The Android Devices Blog

Alright, I’m still not quite up to the task of reporting things as they happen. Why is there always important news as soon as I go away for a few days…?

Anyway, the big news last week was of course the release of a new Android SDK version. It’s not quite a 1.0 release yet, but 0.9 should come close enough. Techcrunch has a few screenshots and details about what’s included and what isn’t. The new SDK is of course what the finalists of the Android Developer Challenge have been working with for months now. All other developers (the ones that didn’t abandon the platform for greener pastures) were stuck with an old preview that was last updated in February, so they should be quite relieved that finally they are getting something more current to work with.

HTC has gotten FTC approval for the Dream handset, which means that the rumors about T-Mobile launching that device pretty soon might actually be true. Of course the approval is for the hardware, it doesn’t mean that the software is finished. But it’s a step in the right direction. The rumor-mill continues to buzz (or whatever else a rumor-mill does) with variations of the actual release date and so far the only thing that seems to be set in stone is that it’s going to be a Q4 release, probably in October or possibly November.

The Android team have created a security FAQ and issued a challenge to security researchers to help harden the platform. That sounds like a good move, considering that various vulnerabilities were discovered in earlier versions of the SDK. And the very nature of these more and more powerful and connected devices demands greater attention to security details.

CNet has a good summary of various rumours that not only is T-Mobile set for an October 1st launch of the 3G network in the US, but also that one of the 3G phones they will be offering as part of this plan is going to be an Android-based phone.

Commenters in various blogs that report on the 3G launch seem to be confirming the launch date, but so far I have not seen confirmation of the Android rumours anywhere. The device is supposed to most likely be a HTC Dream. Of course, October 1st is in Q4 (just), so even with a Q4 delay of the first Android devices, this could well be true.