Along with the preview SDK, Google also announced the upcoming features that we’ll be seeing in the Android 3.0 platform. It introduces many new and exciting features for both, users and developers.

Here is a glimpse of some of the new features and technologies that are being offered in the latest Android 3.0 Preview SDK.

Android 3.0 Features Preview for Users

New UI, Designed for Tablets: The new UI brings fresh paradigms for interaction, navigation, and customization and makes them available to all applications — even those built for earlier versions of the platform. Applications written for Android 3.0 are able to use an extended set of UI objects, powerful graphics, and media capabilities to engage users in new ways.

Global System Bar: Across the system and in all applications, users have quick access to notifications, system status, and soft navigation buttons in a System Bar, available at the bottom of the screen. The System Bar is always present and is a key touchpoint for users, but in a new “lights out mode” can also be dimmed for full-screen viewing, such as for videos.

Action Bar: In every application, users have access to contextual options, navigation, widgets, or other types of content in an Action Bar, displayed at the top of the screen.

Customizable Home Screens: Five customizable Home screens give users instant access to all parts of the system from any context. Each screen offers a large grid that maintains spatial arrangement in all orientations. Users can select and manipulate Home screen widgets, app shortcuts, and wallpapers using a dedicated visual layout mode. Visual cues and drop shadows improve visibility when adjusting the layout of shortcuts and widgets.

Recent Apps, Visual Multitasking: As users launch applications to handle various tasks, they can use the Recent Apps list in the System Bar to see the tasks underway and quickly jump from one application context to another. To help users rapidly identify the task associated with each app, the list shows a snapshot of its actual state when the user last viewed it.

Redesigned Keyboard: The Android soft keyboard is redesigned to make entering text fast and accurate on larger screen sizes. The keys are reshaped and repositioned for improved targeting, and new keys have been added, such as a Tab key, to provide richer and more efficient text input.

New Connectivity Options: Android 3.0 includes new connectivity features that add versatility and convenience for users. Built-in support for Media/Photo Transfer Protocol lets users instantly sync media files with a USB-connected camera or desktop computer, without needing to mount a USB mass-storage device. Users can also connect full keyboards over either USB or Bluetooth.

Form ore details on the new features for users and developers, head over to the official Android 3.0 Platform Highlights page.

Post from: Sizzled Core

Android 3.0 SDK Features Preview

Google has released the first preview SDK for Android 3.0 Honeycomb which is the next major release of the Android platform and is optimized for tablet devices. They’re offering a Preview SDK so you can get a head-start developing applications for it or simply optimize your existing application for upcoming tablets.

New UI, redesigned keyboard, visual multitasking, new and updated apps etc. are all part of the new Honeycomb experience on tablets and will eventually make its way to mobile phones as well.

For now, developers can enjoy the SDK and start with the tablets-optimized apps.

Download Android 3.0 Honeycomb SDK

Post from: Sizzled Core

Android 3.0 Honeycomb SDK Now Available