Android, the open-source mobile platform from Google, has received substantial attention at this weeks World Mobile Congress in Barcelona, Spain, where some prototype handsets were shown. And on Wednesday, developers focused on the release of an updated Software Development Kit (SDK) for Android.
In a posting on the Android Developers Blog, Google Developer Advocate Jason Chen wrote that the newest SDK, called M5-rc14, provides updates to the application programming interfaces (APIs) and developer tools.
NEW USER INTERFACE, GEO-CODING
The update has a new user interface and Geo-coding enables an address to be translated into a coordinate -- or vice versa. New media codecs have been added, including support for OGG Vorbis, MIDI, XMF, iMelody, RTTL/RTX, and OTA audio file formats, and there is an updated Eclipse plug-in.
Comments in the Android Developers newsgroup were generally positive, although there were some complaints. A user called londont, for instance, called the new SDK "very disappointing" because there were no changes in the telephony package, and another cited problems with the emulator loading time.
The original SDK was released shortly after Android was announced in November by the newly formed Open Handset Alliance (OHA). The first version received some criticism for its stability and documentation, highlighted in an article in The Wall Street Journal, although other developers noted at the time that it was no buggier than most early-stage software tools.
The OHA, spearheaded by Google, is backed by 34 companies and has launched a $10 million competition for the best Android mobile applications. Texas Instruments, ARM Holdings, Qualcomm, NEC, Marvell and ST Microelectronics and others are showing or have announced Android prototypes at the Barcelona show. Deutsche Telecoms T-Mobile, HTC and others have said they expect to sell Android-based phones this year.
PENT-UP DEMAND
Jeffrey Hammond, an analyst with industry research firm Forrester, said there was a "lot of pent-up demand among developers" to work in the mobile space, but their enthusiasm was tempered by the highly fragmented environment. He added that he was "optimistic" about Android, which could allow developers to write applications for all Android devices either as native applications, using Java, or for browsers with the SDKs Web kit.
Android is not only a possible major change for mobile developers but, as IDCs Lewis Ward noted, its part of a "sea change" where smartphones in the U.S. are moving toward a separation between the device and the service provider. Apples iPhone and RIMs BlackBerry are two devices that exemplify this, he said, and Android can help accelerate this trend.
The sea change for developers and consumers could also be propelled by another open-source, Linux-based mobile platform, LiMo. It was founded in January 2007 by Motorola, NEC, NTT DoCoMo, Panasonic Mobile Communications, Samsung Electronics and Vodafone.
In Barcelona this week, prototype devices have been shown by major handset manufacturers for both platforms. Ward noted that, while LiMo has been out longer than Android and has some "heavy hitters" behind it, Android is getting more attention in the U.S. because of Google, which is "more like Microsoft and Cisco" in its brand recognition and credibility.
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