Quad-core Ice Cream Sandwich Android tablets arriving before Christmas

It sounds like Android users could be in for a double-whammy this winter, with the chief executives of both Nvidia and Google hinting that big things are on the horizon.

Google CEO Eric Schmidt moved first, revealing that the new Android operating system - intended to merge the smartphone and tablet interfaces - would be out before Christmas.

"We have a new operating system, which is known internally as Ice Cream Sandwich for some reason, which is being released in October/November", announced the executive during his Dreamforce 2011 talk.

It was then the turn of Nvidia's CEO, Jen-Hsun Huang, who disclosed to Forbes that Android tablets powered by his company's new quad-core chipset will be available by the end of the year.

The Forbes report goes on to suggest that the quad-core party will probably be limited to tablets for the time being, with smartphones waiting until at least early 2012.

Huang has already promised that the new 'super chip' will be very energy-efficient - it sounds like we'll get a chance to put it to the test before the year's end.