Fragmentation is a frequent complaint of Android developers, and the issue came up again during a Q&A session at the Mobile World Congress. When asked to clarify Google’s many different operating systems, executive chairman Eric Schmidt said that the company would merge “Gingerbread” (Android 2.3, optimized for smartphones) with “Honeycomb” (Android 3.0, optimized for tablets) in the next Android release. That release will likely be codenamed “Ice Cream” or “Ice Cream Sandwich.”
Perhaps more surprisingly, Schmidt also said the company would eventually combine Android and Chrome. “Chrome OS is unrelated to mobile phones. Chrome OS is for netbooks and PCs.” said Schmidt. But he added, “Over time, we’re working on merging them.”
