early todayGoogle release the Android 0.9 SDK r1 Beta , boasting of a pot of API updates and a visual refresh that move it one square footfall nigher to really , you know , indicate up on a headphone . A long changelog and a few screenshots are great , but we ’ve kindle up the SDK ’s copycat for a head duty tour of Android ’s salient features . snap to view0:02 : primary menu is curb in a drawer that slue from the bottom of the screen door 0:08 : Multiple rest home screens can be flipped with touch gesture , a la the iPhone 0:20 : Icons can be dragged from the master bill of fare to build customise plate screens . Dragging to the carte du jour drawer trashes the dwelling house screen door shortcut 0:38 : Dialer covert , follow by the call behavior . Calls can continue in the scope , and all functions that do n’t require information transport can figure out concurrently ( This is currently a software program regularisation , as 3 g web should theoretically allow for co-occurrent voice and data usage ) . 0:53 : Ongoing calls and other notifications can be accessed by dragging the taskbar down . 1:20 : internet browser displays Gizmodo . Rendering is quite good , page seafaring is a jolly intuitive rehash of current touch - dominance schemes . It ’s not terrible good at pretend pillar widths during double - tap zooming , but seems very usable . Preview exaggeration feature is useful for smaller screen or text edition - heavy pages . 2:22 : “ Tabbed ” browsing feature of speech lays out a grid of Page , with prevue 2:45 : Google Maps app . As you could see , this is among the more dressed apps , and will feel familiar to anyone who has used Google Maps on the desktop or roving gadget . 3:30 : Google Maps Street View . 4:00 : Home screen include widgets ( Google Search , a clock and a picture frame are the only I for now ) that can be haul around the home screen(s ) . 4:23 : The music apps relies on a control board of icons ( a recurring theme in Android ) 4:30 : substance composition is unremarkable , but there is no sign of an on - screen keyboard at the bit . This could be a customization ply the the first bout of Android earpiece , at least one of which will have a slide - out keyboard . 5:12 : The television camera of course does n’t work in the emulator , but there are currently very few options in its menus . 5:50 : Wallpaper switching . This is one of the few areas where Android excels aesthetically . Wallpaper scrolls as home plate screens are switched , but at a dull rate that the icons . This creates a convincing semblance of astuteness . 6:11 : The home screen can also be modified via the system menu , where you could select to add applications , widgets and shortcuts , as well as change the wallpaper . It ’s backbreaking to pass judgment on Android in the condition it ’s in . What ’s there is telling , but there are so many rank omissions , at least from a consumer viewpoint . There is a fantastic system for managing ongoing call and system of rules content ( via the pull - down taskbar ) but no apps to take advantage of it . Email and IM would suit such a configuration attractively , but neither is let in in this release . And seriously , where is the calendar ? The personal organizer ? A picture app ? Youtube bread and butter ? Sure , these things could be left to the developer community , but Google already has message , electronic mail , video and calendar service , so it ’s reasonable to require that they be included by nonremittal in Android . Before a public release , Android should at least possess a feature of speech set comparable to your average candy barroom earpiece , courtesy of Google , so that the eager open - source evolution community can give their effort to make raw , innovative apps and modifications for the OS . protest aside , the advance is prognosticate . In terms of usableness , Android is much easygoing to voyage and customize than virtually all other mobile solution . With a few more apps , Android will be a percipient selection over Windows Mobile , skinned or not . you may download the SDK and play with the copycat yourself , if you want . Just a discussion of warning , though — explaining to your family or substantial other that you ’re testing an emulated prerelease of an upcoming mobile group O is about as heavily as it sounds . [ Google Android , Android on Giz ]
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