Android serves up Eclair

Some good and expected increments.

November 16, 2009
James Middleton, Telecoms.com

Developer of the Android mobile operating system, the Open Handset Alliance (OHA), has released the source code for version 2.0 of the platform, until now only seen on the Motorola Droid.

Android 2.0, otherwise known as ‘Éclair’, includes new features such as support for multiple accounts, quick access to contact information, support for Exchange, search functionality for SMS, flash support for the camera, digital zoom, support for a virtual keyboard, with an improved keyboard layout, support for double tap zoom and a refreshed interface for the web browser along with support for HTML5 .

Interestingly, within a few hours of the source code being released, the Android hacker community had got version 2.0 up and running on the oldest Android device available – the G1 – despite the fact it would be unable to handle the latest incarnation of the platform.

New User Features

Quick Contact for Android

Multiple Accounts

Messaging Search

Email Combined Inbox

Camera Modes

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.

Browser

• Refreshed UI with actionable browser URL bar enables users to directly tap the address bar for instant searches and navigation.
• Bookmarks with web page thumbnails.
• Support for double-tap zoom.
• Support for HTML5:
  • Database API support, for client-side databases using SQL.
  • Application cache support, for offline applications.
  • Geolocation API support, to provide location information about the device.
  • tag support in fullscreen mode.

Calendar

• Agenda view provides infinite scrolling.
• Events indicate the attending status for each invitee.
• Invite new guests to events.