Over the next several weeks, Android 1.6 will be rolling out to customers via an over-the-air update. In addition to a number of user-facing features such as a new Android Market and a faster camera application, the Donut branch has a few goodies for developers as well. This article explores how to get 1.6 right now, and the developer-facing features inside.

Can’t wait for the regular update? The 1.6 SDK is available for download now. It contains an emulator for a virtual Android device so you can develop and test your programs on your desktop machine. Windows, Linux, and MacOS are supported.

by Ed Burnette

[via ZDNet]

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Android OS 1.6, codenamed “Donut”, has been released to application developers with relatively little fanfare, at least in comparison to the previous 1.5 “Cupcake” version. The list of new features suggests the public release will grab a little more attention from users; it includes a series of large fixes, frequently-requested additions, and a few surprises.

Possibly the most single requested feature for the Android platform, native multi-touch support, has been confirmed both as hardware support primarily for upcoming devices such as the HTC Hero and as software emulation. Many third-party applications will need to be updated to support multitouch gesture control, but it shouldn’t be long before they start popping up on the Android Market considering it’s been such a consistently requested feature.

by Chris Head

[via PCWorld]

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Android is getting sweeter

With the release of Android 1.6 a.k.a. “Donut”, Android continues its path towards main-stream mobile acceptance

For the past year I’ve been watching Android mature — and waiting. After finishing the Android book earlier in the year I’ve done a little with it, but to be candid, most of my mobile development cycles have been spent focused on some other platforms — platforms that are shipping like iPhone and BlackBerry. Yes, I am probably guilty of lacking vision by not entering applications into the Developer Challenges. And perhaps I should have been laying the foundation for a future Android application which will take over the world when more devices appear on the market. And I’m guilty of countless other things, but unfortunately the tyranny of the urgent tends to still dominate my professional world. Things are going to change. Both for my time management focus and the Android horizon. I won’t bore you here and now with how things in my world are going to change, but I will give you some insight to what is happening in the Android space. Now before you get too excited, I don’t exactly have an inside track to the things happening at the Open Handset Alliance, nor do I have anyone at Google on my speed-dial. I don’t even have an updated piece of hardware — yet! I am just reading the touch-screen tea leaves and want to share a few observations.

[Read Full Article]

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Google’s Android OS is coming on strong and gobs of Android devices are starting to hit the market. As more Android devices are available for consumers, more developers will want to focus on the platform. Google has now released the SDK for the latest version of Android dubbed donut.

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Remember when Cupcake Arrived? Well now the tasty dessert has a friend of its own kind – a larger than life Donut next to the Robot and Cupcake is at Googleplex!

This was sent in to Phandroid by Daniel@Google – Thanks Man! As I told him, we’ve been HECTIC over here trying to cover the Cliq. This is a fun change of pace that put a smile on my face. I’m also kind of glad that Moto only announced  one phone because otherwise my head would explode from all the rushed writing/recording/picture-taking/uploading/etc…!

Let the highly irritating “Not funniez prank – When Can I Haz My Donuts?!?!?!” comments begin! (BTW the above picture is NOT a prank, you can see how they made that original Cupcake if you please.)

[via Phandroid]

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A few days ago we reported that while the G1 will likely continue to get minor updates and bug fixes, the evolutionary updates (Cupcake => Donut => Eclair) might be over. Noting a tweet from a Google Engineer himself, things certainly didn’t look good. The cause for worrying has been blown out of proportion and greatly exaggerated according to a tweet from a different Android engineer, Dan Morrill.

So there you have it:

• The G1 isn’t dead
• The G1 will continue to get necessary updates at worst, and could likely get larger scale feature updates as well
• Donut could still come to the G1
• Donut might = 1.6 (Not 2.0, we love you Tyler)

Alright G1 owners… sound off!

[Read Full Article]

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