Google has just announced an "Early Look" SDK for Android 1.5 which is based off the much ballyhooed Cupcake development branch. Android 1.5 packs a lot of goodies such as APIs for soft keyboards, live folders, home screen widgets, stereo bluetooth, and much, much more.
Android 1.5 is going to improve on the performance of Android, such as having a faster camera start up time, acquiring GPS location faster, smoother page scrolling, etc. There is also mention of some UI refinements. Overall, it looks like a hefty update to Android and we can't wait to see it trickle down to real-world usage.
What do you guys think?
Read on to see what's new in Android 1.5!
<!--break-->Android 1.5 Highlights
April 2009
The Android 1.5 platform introduces many new features for users and developers. The list below provides an overview of the changes.
User interface refinementsSystem-wide:Refinement of all core UI elementsAnimated window transitions (off by default)Accelerometer-based application rotationsUI polish for:In-call experienceContacts, Call log, and FavoritesSMS & MMSBrowserGmailCalendarEmailCamera & GalleryApplication managementPerformance improvementsFaster Camera start-up and image captureMuch faster acquisition of GPS location (powered by SUPL AGPS)Smoother page scrolling in BrowserSpeedier GMail conversation list scrollingNew featuresOn-screen soft keyboardWorks in both portrait and landscape orientationSupport for user installation of 3rd party keyboardsUser dictionary for custom wordsHome screenWidgetsBundled home screen widgets include: analog clock, calendar, music player, picture frame, and searchLive foldersCamera & GalleryVideo recordingVideo playback (MPEG-4 & 3GP formats)Bluetooth Stereo Bluetooth support (A2DP and AVCRP profiles)Auto-pairingImproved handsfree experienceBrowserUpdated with latest Webkit browser & Squirrelfish Javascript enginesCopy 'n paste in browserSearch within a pageUser-selectable text-encodingUI changes include:Unified Go and Search boxTabbed bookmarks/history/most-visited screenContactsShows user picture for FavoritesSpecific date/time stamp for events in call logOne-touch access to a contact card from call log eventSystemNew Linux kernel (version 2.6.27)SD card filesystem auto-checking and repairSIM Application Toolkit 1.0Google applicationsView Google Talk friends' status in Contacts, SMS, MMS, GMail, and Email applicationsBatch actions such as archive, delete, and label on Gmail messagesUpload videos to YoutubeUpload photos on PicasaNew APIs and developer toolsUI frameworkFramework for easier background/UI thread interactionNew SlidingDrawer widgetHorizontal ScrollView widgetHome Screen frameworkAPIs for creating secure home screen widgetsAPIs for populating live folders with custom contentMedia frameworkRaw audio recording and playback APIsInteractive MIDI playback engineVideo recording APIs for developers (3GP format)Video and photo sharing IntentsMedia search IntentInput Method frameworkText prediction engineAbility to provide downloadable IMEs to usersSpeech recognition frameworkSupport for using speech recognition libraries via IntentMisc API additionsLocationManager - Applications can get location change updates via IntentWebView - Touch start/end/move/cancel DOM event supportSensorManager - redesigned sensor APIsGLSurfaceView - convenience framework for creating OpenGL applicationsBroadcast Intent for app update install succeeded - for smoother app upgrade experienceDeveloper toolsSupport for multiple versions of Android in a single SDK installationImproved JUnit support in ADTEasier application performance profiling
Source : http://www.androidcentral.com/android-15-early-loo...