Android 2.3.6 Apps
The Android 2.3 platform introduces many new and exciting features forusers and developers. This document provides a glimpse at some of the new featuresand technologies in Android 2.3. For detailed information about the new developer APIs, see the Android 2.3 version notes.
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New User Features
UI refinements for simplicity and speed
The user interface is refined in many ways across the system, making iteasier to learn, faster to use, and more power-efficient. A simplifiedvisual theme of colors against black brings vividness and contrast to thenotification bar, menus, and other parts of the UI. Changes in menus andsettings make it easier for the user to navigate and control the featuresof the system and device.
Faster, more intuitive text input
The Android soft keyboard is redesigned and optimized for faster text inputand editing. The keys themselves are reshaped and repositioned for improvedtargeting, making them easier to see and press accurately, even at high speeds.The keyboard also displays the current character and dictionary suggestions in alarger, more vivid style that is easier to read.
The keyboard adds the capability to correct entered words from suggestions inthe dictionary. As the user selects a word already entered, the keyboarddisplays suggestions that the user can choose from, to replace the selection.The user can also switch to voice input mode to replace the selection. Smartsuggestions let the user accept a suggestion and then return to correct itlater, if needed, from the original set of suggestions.
New multitouch key-chording lets the user quickly enter numbers and symbolsby pressing Shift+<letter> and ?123+<symbol>,without needing to manually switch input modes. From certain keys, users canalso access a popup menu of accented characters, numbers, and symbols by holdingthe key and sliding to select a character.
Android 2.3.6 Apps
One-touch word selection and copy/paste
When entering text or viewing a web page, the user can quickly select a wordby press-hold, then copy to the clipboard and paste. Pressing on a word enters afree-selection mode — the user can adjust the selection area as needed bydragging a set of bounding arrows to new positions, then copy the bounded areaby pressing anywhere in the selection area. For text entry, the user canslide-press to enter a cursor mode, then reposition the cursor easily andaccurately by dragging the cursor arrow. With both the selection and cursormodes, no use of a trackball is needed.
Improved power management
The Android system takes a more active role in managing apps that are keepingthe device awake for too long or that are consuming CPU while running in thebackground. By managing such apps — closing them if appropriate —the system helps ensure best possible performance and maximum battery life.
The system also gives the user more visibility over the power being consumedby system components and running apps. The Application settings provides anaccurate overview of how the battery is being used, with details of the usageand relative power consumed by each component or application.
Control over applications
A shortcut to the Manage Applications control now appears in the Options Menuin the Home screen and Launcher, making it much easier to check and manageapplication activity. Once the user enters Manage Applications, a new Runningtab displays a list of active applications and the storage and memory being usedby each. The user can read further details about each application and ifnecessary stop an application or report feedback to its developer.
New ways of communicating, organizing
An updated set of standard applications lets the user take new approaches tomanaging information and relationships.
Internet calling
The user can make voice calls over the internet to other users who have SIPaccounts. The user can add an internet calling number (a SIP address) to anyContact and can initiate a call from Quick Contact or Dialer. To use internetcalling, the user must create an account at the SIP provider of their choice— SIP accounts are not provided as part of the internet calling feature.Additionally, support for the platform's SIP and internet calling features onspecific devices is determined by their manufacturers and associated carriers.
Near-field communications
An NFC Reader application lets the user read and interact with near-fieldcommunication (NFC) tags. For example, the user can “touch” or “swipe” an NFCtag that might be embedded in a poster, sticker, or advertisement, then act onthe data read from the tag. A typical use would be to read a tag at arestaurant, store, or event and then rate or register by jumping to a web sitewhose URL is included in the tag data. NFC communication relies on wirelesstechnology in the device hardware, so support for the platform's NFC features onspecific devices is determined by their manufacturers.
Downloads management
The Downloads application gives the user easy access to any file downloaded fromthe browser, email, or another application. Downloads is built on an completely newdownload manager facility in the system that any other applications can use, tomore easily manage and store their downloads.
Camera
The application now lets the user access multiple cameras on the device,including a front-facing camera, if available.
New Developer Features
Android 2.3 delivers a variety of features and APIs thatlet developers bring new types of applications to the Androidplatform.
Enhancements for gaming
Performance
Android 2.3 includes a variety of improvements across the system that makecommon operations faster and more efficient for all applications. Of particularinterest to game developers are:
- Concurrent garbage collector — The Dalvik VM introduces a new,concurrent garbage collector that minimizes application pauses, helping toensure smoother animation and increased responsiveness in games and similarapplications.
- Faster event distribution — The plaform now handles touch and keyboardevents faster and more efficiently, minimizing CPU utilization during eventdistribution. The changes improve responsiveness for all applications, butespecially benefit games that use touch events in combination with 3D graphicsor other CPU-intensive operations.
- Updated video drivers — The platform uses updated third-party videodrivers that improve the efficiency of OpenGL ES operations, for faster overall3D graphics performance.
Native input andsensor events
Applications that use native code can now receive and process input andsensor events directly in their native code, which dramatically improvesefficiency and responsiveness.
Native libraries exposed by the platform let applications handle the sametypes of input events as those available through the framework. Applicationscan receive events from all supported sensor types and can enable/disablespecific sensors and manage event delivery rate and queueing.
