Google demonstrated some of the features they’ve been working on for Android OS 2.0 Donut while at I/O 2009, and we’ve got video from the keynote to show you those changes in action. One of the biggest differences to 1.5 Cupcake is “Android Search”, which is the catch-all name for the platform’s new universal searching that queries contacts, calendars, music and online information.

In addition, Donut brings with it intelligent search, with the Android phone learning common searches and offering them up in future queries. OS 2.0 also allows for simple addition of third-party content to standard searches with just a few line of XML code.
Google also demonstrated an update to their voice-control system, present on OS 1.5 Cupcake, which introduces their new text-to-speech API. A generally available translation app – which currently only shows text translations – was modified with the new API to read out translation results.
Finally, the video shows the new handwriting gestures which can be used to quickly filter out contacts or move through tracklistings in the media player. Let us know what you think in the comments!
















Is it possible to run this on the HTC magic, samsung I7500 or G1 when it comes out?
I like the drawing on the screen to search too. Makes it way easier than scrolling down the list of contacts fast.
Is it possible to run this on the HTC magic, samsung I7500 or G1 when it comes out?
@the vid: Exciting ^^
@the vid: Exciting ^^
"Save any special hardware" is a very important thing to consider and one that will surely dictate that consumers should not expect every phone to be able to do the same exact thing.
When I was a regular at the SymbianFreak community, they spoke at great length on how it was annoying how each phone was branded with different software features based solely upon what Nokia thought each phone's demographic was. I don't particualrly want to find any evidence backing this statement up, so feel free to completly ignore it.
I do see your point. at some point a feature will be available that wouldn't be possible on another handset (something that requires hardware video acceleration?), and since firmwares is handset specific, it wouldn't be always possible (save a friendly firmware cook). I would like to believe, however, that there is a fairly universal firmware base from which you develop around.
My "Save any special hardware" was in reference to something physical on the phone (a button, a jog-wheel, a mustard dispenser) and not really taking into consideration any advancement in the phone's computer infrastructure.
I mod Sony Ericsson phones, they all have an own firmware... when you want to change features you use a *.vkp file, those are specific for ONE phone and ONE firmware version. WHen you want to port this new feature to a different firmware or phone you have to disassamble the 1st firmware and port it using assembly language... a time-taking and complicated process...
Anyway, I hope that's easier on android