I am wondering if this is more a move to unify design elements from Andriod with the Google web presence...A way to bridge the gap between the mobile UI (andriod) experience, and the google-web-at-large UI experience. I imagine as part of branding and customer imprinting.
Even if that is not the base reason, it is interesting to consider.
Even if that is not the base reason, it is interesting to consider.