Google brought along what was described as a working Android cellphone “for the first time in Europe” at the London Google Developer Day earlier this morning. Although the handset’s branding was covered, those present at the event described it as looking ” very much like the HTC Dream” and being “far more polished” than engineering samples we’ve seen previously.
It also saw Android’s Mike Jennings reaffirm that the platform was not just for cellphones. When asked by a developer whether the open-source OS could be loaded on devices other than mobile handsets, he replied “why not?”
The software demonstration given included an OpenGL and Java app that could render, on the Android handset itself, a rotating and morphing cube at an impressive 40 frames per second. Google also confirmed that users would be able to update the OS on their device themselves, likely through a USB connection rather than over the air. Gears for Mobile was also discussed, with the system now having a geolocation API that should tie into Android’s location-specific functionality.
[Thanks Alan!]
