Android Revs SDK, Promises Source Code

When last we looked at Google's Android mobile phone OS project, there were some rumblings of discontent in the developer community. This week, though, developers have a lot less to complain about (though, perfectionists that most of us are, we can still find a few issues). That's because Google has pushed out an 0.9 beta version of the SDK, making its vision for the first Android release much clearer.

The release comes with a Developer Roadmap, something that the community had been requesting. According to this, we should see the actual 1.0 SDK some time in Q3 or Q4, and the release of the actual Android source code some time in Q4. Of the source code release, Google says:

This work is already under way, but since Android contains some 8 million lines of code, it's a lengthy process.

There aren't too many surprises in the actual SDK; in the main, it adds polish and concreteness to what was in the early builds. A  few changes, though, are likely to distress some early developers. These include the removal of some GTalk APIs from the platform, the dropping of a BlueTooth API, and the inability to play music from memory in the initial release.

With the first Android devices actually announced now, Google has hard deadlines for nailing down Android 1.0. Hopefully the open source aspects of the project won't be completely overshadowed by the rush to ship.