Perhaps this is the latest news from Goole. Google initially said that the Ice Cream Sandwich which will be open-source long after the release of the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, but the code has actually been made public before the launch of Google's latest benchmark phone.
Software engineer and member of the Android Open Source Project Jean Baptiste Queru just confirmed that the Ice Cream Sandwiches are being added to the Android source tree. Queru says this is Android 4.0.1, the same version of the software that ships on the Nexus Galaxy. This code is now encouraged. Download instructions for developers is available here once everything is ready.
Since most of you are not a developer, here's a simple explanation of why you should be happy to see this. In order to make the best possible ROM, developers need the correct code from the AOSP. ROM put together from the Android SDK is not as good as what can be achieved by the source. So with the proper code, the developers can get to work Ice Cream Sandwich adjust or modify to work with your phone long before the operators and manufacturers do (root required). This also means that companies like HTC and LG can get to work on those reforms that they promised.
The source code for Honeycomb is also available at this time. Google previously chose not to open source Honeycomb in order to prevent people from introducing software for devices that are not ready for it, but the team AOSP finally making the code available. However, Queru still says, "Because Honeycomb little incomplete, we want everyone to focus on the Ice Cream Sandwich. So, we have not made the corresponding tag with the release of Honeycomb (although the changes are present in history.)"
That will not stop developers and modders ROM from doing it anyway. Not everyone is a fan of Ice Cream Sandwich, so do not be surprised if you start to see some of the ROM or the release of the app with the elements of Honeycomb instead.
