Android 2.0 Platform Highlights

The Android 2.0 platform introduces many new and exciting features for users and developers. This document provides a glimpse at some of the new features and technologies in Android 2.0.

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.
    • <video> tag support in fullscreen mode.

Calendar

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

New Platform Technologies

Media Framework

Revamped graphics architecture for improved performance that enables better hardware acceleration.

Bluetooth

  • Bluetooth 2.1
  • New BT profiles: Object Push Profile (OPP) and Phone Book Access Profile (PBAP)

New Framework APIs

Android 2.0 includes several new developer APIs. For an overview of new APIs, see the Android 2.0 version notes.

For a complete report of all API changes, see the API Differences Report.

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