3:30 PM -- In addition to announcing an online Android Market, Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) showed off its Honeycomb operating system update at an Android event Wednesday. (See Android Gets an Online Market.)

Despite what Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) says, the OS, designed specifically for tablets, could give the iPad a real run for its money if the hardware is up to par too. (See Apple Slams Tablet Rivals as its Q1 Soars.)

Here's just a few reasons why:

• The new user interface is intuitive and interactive, and brings data-driven widgets into the mix
• A new button specifically for multitasking
• A new set of developer APIs mean that apps will be built especially for tablets, not ported from smart phones
• The RenderScript graphics engine makes videos 3-D
• Detailed notifications add to the experience, not interrupt it
• App Fragments -- actually a good thing, they let users see different views of apps like Gmail
• Gmail!

Now the big question is, what will iOS 5 bring with it?

— Sarah Reedy, Senior Reporter, Light Reading Mobile