Now that the first Android phone has been approved by the FCC, Google figured it might be a good time to update the software development kit for the mobile OS. There were hints that this would happen earlier today, but now it is official. According to the Android Developer’s Blog, here is what is new:
* First and most obviously, the new Home screen is included, along with a ton of UI changes for 1.0.
* Some new applications are included: an Alarm Clock, Calculator, Camera, Music player, Picture viewer, and Messaging (for SMS/MMS conversations.)
* Several new development tools were added, such as a graphical preview for XML layouts for users of Eclipse, and a tool for constructing 9-patch images.
* Since we’ve got a new Home screen application now, we thought the now-obsolete version from the M5 early-look SDK might be helpful to developers, so its source is included as a sample.
* A number of new APIs are fleshed out and improved, and others are now close to their final forms for 1.0.
* Tons of bugs were fixed, of course. (If you had problems with the MediaPlayer, try it now!)
This SDK is still not the 1.0 release. (It is version 0.9). There are still bugs and some features that had to be removed because of security reasons, such as support for GTalk and Bluetooth. (That won’t do). But those should return once the bugs are fixed, hopefully by the time the 1.0 version is available in September.
This release has been long overdue, but now that it is out may begin to appease many of the mobile app developers out there who have been frustrated by the general lack of access to the latest SDK. But with T-Mobile’s Android phone only two or three months away, it doesn’t give them a lot of time to create jaw-dropping apps. The new SDK can be downloaded here. (And screen shots can be found at Hello Android).
MobileCrunch has a cavalcade of screenshots showing the actual browser interface.
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I, for one, welcome our new Android Overlords!
I read it as:
We actually went out and cleaned some of the c..p we delivered when we rushed the previous version.
What a crazy stuff OO”
http://www.filmespornogratis.net
Really? Really? A link to a porn sight on your tech crunch comment? That’s just great. How about some spam protection?
Android is going to have to be pretty special to attract my interest because I’m definitely not planning on giving up my iPhone in order to use it.
It appears that Android is getting closer and closer by the day. Let’s see what happens in the coming weeks before we get too excited.
http://kreuzer33.wordpress.com.....a-new-sdk/
We’re on it! Thanks for the heads up.
Hi,
Would it be easy for the right person to develop apps with the current version of the SDK?
How about beginners?
Michael
http://OwnMoreOfTheInternet.com
Here a link to create your first Android “Hello World” Program.
http://code.google.com/android.....droid.html
Hey, I’m going to add a comment too.
The Hater
http://linktomystupidwebsite.com
does it do ActiveSync ?
i.e. will corporate users actually be able to use it ?
otherwise it’s going to look pretty poor compared to iPhone…
iPhone has all the goodness of the consumer who want to play music (i.e. why have 2 devices iPod and phone when oyu can have one…)
for the same reason Apple sorted out syncing with exchange google are going to have to relent maybe this will force Apple to display the SMS and MMS in a email like form if you want…
the world does not run on gmail because we like uptime and to control our own worlds and destinies (-;
regards
John Jones
http://www.johnjones.me.uk
Ohh…iPhone vs. Android. This should be good!
chris
http://www.newwebplatform.com/.....le-Android
i think comparing iPhone and android is like comparing apples to oranges, because more than likely you iphone experience will always be pretty much the same. As more hardware makers/hackers find ways to put android on it, experience will differ. For example one of the biggest complaints about early sdk, was lack of api for things like bluetooth, or gps, and the problem is that.. not all hardware will have these things, and software will be different depending on hardware.
As much criticism that google faced due to their incomplete api, I find it to be a much better offering that apple’s right now.
Is it just me or does Android look like KDE on a phone?
I mean … it looks good, and a lot of work was put into it, but it just screams “GEEK”!
I almost expect to see a KTerm icon in that icon drawer.
Android looks ewwwyyy!!!
@Sid yes, my initial reaction was also that this looks very much like KDE.
All I care is that it is open, works with wi-fi, that it has pix & video messaging at fair resolutions, and that you can use VoIP or Skype or something like that with it.
Oh yeah — and that it sync with Exchange smoothly. I don’t think that’s too much to ask! If so, I’ll be getting it!
This is going to work so great on the next $100 Laptops powered by Android to be released as well in the next few months.
Can’t they hire an artist to create some decent icons that don’t look like an old Blackberry?
And look, it’s Speer Blvd. in Denver in the screenshot. I drove right by there today!
Not an insider…can someone explain what KDE is (or tell me what I should search for to get my answer)
Certainly… KDE (who’s acronym stands for something like “Kool Desktop Environment” although developers will argue as to the first letter) is a user interface (UI) toolkit for Unix systems.
Much like the GNOME (GNU Network Object Model Environment), it’s primary design inspiration is the Microsoft Windows UI. In typical fashion for “open source” development, GNOME came about because at one time, the underlying graphics support library for KDE, called “QT” was licensed under a less-than-ideological arrangement, which was not acceptable to some developers.
As with many projects in the open-source community, the design focus tends to be towards ideological purity (or just wanting to “work on something cool”) rather than concerning with actual usability and suitability to the task…
I love to see all the Apple Sheep squirm and get defensive, I love it!
You look so cool in with your flavor of the month.
Baaaaaaa Baaaaaaaa
Go Android! and take down the evil Apple empire!
Humm another version but no products yet. Wondering when they will launch a final application?
Also why it looks quite close to iPhone in terms of layout.
First image on MobilCrunch has MAEMO written on the Clock
Nokia Developers developing Android Apps!!!
I’m pretty sure they didn’t take out all support for GTalk, but only the capability to send files through it. They cited security as the reason and that it could make its way back into the api.
I am not so worried about the look and feel of Android, but moreover, I am concerned about carriers locking down certain aspects of the phones to prevent users from enjoying their phones. For example, people went crazy over Verizon blocking certain Bluetooth profiles on the Moto Razr, but no one has said a word about Apple blocking ObexPush on the iPhone for some reason. It’s not like they cannot create a proper Bluetooth stack on the iPhone, in fact, the Bluetooth team lead by good old Mike Larson at Apple was out the door very quickly with a complete stack - Apple marketing clearly made a decision to inhibit users, and of course you can expect complete bullshit in the response if questioned about it because Apple just loves to lie like any smart company out there would. Apple just doesn’t want you pushing MP3s from iPhone to iPhone, er make that “squirting” a la the stillborn Zune, but because of the inbuilt limitation, you cannot send your “business card” from iPhone to iPhone just like people with Palms can.
And just because I have to get this off my chest - it is clear why Apple blocked Flash from playing on the iPhone - they are scared of the iPhone running applications outside of their realm of control. Flash can be very powerful in the hands of the right developer and if you can run a flash app, then Apple loses control and diminishes their chance to monetize effectively.
Sorry about the Apple rant. Go Android!
I think the first carrier-imposed crippling of Android will be the system-wide XMPP connection. It’s way too useful an idea to put in the hands of consumers.