Some developers are scratching their heads in the wake of Google's Android 0.9 SDK beta release--in addition to supplementing the OS with a new home screen, user interface upgrades and other bells and whistles, the web services giant also made the unexpected decision to remove Bluetooth functionality. "Due to significant API changes in the upstream open-source project and due to the timeline of getting certain Bluetooth profile implementations certified, a comprehensive Bluetooth API will not be possible or present in Android 1.0," reads Google's release notes, and as Computerworld points out, some developers are hung up on the word "comprehensive," which could mean any number of things.
A Google spokesperson promises the firm will elaborate on its Android plans later this week, but in the meantime developers are already expressing their concern and confusion on the Google Android forum. With T-Mobile USA poised to launch the HTC Dream--the first U.S. mobile handset based on the Android OS--one developer writes "HTC would not release a smartphone in this day and age that lacked Bluetooth support." Other developers suggest the next SDK update--expected sometime in September--could still feature basic Bluetooth support.
For more on the Android Bluetooth confusion:
- read this Computerworld article