Android 2.0 Platform Highlights

New User Features

Contacts and accounts

• Multiple accounts can be added to a device for email and contact synchronization, including Exchange accounts. (Handset manufacturers can choose whether to include Exchange support in their devices.)

• Developers can create sync adapters that provide synchronization with additional data sources.

• Quick Contact for Android provides instant access to a contact's information and communication modes. For example, a user can tap a contact photo and select to call, SMS, or email the person. Other applications such as Email, Messaging, and Calendar can also reveal the Quick Contact widget when you touch a contact photo or status icon.

Email

• Exchange support.

• Combined inbox to browse email from multiple accounts in one page.

Messaging

• Search functionality for all saved SMS and MMS messages.

• Auto delete the oldest messages in a conversation when a defined limit is reached.

Camera

• Built-in flash support

• Digital zoom

• Scene mode

• White balance

• Color effect

• Macro focus

Android virtual keyboard

• An improved keyboard layout to makes it easier to hit the correct characters and improve typing speed.

• The framework's multi-touch support ensures that key presses aren't missed while typing rapidly with two fingers.

• A smarter dictionary learns from word usage and automatically includes contact names as suggestions.

New Platform Technologies

Media Framework

Revamped graphics architecture for improved performance that enables better hardware acceleration.


Bluetooth

• Bluetooth 2.1

• New BT profiles: Object Push Profile (OPP) and Phone Book Access Profile (PBAP)

New Framework APIs

• Android 2.0 includes several new developer APIs.

Android 1.6 (Donut) SDK released, adds several new features

The developer kit for Android 1.6 is now available here. Android 1.6, also known as the Donut build, includes several new features and optimization tricks designed to greatly enhance the next version of Android. The SDK and the Android Developers blog have revealed some interesting previews of those features.


Quick Search

Android has universal search in Donut, which will scan all areas of a phone’s data – e-mail, SMS messages, and even third-party apps that are “searchable.” The system is able to recognize which results are most important to users, so contacts or apps that have been previously clicked will move to the top of future searches.


Improved Camera, Camcorder, Gallery

The Android Camera, Camcorder, and Gallery apps have been updated with an interface that makes it easier to navigate between each. Switching from camera to camcorder is easier, and the camera moves 39% faster than previous versions. There is also a 28% improvement in speed when taking one photo and moving along to next.


New Android Market

We knew this was coming but I bet you’re still happy to see there is a noticeable improvement. The Market has a new interface; options to pick between most popular paid apps, most popular free apps, and newest apps; screenshots if the app developer added them.


Text-to-speech engine

The multi-language/accent “Pico” will make Android speak text in English (American or British), French, Italian, German, and Spanish. From the description, I’d gather that this is better than the current TTS library previously seen on Android. G1 or Dream users will have to download the new engine once it is released.


Gestures

App developers can now take advantage of in-app gestures. Swipes in any direction would perform any function that the developer ties to those movements.

There is also a new Battery Usage Indicator, support for CDMA (Sprint and Verizon networks), expanded support for different screen resolutions and densities, and a new version of OpenCore with audio codecs.

Enjoy!