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  • Posted byby Tim

#TBT: Unboxing Our First Google I/O Gift, the Galaxy Tab Running Honeycomb

We are here at Google I/O 2016 in Mountain View, reminiscing about the fun times we have had celebrating all that is Android. We were thinking hard, remembering all of the goodies Google has given out over the years to attendees, only because it seems Google has no gifts to share with folks this year. There has been phones, tablets, Nexus Q door stops, and plenty of smartwatches. One Google I/O gift stands alone, though, and that’s the first gift we received for attending Google I/O in 2011. That is the limited edition Samsung Galaxy Tab, running Android 3.0.1 Honeycomb. 

At the time, it was pretty bleeding edge Android tech, but now in 2016, it’s seen as a cheap piece of plastic and nothing too fancy. Kellen decided to do a hands-on with the device after receiving it, showing off the differences between it and the Motorola XOOM tablet. As you will see in the video, things weren’t as professional as they are these days, but it was still a blast.

Take a moment to remember that the Google Talk app was a real thing, as well as that cringeworthy Honeycomb UI. Woof.

Written by

Tim

Stumbling upon Droid Life randomly after purchasing a Motorola DROID in late 2009, then setting out to learn everything he could about Android, Tim quickly became an integral part of the site's comment section. After quite some time of strictly commenting on Droid Life, Tim was offered an opportunity to write feature stories for the site, such as custom ROM overviews, as well as interviews with Android community members. Following success of those, Tim became a full time writer and editor for Droid Life, now spending his time on news articles, device reviews, producing videos, and much more. Tim currently resides in Portland, OR with his longtime girlfriend and two wonderful dog children (Loki & Thor). In his spare time, Tim enjoys playing guitar, drinking coffee, practicing photography, and destroying kids on Call of Duty.

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31 Comments

  • I’m really surprised they didn’t give away a touchscreen Chromebook to test Android apps with or at least a voucher to get the new home device. Kind of felt like Christmas morning with no presents under the tree. It was a tremendous event though.

  • Am I the only one who really liked the Honeycomb-style tablet UI? It’s not cringeworthy IMHO, I think it’s one of the best things Google has ever abandoned

  • Traded an ipad for one of theses (the i/o edition) and the wife is still using it.

  • I bought the Galaxy Tab 10.1 running Honeycomb back in 2011 and am actually still using it today. Great piece of hardware back in the day; in fact, running CM13 with 6.0.1 Marshmallow and still kickin’!

  • I am kind of disappointed that Google didn’t give out free stuff. I remember the days of when Google was generous with their givings. I loved my Cr-48!

  • The good ol’ days when Talk was the only Google messaging app to complain about.

  • G was smart to release Honeycomb and then subsequently quickly put it to bed for ICS. Why can’t they do that with other products?

  • In 10yrs you all will look back and see the Google Glasses (the cheap plastic ones from this yr) and say how cool they looked, after everyone’s eyeballs are replaced with hologram emitters.

  • Daaaaanng, I loved Android’s tablet layout back in the day. My Asus TF300 was awesome.

  • I bought the OG galaxy tab with Honey Comb. In order to get 3.1 I had to accept Samsung skin and that’s when I decided I will never buy another device with touchwiz.

  • I have this in my collection drawer. 🙂 Not worth selling, but not worth using anymore. I loved the Androids on the back.

  • Had that tablet. It was damn good looking compared to the regular. Good times…

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  • And this is why i love android..progress..progress..progress..to think this was 5 years ago..

  • Cringeworthy because of the dated looking holo ui, but I do miss real tablet mode. Kind of feel like it would be pretty bad ass in material design

      • Yeah pretty much what I said. But still give that UI a material makeover in a hypothetical situation where they never ditched it and were still using it and it would look great

        • Id prefer a further developed KitKat than a now further developed lollipop. Nexus 5 on KitKat was the pinnacle of Android design to me

  • the one thing i try to impress on folks is it hasn’t been that long since we got the platforms that we now love (and fight over)…i have to shake my head when my pops breaks out his samsung captivate (running CM11) to make a call…to him it’s just a phone…to the rest of us it’s like a relic from prehistoric times.

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