Rumor suggests February 2 launch event for Honeycomb

Sources say that Google is planning to officially lift the veil on Android version 3.0, otherwise known as Honeycomb, in just two days.

Beginning on Friday, technology publications received invitations for an event at Google’s corporate headquarters. While stopping short of saying exactly what would be announced, it did include an image of what is apparently the new Honeycomb logo – a bee.

Google has been touting Honeycomb as the version of Android optimized for tablets. Devices such as Motorola’s Xoom are expected to be the flagship products for the new OS.

There has even been speculation that Android 3.0 will only be used in tablets instead of smartphones.

However, other reports suggest 3.0 will be a giant reset button for phones. If these are to be believed, no current Android phones will be upgradeable to the new version, and all future devices with 3.0 will have to meet much stricter guidelines.

The idea would be to make Android fragmentation a thing of the past, by imposing much more stringent requirements on the hardware of new Android handsets.

Google still plans to support current handsets, with the next step for many devices to be upgraded to Android 2.3. There has already been leaked information about Android 2.4.

But in any event, all eyes will be on Honeycomb on February 2.