Gyroscope and othernew sensors, for improved 3D motion processing
Android 2.3 6 Apps Free Download
Android 2.3 adds API support for several new sensor types, includinggyroscope, rotation vector, linear acceleration, gravity, and barometer sensors.Applications can use the new sensors in combination with any other sensorsavailable on the device, to track three-dimensional device motion andorientation change with high precision and accuracy. For example, a gameapplication could use readings from a gyroscope and accelerometer on the deviceto recognize complex user gestures and motions, such as tilt, spin, thrust, andslice.
Open API for nativeaudio
The platform provides a software implementation of Khronos OpenSL ES, a standard APIthat gives applications access to powerful audio controls and effects fromnative code. Applications can use the API to manage audio devices and controlaudio input, output, and processing directly from native code.
Native graphicsmanagement
The platform provides an interface to its Khronos EGL library, which letsapplications manage graphics contexts and create and manage OpenGL ES texturesand surfaces from native code.
Native access toActivity lifecycle, window management
Native applications can declare a new type of Activity class,NativeActivity whose lifecycle callbacks are implemented directlyin native code. The NativeActivity and its underlying native coderun in the system just as do other Activities — they run in theapplication's system process and execute on the application's main UI thread,and they receive the same lifecycle callbacks as do other Activities.
The platform also exposes native APIs for managing windows, including theability to lock/unlock the pixel buffer to draw directly into it. Through theAPI, applications can obtain a native window object associated with a frameworkSurface object and interact with it directly in native code.
Native access toassets, storage
Applications can now access a native Asset Manager API to retrieveapplication assets directly from native code without needing to go through JNI.If the assets are compressed, the platform does streaming decompression as theapplication reads the asset data. There is no longer a limit on the size ofcompressed .apk assets that can be read.
Additionally, applications can access a native Storage Manager API to workdirectly with OBB files downloaded and managed by the system. Note that althoughplatform support for OBB is available in Android 2.3, development tools forcreating and managing OBB files will not be available until early 2011.
Robust nativedevelopment environment
The Android NDK (r5 or higher) provides a complete set of tools, toolchains,and libraries for developing applications that use the rich native environmentoffered by the Android 2.3 platform. For more information or to download theNDK, please see the Android NDKpage.
New forms of communication
Internettelephony
Developers can now add SIP-based internet telephony features to theirapplications. Android 2.3 includes a full SIP protocol stack and integrated callmanagement services that let applications easily set up outgoing and incomingvoice calls, without having to manage sessions, transport-level communication,or audio record or playback directly.
Support for the platform's SIP and internet calling features on specificdevices is determined by their manufacturers and associated carriers.
Near FieldCommunications (NFC)
The platform's support for Near Field Communications (NFC) lets developersget started creating a whole new class of applications for Android. Developerscan create new applications that offer proximity-based information and servicesto users, organizations, merchants, and advertisers.
Using the NFC API,applications can read and respond to NFC tags “discovered” as the user “touches” anNFC-enabled device to elements embedded in stickers, smart posters, and evenother devices. When a tag of interest is collected, applications can respond tothe tag, read messages from it, and then store the messages, promptingthe user as needed.
Starting from Android 2.3.3, applications can also write to tags andset up peer-to-peer connections with other NFC devices.
NFC communication relies on wireless technology in the device hardware, sosupport for the platform's NFC features on specific devices is determined bytheir manufacturers.
Rich multimedia
Mixable audioeffects
A new audio effects API lets developers easily create rich audio environmentsby adding equalization, bass boost, headphone virtualization (widenedsoundstage), and reverb to audio tracks and sounds. Developers can mix multipleaudio effects in a local track or apply effects globally, across multipletracks.
Support for new mediaformats
The platform now offers built-in support for the VP8 open video compressionformat and the WebM open container format. The platform also adds support forAAC encoding and AMR wideband encoding (in software), so that applications cancapture higher quality audio than narrowband.
Access to multiplecameras
The Camera API now lets developers access any cameras that are available on adevice, including a front-facing camera. Applications can query the platform forthe number of cameras on the device and their types and characteristics, thenopen the camera needed. For example, a video chat application might want to access afront-facing camera that offers lower-resolution, while a photo applicationmight prefer a back-facing camera that offers higher-resolution.
New Platform Technologies
Media Framework
- New media framework fully replaces OpenCore, maintaining all previouscodec/container support for encoding and decoding.
- Integrated support for the VP8 open video compression format and the WebMopen container format
- Adds AAC encoding and AMR wideband encoding
Linux Kernel
- Upgraded to 2.6.35
Networking
- SIP stack, configurable by device manufacturer
- Support for Near Field Communications (NFC), configurable by device manufacturer
- Updated BlueZ stack
Dalvik runtime
- Dalvik VM:
- Concurrent garbage collector (target sub-3ms pauses)
- Adds further JIT (code-generation) optimizations
- Improved code verification
- StrictMode debugging, for identifying performance and memory issues
- Core libraries:
- Expanded I18N support (full worldwide encodings, more locales)
- Faster Formatter and number formatting. For example, float formatting is 2.5x faster.
- HTTP responses are gzipped by default. XML and JSON API response sizes may be reduced by 60% or more.
- New collections and utilities APIs
- Improved network APIs
- Improved file read and write controls
- Updated JDBC
- Updates from upstream projects:
- OpenSSL 1.0.0a
- BouncyCastle 1.45
- ICU 4.4
- zlib 1.2.5
For more information about the new developer APIs, see the Android 2.3 version notes and the API Differences Report.