Open Handset Alliance Releases Android SDK

The Open Handset Alliance, a group of mobile and technology leaders,
today announced the availability of the Android Software Development
Kit (SDK). Available now as an early look, the Android SDK will enable
developers to create innovative and compelling applications for the
platform. The early look will also provide developers with the
opportunity to participate in the evolution of the Android platform by
providing feedback throughout the development process.

The Android platform was built from the ground up to enable
developers to create new and innovative mobile applications that take
full advantage of all the capabilities of a handset connected to the
internet. It is a complete mobile platform built on the Linux 2.6
kernel that exposes a robust operating system, a comprehensive set of
libraries, a rich multimedia user interface, and a complete set of
phone applications. Android's innovative application model makes it
easy for developers to extend, replace, and reuse existing software
components to create rich and integrated mobile services for consumers.

The Android platform also includes the Dalvik virtual machine to
maximize application performance, portability, and security. The entire
platform will be made available under the very liberal,
developer-friendly Apache v2 open-source license in 2008.

Android Software Development Kit

The SDK contains a rich set of tools for developers to build
applications for the Android platform. Included are advanced
development and debugging tools, a rich set of libraries, a true device
emulator, in-depth documentation, sample projects, tutorials, FAQs, and
more. For developers looking for a seamless development experience, an
Eclipse plugin is included to integrate these tools with the Eclipse
integrated development environment. The site hosting the kit will also
feature a blog and discussion groups, to make it easier for everyone
contributing to the platform to interact and share knowledge.

Requirements

To begin building applications for Android, developers will need to
download the Android SDK to an x86-based computer running Windows XP or
Vista; Mac OS 10.4.8 or later; or Linux Ubuntu Dapper Drake or later
(other modern distributions of Linux will also likely work but are not
directly supported).

Developers will also need Eclipse 3.2 or later, with Java
Development Tools and the Android SDK's plugin, or Java and Javac 1.5
or 1.6; Apache Ant; an integrated development environment; and Python
2.2 or later.

Downloading the SDK

For more information or to download the SDK, please visit http://www.openhandsetalliance.com/developers.html.

About the Open Handset Alliance

A multinational alliance of technology and mobile industry leaders,
the Open Handset Alliance is committed to fostering innovation on
mobile devices and bringing consumers innovative new mobile
experiences. The first product of that commitment is the development of
Android, a truly open and co mprehensive platform for mobile devices.
Through Android, developers, wireless operators, and handset
manufacturers will be better positioned to bring innovative new
products to market faster and at a much lower cost. The end result will
be an unprecedented mobile platform that will enable wireless operators
and manufacturers to give their customers better, more personal, and
more flexible mobile experiences. For profiles of the founding members
of the Alliance and further info, visit www.openhandsetalliance.com.