Live Blogging The Google Android 3.0 “Honeycomb” Event

I’m here at the Googleplex in Moutain View, where any minute, Google plans to update the world on all things Android. We expect news about Android 3.0 — “Honeycomb” — and perhaps Android tablets. Stay tuned.

Andy Rubin, leader of all things Android is up, saying we’re going to hear about Honeycomb, the Motorola tablet will be shown and news on the Android market will come.

Andy’s excited how much Android has grown, all the devices he found at CES. “With open source, you don’t really know what people are going to do with it, and all the innovation doesn’t just happen on this campus.”

In the demo later, we’ll see how Google’s cloud services tie together all the application. Lose your tablet or device, and the cloud brings it all back.

In the future, a real seamless integration between phones tablets and even Google TV, which is powered by Android.

Believes Google’s Android team is the hardest working team in mobile. Really appreciate it if they get mentioned when talking about Android.

Hugo Barra is up now up Google trying to enable with Android rapid development. But first, and overview of Honeycomb and tablets. Theres now a back button, a home button and a way to get visual previews of current apps. Rest of the screen is dedicated to apps.

Widgets can be backed by collections of data. Shows a “stack” widget that allows to flip through sports info, books and so on. Sorry, I’ll try to add pictures later.

From user perspective, about quick and easy access to important information.

Headphone notification that while music is playing, easy to click on this (notification area is a small taskbar along the bottom of the screen), so he can easily enlarge the music player and change songs, volume.

There’s a similar option for wifi control — thing very much like the Windows task bar.

Worked very hard to ensure Android apps out there now will work on Android tablet. Showing example of Fruit Ninja, which is playing just fine on Honeycomb even though not written for it.

Have added “application fragments.” Showing Gmail, and how as you click, the panels shift all around. If you’ve used Twitter in the iPad, think that. Developers can do this for anything, plus make it work easily on tablets.

Says easy to drag and drop material. At top, there’s an application bar that can be bundled into an application fragment.

Performance. Lost of work to improve 2d and 3d. RenderScript (or maybe two words) is a new way of dealing with graphics being introduced, easy to flip through things like videos or books or music. Possible to do maps and easily see 3d view.

Now we have Thomas (didn’t catch last name) from Wardroom (maybe) Studios showing Monster Madness, a PSP game they’ve brought over. Another one is coming too. These look cool.

Now Hugo is back, showing how the camera works, taking a picture of the audience. Now he’s showing how video chat works. He’s contacting “ladykiller” who we’ll apparently know in a second, he jokes. But there’s a glitch, so we quickly see a call to a Googler elsewhere.

Now Louis Gump (?) from CNN comes up to show a Honeycomb app. Why are there no speaker slides to show names and titles? He’s VP of mobile I think from CNN.

CNN is giving out a free app, flip through stories, pictures, get live video coming in.

In the iReport app, which someone else is now showing, you can take pictures or video and then upload send right into CNN.

OK, Chris Buerger up now to talk about Android Market. Announcing release of Android Market Web Store, new way to get apps on devices. Up until now, only way to get was using the client on your phone. With today’s release (URL to come) you can browse everything and install to device direct from web.

You get top paid, top free, featured apps. Showing how each application has a details page, user reviews, application screenshots.

If you buy, easy to pick which device to send to (if you have multiple phones, tablets). Only devices that can use the app will be listed.

Easy to share application pages with friends or yes, you can tweet them with a built-in tweet button.

If you get a link via your phone, rather than the web, it “does the right thing” and takes you to the Android Market client on your phone, rather than to the web store.

There’s way to list your devices, give them nicknames, what they have. As someone who has had to deal with multiple Android devices in the past, that’s pretty cool.

Bart, last name I didn’t get, from Disney Mobile is now up — he’s the ladykiller person we tried to reach before. Radio Disney, all the kids love it apparently (mine so far refuse), now it’s coming to Android.

In spring, Jellycar is coming. And Tap Tap Revenge comes to Android in spring, too. Here’s it being played:

And here’s finally the ladykiller video chat finally working, rapper Cee-Lo Green turning up for a quick talk.

And that’s the event. Please also see our news story our of it, Honeycomb Puts Android Tablets On Nearly Equal Footing With iPad.