Google Android 2.1 Full Operating System Specifications

Android 2.1 is a minor platform release deployable to Android-powered handsets starting in January 2010. This release includes new API changes and bug fixes. For information on changes, see the Framework API section.For developers, the Android 2.1 platform is available as a downloadable component for the Android SDK. The downloadable platform includes a fully compliant Android library and system image, as well as a set of emulator skins, sample applications, and more. The downloadable platform includes no external libraries.To get started developing or testing against the Android 2.1 platform, use the Android SDK and AVD Manager tool to download the platform into your Android SDK. For more information, see Adding SDK Components.Built-in ApplicationsThe system image included in the downloadable platform provides thesebuilt-in applications: Alarm ClockBrowserCalculatorCameraContactsCustom Locale (developer app)Dev Tools (developer app)Email GalleryIMEs for Japanese, Chinese, and Latin text inputMessagingMusicPhoneSettingsSpare Parts (developer app)LocalesThe system image included in the downloadable platform provides a variety ofbuilt-in locales. In some cases, region-specific strings are available for thelocales. In other cases, a default version of the language is used. Thelanguages that are available in the Android 2.1 systemimage are listed below (with language_country/region localedescriptor).Chinese, PRC (zh_CN)Chinese, Taiwan (zh_TW)Czech (cs_CZ)Dutch, Netherlands (nl_NL)Dutch, Belgium (nl_BE)English, US (en_US)English, Britain (en_GB)English, Canada (en_CA)English, Australia (en_AU)English, New Zealand (en_NZ)English, Singapore(en_SG)French, France (fr_FR)French, Belgium (fr_BE)French, Canada (fr_CA)French, Switzerland (fr_CH)German, Germany (de_DE)German, Austria (de_AT)German, Switzerland (de_CH)German, Liechtenstein (de_LI)Italian, Italy (it_IT)Italian, Switzerland (it_CH)Japanese (ja_JP)Korean (ko_KR)Polish (pl_PL)Russian (ru_RU)Spanish (es_ES)Localized UI strings match the locales that are accessiblethrough Settings.Emulator SkinsThe downloadable platform includes a set of emulator skins that you can usefor modeling your application in different screen sizes and resolutions. Theemulator skins are: QVGA (240x320, low density, small screen) WQVGA (240x400, low density, normal screen) FWQVGA (240x432, low density, normal screen) HVGA (320x480, medium density, normal screen) WVGA800 (480x800, high density, normal screen) WVGA854 (480x854 high density, normal screen) Framework APIThe sections below provide information about changes made to the applicationframework API provided by the Android 2.1 platform.API levelThe Android 2.1 platform delivers an updated version ofthe framework API. The Android 2.1 APIis assigned an integer identifier —7 — that isstored in the system itself. This identifier, called the "API Level", allows thesystem to correctly determine whether an application is compatible withthe system, prior to installing the application. To use APIs introduced in Android 2.1 in yourapplication, you need to set the proper value, "7", in theattributes of the element in your application'smanifest. For more information about how to use API Level, see the API Levels document. API changes summaryThe following is a summary of some notable changes to the framework APIs.Live WallpapersThe following additions provide APIs for you to develop animated wallpapers:    * New android.service.wallpaper package.    * New WallpaperInfo class.    * Updated WallpaperManager.Additionally, if your application uses or provides Live Wallpapers, you must remember to add a element to the application's manifest, declaring the attribute android:name="android.software.live_wallpaper". For example:When you've published your application, Android Market checks for the presence of this element and uses it as a filter, ensuring that your application is not made available to users whose devices do not support Live Wallpapers.Telephony    * New SignalStrength class provides information about the device's current network signal. This can be acquired from the new onSignalStrengthsChanged(SignalStrength) callback.    * New onDataConnectionStateChanged(int, int) callback.Views    * New View methods isOpaque() and onDrawScrollBars(Canvas).    * New RemoteViews methods addView(int, RemoteViews) and removeAllViews(int).    * New ViewGroup methods isChildrenDrawingOrderEnabled() and setChildrenDrawingOrderEnabled(boolean).WebKit    * New WebStorage methods to manipulate web storage databases.    * New GeolocationPermissions methods to get Geolocation permissions from, and set them on the WebView.    * New WebSettings methods to manage settings for app cache, web storage, and zooming based on screen density.    * New WebChromeClient methods for handling video, browsing history, custom Views, app cache limits, and more.API differences reportFor a detailed view of all API changes in Android 2.1 (API Level 7), as compared to API Level 6, see the API Differences Report.