When your tablet needs a windowed UI, has it crossed some undrawn, implied boundary that makes it too complex for the kinds of casual tasks you'd want to accomplish on a tablet? Hard to say, but the mobile developers at Ixonos took to MWC last week to showcase a windowed build of Android on top of a tablet developed by Aava -- so at the very least, we know it's possible. The system is built atop Froyo and allows apps to continue running in the background -- they don't suspend, which means you can, say, play a video while you're off composing messages. The company also demonstrated the software on a dual-screen 7-inch tablet, allowing apps to be launched on either screen and transferred between them -- all seemingly without any customizations needed to individual apps, which is going to be key for a system like this to gain any market traction. Follow the break for Ixonos' press release and demo video.
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Ixonos Showcases an Innovative Android Solution With Inspiring User Experience at Mobile World Congress 2011
HELSINKI, February 14, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Ixonos, a world leader in creating wireless technologies, software and solutions for mobile devices and services, showcases its broad Android capabilities at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on 14-17 February 2011.
Ixonos demonstrates an innovative Android-based multi-window solution, which runs on various popular hardware platforms. The solution is demonstrated on a tablet developed by Aava Mobile as a multi-window system, which enables the use of several applications simultaneously, for example the viewing of messages and calendar side by side.
"The multi-window solution brings Android user experience to a whole new level. Running the solution on a device with a 7-inch or bigger screen allows for new efficiency in handling daily tasks. The user can now see the whole workspace at one glance and run multiple applications at the same time," explains Mr Vesa Metso, Director, Key Customer Accounts, Android, at Ixonos.
Ixonos has also made the multitasking user experience available on a dual-screen configuration. This takes multitasking use cases even further by enabling the device to be used like a laptop, with a touch pad QWERTY keyboard below the second activity window, or as a highly-advanced two-screen tablet, where both screens are used either for different activities or the activity is expanded across both screens.
"Multitasking is a functionality people expect from superior user experience and two-screen tablet devices are now debuting the market. With our solution, multitasking is the norm for tablets. Moving from one application to another is quick and easy, and the user can move applications or activities from one screen to another. This truly takes efficiency to new heights," Mr. Metso adds.
The multitasking solution has been developed at Ixonos' Android Competence Centres in Europe, demonstrating Ixonos' deep know-how of Android components and modules.
