Android 3.0 hardware specifications confirmed

Google has released Android 2.2 Froyo and the Google Nexus One has already received the new update while other handsets wait patiently in line until they get their share of the newest version of Android.

However Google has already shared some information on their next version of Android which should come with version 3.0 and be codenamed Gingerbread.

From the exiting news, it looks like Android 3 will focus on larger devices and may be excluded from smaller handsets all together. A look at the requirements and the specifications makes me think that this is indeed likely.

• It will be released mid-October 2010. Just in time Black Friday and the holiday season rush.
• Minimum Recommended Hardware requirements: 1Ghz CPU, 512MB RAM, 3.5" displays and higher. As of now, the majority of handsets do not fall whithin the minimum, allowing the new OS to focus on bigger systems, namely tablets.
• 1280x760 resolution available for screens 4" or bigger.
• Overhauled user interface. UnwiredView.com compares it to the Gallery App on Android 2.2, just throughout the whole UI.
• Less reliance on third-party UI shells like HTC's Sense or Motorola's MotoBlur.

Most of the features are in line with modern Android Handsets, however the resolutions puts all the devices shy of getting a Android 3 update. It is questionable if these devices will be updated past 2.2 or if they will get a separate version of the 3.0 OS. Like iOS did with the iPhone and the iPad.
There is also the questions Google's Chrome OS' role in the devices of the future. Will tablets and net-books play separate roles and require such diverse OS' to run. We will have to wait in the months to come with Android 3.0 set to come before the end of this year.

[UPDATE] Looks like the rumors on the upcoming Android version have been a little misleading. Some clarifications have been made, and it looks like Android may be a possibility for some of the current devices. In any case we know the Nexus One will be the first in line if Android is made available to it.