Some rumors regarding Android 5.0 surfaced last week, making some bold claims about Jelly Bean’s role as a tablet OS and how it could co-exist with Windows 8. Now we’re hearing some new criticisms of those rumors, as well as new suggestions about just what Android 5.0 could bring new to the platform.

We had our doubts about last week’s rumors at the time we shared them with you, pointing out how re-fragmenting Android after ICS brought phones and tablets together again didn’t seem to make one iota of sense. Similarly, a dual-boot Android/Windows 8 tablet doesn’t seem like a product that would be in the interest of many manufacturers to produce. Eldar Murtazin seems to share our concerns, claiming in his latest column that such dual-mode tablets belong in the realm of fantasy.

The more interesting thing is what Murtazin suggests we might see Google deliver in Android 5.0. Instead of increasing the number of apps accessible on an Android device by having it also boot Windows 8, Murtazin thinks we might see programs add functionality by offering expanded versions for when your phone is docked. Like Motorola does with its Webtop devices running a full version of Firefox when docked, Murtazin thinks Google might embrace such an idea on a grander scale. In essence, deliver “desktop” versions of apps that only display as such when your phone’s connected to an external display or the likes of a keyboard and mouse.

For the moment, this sounds like a lot of speculation. That said, it’s a neat idea that we really might see get some play in future years, especially as more people migrate to using their phones as their primary computing devices.

Source: Mobile-review (Google translate)

Via: Unwired View