2: Second video (in the scold orientation this time!) combined after the mangle.
Android 3.0 Honeycomb preview emulator hands-on

Via Engadget