Updated: Android 3.0 rumours and latest updates

Now that Android 2.3 features are official, information about its successor, Android 3.0 – Android Honeycomb – is starting to emerge.

Here's what we know about Android 3.0 so far.

On 20 October, we reported that Android 3.0 tablets are rumoured to be heading out to engineers in time for Christmas. If true, this means that we'll see a whole bunch of tablets running Android 3.0 at CES 2011. It's possible, though, that these tablets could instead be running the recently announced Android 2.3.

Android 3.0 release date

Android 3.0 release date is looking like early 2011.

UPDATE: In a video on All Things Digital posted on 7 December Google's Andy Rubin showed off a prototype Motorola Android 3.0 tablet and confirmed that the Android 3.0 release date will be "some time next year".

Android 3.0 features and specifications

As we reported earlier in July, a Russian podcast details how Android 3.0 will be restricted to high-end handsets (and tablets). The podcast explained that Android 3.0 phones will require at least a 1GHz processor, 512MB of RAM and 3.5-inch or larger displays.

The feature list for Honeycomb is currently scant, but will include elements that didn't make it into Android 2.3.

Android 3.0 phones

One of the first Android 3.0 phones could be the Samsung Galaxy S2 if another rumour is to be believed. The leaked details of the Galaxy S I9200 claim a 4.3-inch screen with a resolution of 1280x720.

On 27 October 2010, reports appeared that Google was planning to release an Android 3.0 powered Nexus Two with Carphone Warehouse, although we now know that the next Nexus - called the Nexus S and available through Carphone Warehouse and Best Buy - is running Android 2.3.

It's also possible that the PSP Phone will be running Android 3.0.

Android 3.0 tablets

Acer has announced 7- and 10-inch Android tablets which are slated for release in April 2011. This means they'll almost certainly be running Android 3.0.

The prototype Android 3.0 Motorola tablet that Andy Rubin showed off is running on what Rubin described as Nvidia's "dual core 3D processor" - presumably this is a Tegra chip.

We'll bring you more Android 3.0 details as they emerge.