Android Honeycomb 3.0 got a lengthy launch event last night, with Google lifting the lid on their tablet-tailored OS. You can now watch the entire shebang on (where else?) YouTube – worth it for the awkward video call with Cee-Lo alone!
After highlighting the range of new features included in Android Honeycomb 3.0, Google’s Hugo Barra took an “impromptu” video call from ex-Goodie Mob, Gnarls Barkley and current solo singer Cee-Lo. It didn’t really work.
You can see what Google was shooting for: the sort of celeb appearance that Apple often slips into its launch events (largely successfully). Cee-Lo makes for a pretty good choice of star, too: beloved by the mainstream but also possessed of underground cool, he has across-the-board appeal.
But would it have killed them to at least have rehearsed things a little bit? I know it’s supposed to be a “normal” example of a video chat but a few nervous questions from Barra and some stock answers from Cee-Lo (plugging his album and tour, natch) just made the whole thing look shoddy and slightly cringeworthy. The “golf clap” style applause from the attendees didn’t help. Worse, the video call rounded off the event, leaving the Android Honeycomb 3.0 launch on a low.
Still, it’s quite funny, so we suggest you give it a watch below. Skip to 50 minutes in for the Cee-Lo appearance – or indeed watch the entire thing and see what Google do much better: Android Honeycomb 3.0 is shaping up very nicely indeed.
