Taking a bite out of Cupcake

This is a guest post by Maliek Mcknight of Droidweb

Remember back in January?

From T-moblie:

“There WILL be a G1 update shortly as it was INTENDED to be by mid-January so the next target is now by the end of January.”

Well, after a small update in the form of ‘holiday’ (also known as RC-33), this update is finally here.  Codenamed cupcake, this update has been a long time coming.  What’s actually in this update?  And what does it mean for you as a user? developer? generic megalomaniac?

The cupcake update includes a bakery full of sweet new features for the Android platform.  Those features include:

• User interface refinements
  • The Android interface is getting a facelift.  Its cleaner as a whole, with updated buttons and other graphics.  Default applications are noticeably different with changes ranging from a more intuitive way to store contacts to updated art in the music player application.
• Performance improvements
  • Android is faster and more robust.  The browser works faster, transitions between programs is more crisp, breakfast foods taste better, and life as a whole with Android becomes a better experience.
  • The camera is way more responsive.  I can now catch my friends in the act of doing silly things in front of me.
• Video Recording!
  • Speaking of catching friends in the act, you can now take video with your Android phone.  This is one of the biggest improvements for the platform.  Not only can you take video, but then you can instantly share said video though youtube or messaging.  Here’s where viral meets mobile.  The results should be interesting.
• Soft Keyboard
  • I love my G1 for the physical keyboard it provides.  However, not all Android phones will come equipped as such, so this update is quite important.  (The G2 / Magic / MyTouch needed this update before it could come out).  Personally my fingers have always been too large and clumsy for a software keyboard, but it does help for making short entries.
• Widgets!
  • This is another big update.  Now information can be directly placed on the home screen through widgets.  Three default widgets are included with this update: a picture frame, music player widget, and a calendar widget.  Look for the widgets market to explode soon; this is going to be the focus of developers in the near future.
• Live Folders
  • Live folders is another important update for Android.  Now dynamic data sets are available to the user and programmer.  Some initial examples of useful live folders are:
    • Any RSS feed
    • Last 10 or so e-mails in your inbox
    • Last 5 people you called
    • Last 5 websites you visited
    • To-do list
    • Last 5 stock transactions you have completed
    • The list is endless, really…

These are some of the most important components of the Cupcake update.  For a comprehensive list of updates, check out the Android developers website.

Now this is nice and all, but what does it mean for you?

Users:

As an end user, you will notice that using Android is a cleaner experience.  Applications run faster, they look neater.  Some of the features you want to come with your phone (video recording among them), are now standard.

Programmers:

As a programmer, you have some new API’s to play with.  Also the platform as a whole is maturing.  Now there is a standard base of code you can depend on to be constant.  If you code properly for 1.5 (See future-proofing your apps) you wont have to worry about them breaking again. Also, you can pick and choose the platform level you want to program for.
One of the greatest merits of this release for developers in my eyes, is the new modular system Google is adopting for its SDK. Now plugins can be provided for the developer so that he can access certain software / hardware features. I see as a way for OEM’s to have more freedom in hardware specifications without causing too much of a headache for developers.

Cupcake was a great step forward for the Android platform, but it is by no means the end. As a developer and avid supporter of the Android effort, I can’t wait to see where Android goes from here. I wonder what the ‘donut’ update will bring?