Android 5.0 Jelly Bean Gains Motorola Desktop Mode

If you've used a Motorola Android device over the past year or so, you've very likely experienced Motorola's own "webtop" mode, this allowing your smartphone a desktop-like interface when plugged into an HDMI-capable display. The tip comes from Staska of Unwired View who notes that information he's gathered leads to the idea that Android 5.0 will have a desktop mode which activates whenever the device is plugged into a larger display. Could this have anything to do with Google's recent near-complete deal in which they're acquiring Motorola Mobility? It certainly would allow them to avoid patent suits should they actually make a desktop mode!

The next version of Android is almost certainly going to be called Jelly Bean simply because of the naming conventions that Google has adopted for Android. Treats at every level, starting with Donut, going to Eclair, FroYo, Gingerbread, Honeycomb, and now Ice Cream Sandwich – so named because it combines the smartphone and tablet versions together in one. Now the next treat will be Jellybean – because what else could it be? And the next generation will be version 5.0. If it'll be coming out soon, that's a different question altogether.

Though what we've seen from Motorola thus far with their webtop interface has worked out much better on paper than it has in a real working environment, it may very well have seemed enticing enough to bring it to the next level with Google's next version of Android. I can't in good faith say it makes any sense to release it here so very soon after they've brought Ice Cream Sandwich to the forefront – but perhaps by the end of the year. You never know!

Have a peek at this demo of webtop as it existed in late 2011 and see if you think it's viable for the future of all Android devices. Will Google be able to spruce it up enough to make it a wide release? We hope so!

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[via Unwired View]