Android Ice Cream To Pull Google TV, Phone & Tablet Strands Into One

Google's apparent Android Ice Cream intentions may be broader than a bowl of the cold stuff, according to the latest rumors. In fact, the search giant is tipped to merge the AOSP of not only Android 2.3 Gingerbread and 3.0 Honeycomb, says GTVSource's tipster, but Google TV as well, creating one single project for all three code bases. And, so the source continues, it'll all be announced at Google I/O 2011 in May.Phandroid has waded in too, claiming to have heard that not only is the merge going ahead, but that the roadmap is the real reason – or at least one of them – why Google is yet to release the Android 3.0 Honeycomb source code. That decision is part of the company's controversial drive to reduce fragmentation, as well as the first step in ensuring apps for Google TV with minimal cross-platform frustration for developers.

For consumers, meanwhile, it should mean faster updates across the board, with Google only having to think about a single code base. Shifting Google TV onto ARM processors – just like handsets and slates – would also be a natural move as well. If they can get manufacturers to give up on unnecessary modifications, too, that could see Android's push into phones, tablets and the living room accelerate even further.

[via Android Community]