It’s official! As expected, Google has officially announced Android 2.2 at their I/O conference this morning. Click through for the list of new goodies.
Whats New:
- Just-in-time compilation, providing a 2-5x speed boost for applications
- 20 new Enterprise features, including better Exchange support and remote wipe
- Cloud-to-device messaging API: Messages, including Android intents (app launch commands) can be sent from the cloud to Android devices. The example given: view a map on your PC browser, then click the “Send to device” link – the same map opens on your Android handset
- Tethering/WiFi Hotspot: As we predicted, Android 2.2 brings out-of-the-box support for turning the device into a WiFi hotspot
- 2-3x Javascript performance: They’re now leveraging the same Javascript engine as they use in Chrome. Google claims that Android now has the world’s fastest mobile browser.
- Support for Adobe Flash 10.1
- Device backup functionality, which also backs up all data from your third-party apps
- Quick Search Enhancements: Users can now search for apps on the device via the homescreen search box widget. Developers can also extend their applications into quick search box, allowing user to search for data within their apps.
- App Storage on the SD card: One of the most common (if trivial) complaints on Android is that, without hacking, applications can not be stored on the SD card, limiting the number of apps that can be installed. No longer! Android will now automatically install apps to the memory card when space runs low, or users can manually move apps to it.
- App Updating: The Android Market now has an “Update All” button. Users can also choose to have all applications update automatically.