Google Releases Beta Version Of New Android Update Called Cupcake

imageGoogle (NSDQ: GOOG) announced today on its blog that developers can start reviewing the upcoming update to the Android operating system that has been better known as “cupcake.” The new version, which will be called 1.5, is still in beta, but the final — one might say fully baked version — will be available at the end of the month. Cupcake adds a couple of nice touches, but won’t be anything revolutionary. For instance, it will add a virtual keyboards on the screen, home screen widgets, “live” folders and speech recognition. However, Google warns that developers should hold off developing applications based on this version just yet because it is in beta.

The interesting part of the announcement is that Google said that future Android SDKs will include “multiple versions of the Android platform.” For example, developers will have the choice of developing for either version 1.1 and 1.5. It will also enable developers to install add-ons that might be provided by OEMs, carriers, or other providers. While all of these features will be available in the same SDK, this is exactly what some developers and critics are concerned about with the Android platform. If it gets to fragmented with multiple versions and features being built by different carriers, or OEMs, it might become very difficult to build an application once and have it work across all the platforms. It’s early days so it’s hard to tell at this point if it will truly be a problem or not.

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