Application development for Google’s Android cellphone platform is entering a more serious stage as the company releases version 0.9 beta to its developer community. Scheduled for a September or October release, the final version appears to be on scheduled and perfectly aligned with HTC Dream smartphone, which also made a first showing yesterday. Android carries the hopes to become an iPhone like platform that is not tied to just one company, but we already know that the platform will not be complete when it launches and lack key features – such as Bluetooth.

That in fact is not error – Android 0.9 does not include the Bluetooth API and even the final version 1.0 will not include support for this key wireless connectivity feature that is used, for example, by wireless headsets. Google said the decision to not include Bluetooth was made due to “significant API changes in the upstream open-source project and due to the timeline of getting certain Bluetooth profile implementations certified.”

Developers who played with “early look” versions of Android SDKs will also find that Google removed other features, such as GTalkService (due to security concerns). However, v0.9 also includes substantial changes that make it feel like a much more mature platform. Besides countless UI changes, there is a new home screen and Google added standard applications you would expect from a smartphone – such as an alarm clock, a calculator, camera support, a music player, a picture viewer, and SMS/MMS messaging capability.

Developers are invited to get their feet wet with Android by taken v0.9 beta a bit more seriously. But while Google is working to release Android 1.0 in time for the first devices that are expected to be shipping in the fourth quarter, the company said that applications developed with version 0.9 beta “may not quite be compatible with devices running the final Android 1.0.”

To provide an idea how Android will develop over time, Google also published a very rough roadmap that, at this time, does not offer much more information than the fact that Android SDK will be released in the Q3/Q4 timeframe (with industry sources pointing to September/October), the availability of Android devices for Q4, the release of the source code in Q4 and a key announcement that will be made at the Android Developer Challenge II in Q4. “We'll update [the roadmap] with additional detail as we are able to, but even right now it can help give you a picture of how things will play out as the first phones draw near,” Google said.

These first devices include HTC’s Dream, which surfaced on the FCC site. Officially called the “DREA100 series,” the Dream is expected to be offered by T-Mobile. The FCC filing does not reveal a lot of detail, but we learned that the device will include 802.11b/g Wi-Fi, 3G capability and a slide-out keyboard. Bluetooth is, of course on board, but as mentioned, this feature will not be supported by Android 1.0.

Source: TG Daily