Google Frosts The Cupcake, Serves Up Android 1.5
The much-anticipated Android 1.5 system -- aka "Cupcake" -- will be deployable to Android-powered handsets beginning in May.
Google also said that it has worked with its partner HTC to release new system images to upgrade the Android Dev Phone 1 (ADP1) to Android 1.5, according to a blog posting from Android engineer Xavier Ducrohet.
Ducrohet said that Android developer phones like the ADP1 are intended for application development, rather than daily use. In addition, they are operator-neutral and country-neutral, so they may not include certain features found on end-user devices, he said.
The new tools were updated so that developers can deploy apps on any platform in the SDK, to help ensure forward-compatibility and, if applicable, backward-compatibility.
One of the new features are Android Virtual Devices (AVD) configurations of options that developers can run in the emulator to get a better model of actual devices. Each AVD gets its own dedicated storage area, which makes it easier to work with multiple emulators that are running concurrently, Google said.
There is also a new Eclipse ADT plugin (version 0.9.0) that offers new Wizards to let developers create projects targeted for specific Android configurations, generate XML resources (such as layouts, animations, and menus), generate alternate layouts, and export and sign apps for publishing.
T-Mobile's German Web site is already advertising the upgraded phone features. The site said that the improvements will be automatically added to G1s -- users don't have to do a thing. The upgrades include an additional on-screen keyword; video recording and playback; and support for Bluetooth headphones.