According to a video produced by Intel, the Gingerbread version of Google's Android operating system will be coming to Intel's Atom E series of microprocessors in 2012.
These particular Intel Atom processors aren't the kind that you'd find in a netbook (according to Carrypad), and are designed for "embedded" systems like touch-screen kiosks. But the fact that they're making an Intel version of Android suggests that an Intel-powered Android tablet may not be too far off.
An "Intel version of Android?" What does that even mean?
Because different CPUs process things differently, any programming code that you write has to be "compiled" to work on each kind of CPU that's going to run it. Long-time Mac users may remember the switch from PowerPC to Intel processors in 2006, and the Universal Binary logo that shows that an app will run on old and new Macs. They might also remember how the switch to Intel processors meant you could now install Windows on new Macs.
Right now, basically all Android tablets and smartphones use what are called ARM processors, which are a lot better at conserving battery life than Intel processors are. (So if you think your Android phone has terrible battery life now, just imagine what it'd be like with Intel Inside.)
So, wait. If Intel processors use up more power, why are Intel Android tablets a good thing?
They are for Intel.
So Intel's going to be making battery-hungry tablets?
Well, look at it this way: Intel's had like three years now to make a microprocessor that someone would want to use in a tablet or other gadget. The Atom processor in netbooks is as close as Intel has come so far, and netbooks have horrible battery life compared to tablets and smartphones.
This video suggests Intel might've finally bridged the gap, and made a processor that's worth considering for use in a tablet or other gadget. Now, the four areas of use that Intel suggests for devices using these processors don't include "consumer electronics," and it looks like Intel is pitching these things to companies that make stuff like workout equipment. But given that Intel makes processors for PCs, and the tablet is (for many people) the new PC, it makes sense to think of this as a step towards that goal.
One last thing. Why Gingerbread? Isn't that the version of Android for smartphones?
It is, and it's also the latest version of Android that's open-source.
Explain.
The programming code for Android is open-source, which (in Android's case) means anyone can look at it and do whatever they want with it. The big exception is the tablet version of Android, called Honeycomb. It's not open-source.
Intel needs to have access to the programming code in order to compile it to run on the Atom processor, so it had to be Gingerbread. If Google open-sources Ice Cream Sandwich, though, as it's expected to, then the Intel version will be caught up with the ARM one ... and will be a little more suitable for anyone who wants to make an Intel Android tablet.
Jared Spurbeck is an open-source software enthusiast, who uses an Android phone and an Ubuntu laptop PC. He has been writing about technology and electronics since 2008.
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