YouTube, GMail and Maps have brilliant tablet-specific implementations that are building the foundation of a similar success for Android tablets. But there is a key application that has fallen short of adding to application-based success for Android: Google+.

Google's unwillingness to release Honeycomb source code has dismayed many. But, looking beyond what is probably a temporary disenchantment with the way Android is opened up through AOSP, we wonder: Is it still to Google's advantage to be so conservative about revealing Android source code and how tightly relationships with manufacturers are controlled?

Google just released a preview of the Honeycomb SDK. It includes an emulator that will run the Honeycomb operating system, so you can get a taste of what it will be like to use Honeycomb, and it includes SDK support for Honeycomb, so developers can get started writing Honeycomb application

Android created and/or coalesced all the major components needed for a wide range of embedded applications - especially those with a visual user interface - under one open platform with hassle-free licensing terms. Android's wide acceptance in mobile handsets means that every system integrator, every peripheral maker, and all other parts of the SoC ecosystem provide Android and/or Linux software support. Android, therefore, is poised to make large inroads in SoC-based systems outside of mobile handsets.