Keep in mind, I've only had Android 1.5 update for about a few days when I wrote this.
Being a somewhat major update, I decided to write a mini-FAQ for the release.
Here goes nothing.
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So…what new features are in Android 1.5?
Taken directly from Google's Android 1.5 Highlights Page (
Link)
Quote:
The Android 1.5 platform introduces many new features for users and developers. The list below provides an overview of the changes.
- User Interface Refinements
- Performance Improvements
- New Features
- New APIs and Manifest Elements
User Interface Refinements
- System-wide:
- Refinement of all core UI elements
- Animated window transitions (off by default)
- Accelerometer-based application rotations
- UI polish for:
- In-call experience
- Contacts, Call log, and Favorites
- SMS & MMS
- Browser
- Gmail
- Calendar
- Email
- Camera & Gallery
- Application management
Performance Improvements
- Faster Camera start-up and image capture
- Much faster acquisition of GPS location (powered by SUPL AGPS)
- Smoother page scrolling in Browser
- Speedier GMail conversation list scrolling
New Features
- On-screen soft keyboard
- Works in both portrait and landscape orientation
- Support for user installation of 3rd party keyboards
- User dictionary for custom words
- Home screen
- Widgets
- Bundled home screen widgets include: analog clock, calendar, music player, picture frame, and search
- Live folders
- Camera & Gallery
- Video recording
- Video playback (MPEG-4 & 3GP formats)
- Bluetooth
- Stereo Bluetooth support (A2DP and AVCRP profiles)
- Auto-pairing
- Improved handsfree experience
- Browser
- Updated with latest Webkit browser & Squirrelfish Javascript engines
- Copy 'n paste in browser
- Search within a page
- User-selectable text-encoding
- UI changes include:
- Unified Go and Search box
- Tabbed bookmarks/history/most-visited screen
- Contacts
- Shows user picture for Favorites
- Specific date/time stamp for events in call log
- One-touch access to a contact card from call log event
- System
- New Linux kernel (version 2.6.27)
- SD card filesystem auto-checking and repair
- SIM Application Toolkit 1.0
- Google applications (not available in the Android 1.5 System Image that is included in the Android SDK)
- View Google Talk friends' status in Contacts, SMS, MMS, GMail, and Email applications
- Batch actions such as archive, delete, and label on Gmail messages
- Upload videos to Youtube
- Upload photos on Picasa
New APIs and Manifest Elements
- UI framework
- Framework for easier background/UI thread interaction
- New SlidingDrawer widget
- New HorizontalScrollview widget
- AppWidget framework
- APIs for creating secure home screen AppWidgets. For information about how to use AppWidgets, see the Developer's Guide AppWidgets documentation. Also see Introducing home screen widgets and the AppWidget framework on the Android Developer's Blog.
- APIs for populating Live Folders with custom content.
- Media framework
- Raw audio recording and playback APIs
- Interactive MIDI playback engine
- Video Recording APIs for developers (3GP format).
- Video and photo sharing Intents
- Media search Intent
- Input Method framework
- Input Method Service framework
- Text-prediction engine
- Ability to provide downloadable IMEs to users
- Application-defined hardware requirements Applications can now use a new element in their manifest files, <uses- configuration> to indicate to the Android system what hardware features they require in order to function properly. For example, an application might use the element to specify that it requires a physical keyboard or a particular navigation device, such as a trackball. Prior to installing the application, the Android system checks the attributes defined for the <uses-configuration> element and allows the installation to continue only if the required hardware is present.
- Speech recognition framework
- Support for using speech recognition libraries via Intent. See RecognizerIntent.
- Miscellaneous API additions
- LocationManager - Applications can get location change updates via Intent
- WebView - Touch start/end/move/cancel DOM event support
- Redesigned Sensor Manager APIs
- GLSurfaceView - convenience framework for creating OpenGL applications
- Broadcast Intent for app update install succeeded - for smoother app upgrade experience
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Sounds good, when will I get it?
That’s a good question…unfortunately…nobody has the answer to that….apart from Google and T-Mobile.
I’ve already got it! But some features aren’t there!! Why??
Auto-Orientation and Window Animations will need to be enabled in the Settings Menu. Go to Settings
à Sound and Display to turn on Orientation and Window Animation.
Where’s the Haptic Feedback option!?
That’s a good question. I managed to find it hidden in the depths of the settings.
Go to Settings --> Locale & Text --> Android Keyboard
Select the option "Vibrate on Keypress".
You can even turn off the virtual keyboard completely as well.
What happened to the IM application!?
If you check your application list…you should find an icon named “Google Talk”. This is your new IM icon.
I can’t change folder names! All my folders are called “Folder” !!
Actually, you can change them. If you open the folder you want to change the name of and press and hold the area where the title bar is (where the word “Folder” is) you’ll be able to change the Folder name.
You didn’t answer my question!! You don’t know anything, you <insert insult here>!!
Well…I don’t know everything. But what I don’t know, I’m sure somebody else does. So all you have to do is either ask me, because I may have not covered it here, OR ask in the forums. Simple.
FAQ: Android Version 1.5 Update
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