Android 2.0 !! Overview

Here is a list of apps that have been removed from the emulator. 1. Calendar 2. Camcorder 3. Google Maps The icons now have a new look and feel. Though I like the Donut icons, I guess, icons will keep changing. One issue with the default-email client that is supposed to support Exchange. I have successfully added an exchange account. But I am not able to see any new mails, and also, the mails I sent are still in the Outbox. When I go to contacts to add contacts from my Exchange Account, the application crashed. I couldn't test if the Contact's application can really synchronize with the exchange server. As for Google Maps, I think it will be shipped with the handsets only, as a separate application, and your code that uses Google Maps features will work on handsets, but as of now, there is no way to test such applications, unless you get it installed on your emulator. A lot of animated transitions when you switch between screens. And the new "Unlock" feature to unlock the key pad looks cool, but I guess, it would be a bit uncomfortable to use. You should need minimum effort to unlock your keypad. On the surface, you will basically find a complete UI change. I haven't yet digged into the new APIs. Have an Eclair !!!!! :)

Android 2.0 !!! Where is Google Maps

Just saw Android 2.0 (Eclairs) and downloaded it. Started the emulator, and compiled my project with 2.0 settings. I was surprised to see red marks all over the place. After looking at the console, I figured out that Android 2.0 doesn't have in-built Maps API. If your application uses the Google Maps API, then you are in for a surprise. Read on. Now what? In the emulator too, I didn't find the Google Maps application. Damn. But, just to test if my other functionalities were intact with the new Android 2.0, I added the maps.jar avaialble in the Android SDK as an external jar. I thought this would solve the problem. All compile errors vanished. But when I tried to install my app, the console said, "Installation error: INSTALL_FAILED_MISSING_SHARED_LIBRARY" To avoid this installation error, you have to remove this line from the manifest file so that Android detects the maps.jar as an external API and not an internal one. uses-library android:name="com.google.android.maps" Now, your app will be installed without any errors. But, since there is no Google Maps application, you cannot launch or test any Google Maps feature that you application depends on. Needless to say, it will of course be available on our handsets, but this is very disappointing.