The new version of the Android SDK was released today!

What does this mean for the tablets? Well for one thing the old SDK (m5) has been fully open sourced. This should (hopefully) allow the porting of m5 onto the tablets (perhaps at full speed?). More importantly though, work can begin on porting the most recent (0.9) SDK to the tablets (hopefully bug free), but source code won't be available till Q4 08.

I took a couple screenshots of the new SDK:


Android Booting


The new Android home screen, with movable widgets.



Android application menu with the new apps.


The new dialer

I also took a two screens using my N800 skin. The skin works beautifully; I can't wait to have v0.9 ported to the n800!










Download the SDK: http://code.google.com/android/download_list.html

Download Sources: http://code.google.com/p/android/downloads/list

Developer Roadmap: http://code.google.com/android/roadmap.html


I think this is newsworthy in relations to the mobile devices industry. Recommend front page announcement?

Can you post ... your N800 skin!?

The main problem of Android on tablets is that Android is a phone OS and tablets aren't phones.

It will be hard to chose between a N900 and an Android phone next time...

and the difference is what?

im sure the phone parts of android can either be turned off or used in combo with a voip service.

google would be stupid if they dont make this as flexible as they can get away with, for use in future product branches.

how about if they can turn it into something for a mid/tablet/set-top-box?

done right this could be made flexible enough to be used for anything from phone and other handheld devices to simple computers. hell, phones today are simple computers.

Yeah, I'll post it when I can. Unfortunately it will have to wait a couple days since the files are on my desktop, and I'm currently awaiting a new monitor ("lost" my old one. long story).

I should be able to post my skin maybe thurs/fri if you're patient

Time will tell. But I think it will become more and more phone centric as phone manufacturers will start using it.
There are also less and less handhelds that don't include a SIM card slot, so I don't think google will care about slotless devices.

I really like the idea of having Android using VoIP functionality to supplant traditional radios.

So using an n810W.... making phone calls via Skype.... You just converted your tablet into a cell! Of course you don't need Android to do this, but it would make the experience more seamless:

Instead of whipping out your tablet, going in the app menu, launching Skype, logging in/autologin.... dial

You can pull out your tablet, select a contact, dial. Android takes care of all the skype stuff.

Neat uh?


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By the way, I also have an n810 skin. Call me weird, but I prefer the n800 look to the n810. I'll release both when I can.

@Boke: I'm not really understanding what you mean. Could you say precisely what kind of things will make it "phone centric?" In terms of flexibility it seems to be designed for a much wider range of devices than OS200x is. And when they release the source it will be no problem to rip out any "phone dependent" bits, though I think those will be incredibly few and far between...

Android is by design said to be totally HW platform independent. The whole idea of Android is to have it suit to the HW platform you put it on - whether you have a GPS unit or not, or a GSM module is totally not important.

So basically, the only obstacle I would see to have Android run natively on a N8xx is Nokia's capacity to provide openly some detailled HW specs allowing a compiled Android version to access all of the N8xx's features (HW features).

I know already I will buy the 1st Android 'system' to become available - obviously this would be HTC's G1 since no other are announced yet. I'm not at all interested in itsphone capabilities, but the kind of applications planned (see contest winners as an example) and flexibility of the whole environment.

btw, about those N800 skin screenshots above, did the menu automatically move to the side or did it have to be told to go there?

hmm, i wonder if personal menu could be made to have pages, with two arrows in the corner to jump between them...

hell, one could even apply that to the current maemo menus. rather then have the arrows scroll, have them "page".

as in, jump a whole screen down pr press rather then one entry down pr press...