With the Raspberry Pi working nicely with a selection of Linux builds, it was only a matter of time before somebody started tinkering with the Linux-based Android that we all know from smartphones and tablets.
Naren at the Raspberry Pi Foundation has been beavering away at making a port of Android 4.0, aka Ice Cream Sandwich, for the super-cheap microcomputer. In a blog post we’ve been shown the progress, with some snaps of Android 4.0.3 running on the device.
There’s still a way to go from what we’re told, with one key components still needed to make the build complete. Hardware accelerated graphics and video are working smoothly according to the testers, but they still need to get AudioFlinger working, which means there’s little to nothing in the way of sound right now.
Development of an Android port for the Raspberry Pi has been underway for some time now, but has been kept “hush hush” due to the way it’s been built. This Android build uses a completely different kernel and VideoCore binary image to the usual software made for the Pi, and until they get it working nicely it needs to be kept on the down-low we’re assuming.
As for when you’ll be able to run Android 4.0 on your own Raspberry Pi, well, that could still be a while. Developers are investigating the possibility of making a single package that would be easy for the majority of users to install, and they say that sources will be released as soon as possible for those daring to give it a try.
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Via: Raspberry Pi Blog