antonius alves http://antoniusalves.posterous.com Most recent posts at antonius alves posterous.com Fri, 27 Aug 2010 09:37:37 -0700 evolution of Android (part 3) http://antoniusalves.posterous.com/evolution-of-android-part-3 http://antoniusalves.posterous.com/evolution-of-android-part-3
Amplify’d from techshake2.blogspot.com
How many versions does Android have? 
Technically, the answer is very simple, but theoretically speaking it’s a bit complicated. The simple answer is 4 versions of Android OS, namely 1.5 Cupcake, 1.6 Donut, 2.0/2.1 Eclair & 2.2 Froyo. The complicated answer is that many phones were running a lot of developer versions of the Android OS. For example, 1.1 was to first to show up on prototypes. However, the phones started showing up in the market only with 1.5 Cupcake, as the earlier version was unstable. So also is the case with the versions from 1.7 - 1.9. I tried very hard to get you some pictures of the interfaces but it seems it looks quite similar to its next successful version. 

You can also look at the Android OS version wise distribution on the Android Developers page here.

November, 2007 - Android 0 - Android 1.1

A preview release of the Android software development kit (SDK) was released in November, 2007. Several months later (mid-August 2008) the Android 0.9 SDK (software development kit) beta was released. The following month (late-September 2008) the Android 1.0 SDK (Release 1) was released. Still in the prototype stage, it was a very primary stage with layers of APIs included was just bout 2. 


Six months later (early-March 2009), Google released version 1.1 for the Android “dev phone”. The Android 1.1 system image delivered an updated version of the framework API.


April, 2009 - 1.5 Cupcake

Android OS 1.5 (Cupcake) based on the Linux Kernel 2.6.27, officially released on the 30th of April, 2009, to developers and the SDK was available for download on the Android Developer site. This OS was an updated version of the prototype 1.1 and boasted of many new features including a brand new User Interface. 


Other additions included video recording and playback (MPEG-4 & 3GP formats), sync to Google account and upload to YouTube directly, Bluetooth A2DP support and improved home screen animations. Auto complete and text predictions were available but not fully accurate. 

September, 2009 - 1.6 Donut

Based on the Linux kernel 2.6.29, 1.6 Donut surely was a better running, improved performance and an enhanced feel Android OS. The main improvements included expanded search framework, text to speech engine and an improved and faster Android Market. 

The Gesture framework and GestureBuilder Development tool was one of the main enhancements of this version. Android 1.6 also provided a much faster camera experience. Compared to the previous releases, launching the camera became 39% faster, and there was a 28% improvement in the time from completing one shot to the next. This version was also a turning point for developers as the API level was 4 and the platform was more tightly knit with the apps running on it. 

October, 2009 - 2.0/2.1 Eclair

Eclair was based on the same Linux kernel as with 1.6 Donut, but was a completely refreshed look and feel UI. Enhancements like Microsoft Exchange support, multiple accounts support, support for more screen sizes and resolutions, conversational style messaging etc. The platform was also optimised to use the hardware better and thus improved the performance and the speed of the OS overall. 

The UI was revised, and the browser now supported HTML5. Backgrounds had a better white-black ratio and the display was accelerated and crisp. An updated version of Google Maps (3.1.2) was offered along with the update. Other additions include live wallpapers, Bluetooth 2.1 and an enhanced virtual keyboard as well as the enhancement of MotionEvent class. The 2.0.1 SDK was released on 3 December 2009 and the 2.1 SDK was released on 12 January 2010. Most Android handsets today run Android 2.1, and it is considered to be of the most stable build of the Android arsenal. 

May, 2010 - 2.2 Froyo

On 20th May, 2010 the 2.2 Frozen Yogurt (Froyo) SDK was released, at the Google I/O Summit. Based on the Linux Kernel 2.6.32, Froyo’s biggest hype as yet, is it’s support for Flash 10.1. Froyo will also bring Increased Microsoft Exchange support like security policies, auto-discovery, GAL look-up, calendar synchronization, remote wipe etc. apart from the significant performance and hardware optimizations, Froyo will be the only Android OS to have full integration with Chrome’s VB JavaScript engine, into the browser application.
 

The best part is that Apps2SD functionality will finally make it possible for apps to be directly installed on the SD card rather than the phone memory. USB tethering and Wi-Fi hotspot functionality coupled with Voice dialing over Bluetooth are some of the coolest features that Froyo has. Nexus One and Motorola Droid have already been updated to Froyo and many others should be updated to the latest version of Android, in the coming weeks/months. 

I really hope that you have thoroughly enjoyed this extensively researched ‘History of Android’. You can always get all this information and more detailed specs on each Android release on the Android Developers page. Let me know what you feel about this article.
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