Great Journey of Android: Part 2

In first part of this blog we have looked at all major releases, events happened till Android 2.2 Froyo release. In this part we will see what are major releases, events and milestone happened starting from gingerbread release to till the end of 2011.

December 6, 2010

Android 2.3 (Gingerbread)

• Supports new ways of communications like NFC (Near Field Communication) and SIP-based VoIP
• Support for new sensor types like Gyroscope, barometer etc.
• Adds support for rich multimedia features like multiple cameras, mixable audio effects
• Powerful Dalvik VM with optimized JIT, improved code verification and concurrent garbage collector
• Updated Media framework with AAC and AMR-WB encoding, integrated support for VP8 and WebM formats

February 9, 2011

Android 2.3.3 (Gingerbread)

• Read/write access to different types of tags like NFC-A/B/F/V, MIFARE Classic/Ultra light and NFC Forum NDEF tags
• Apps can decode rectangular region of a image
• Minor update 2.3.4 released in May 2011 includes optional Open Accessory Library as part of Google APIs Add-On

February 22, 2011

Android 3.0 (Honeycomb)

• First tablet only Android release with optimized UI designs
• New UI components like fragments, Action bar, app widgets and status bar notifications
• Support added for multi-core processor architecture
• Redesigned keyboard, improved copy/paste and visual multitasking
• Improved 2D graphics with hardware acceleration
• Improved clipboard APIs can be used to copy/paste plain text, a URI or and Intent.
• Enhancements for enterprise by supporting new types of policies like Encrypted Storage, Password Expiration and Password History
• Rich multimedia and connectivity options like HTTP Live streaming and Pluggable DRM framework

May 10, 2011

Android 3.1 (Honeycomb)

• Newly introduced MTP/PTP APIs can be used to interact directly with connected cameras and other PTP devices
• Support for different types of input sources like mice, joystick and gamepads
• New UI improvements like resizable widgets, expandable recent app list etc.

July 15, 2011

Android 3.2 (Honeycomb)

• New features for user like media syncing from SD card, view fixed size apps in compatibility zoom mode
• Developers can use new resource qualifiers to support wide range of screen sizes

October 18, 2011

Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich)

• Unified framework for tablets, phones and more
• Includes new typeface ‘Roboto’ optimized for high-resolutions with improved readability
• You can unlock your device with your face using newly introduced facial recognition technology
• Wi-Fi Direct feature allows you to connect to nearby Wi-Fi enabled device and share files
• Lock screen provides different options for launching camera, checking received messages and managing music tracks while listening music
• User can take screenshot and share it through gallery
• In-built support for Bluetooth HDP (Health Device Profile)
• Adds new controls to manage network data usage overall as well as application wise

December 6, 2011

10 Billion Downloads

• Android crosses 10 billion downloads on Android Market
• Photobucket Mobile app was the lucky 10 billionth download
• Exponential growth as it just took about 9 months to reach this milestone from 3 billion in march
• Android celebrates this milestone with 10-cent apps on Android Market for 10 days

December 16, 2011

Android 4.0.3 (Ice Cream Sandwich)

• Improvements in graphics, database, Bluetooth, spell checker and more
• Improved camera features like checking and managing video stabilization
• Accessibility refinements through improved content access for screen readers and new status/error reporting for TTS engines
• Calendar enhancements like color for events, new attendee types and states

I hope you have enjoyed reading these blogs and got enough information regarding Android’s Great Journey which is going to continue this year also. I hope in 2012 we will see more powerful Android tablets, smart phones and other devices.

First part of this blog can be read here.