Android an Introduction

Android Version List 

 

• Android 1.0 (API level 1)

• Android 1.1 (API level 2)

• Android 1.5 Cupcake (API level 3)

• Android 1.6 Donut (API level 4)

• Android 2.0 Eclair (API level 5)

• Android 2.0.1 Eclair (API level 6)

• Android 2.1 Eclair (API level 7)

• Android 2.2–2.2.3 Froyo (API level 8)

• Android 2.3–2.3.2 Gingerbread (API level 9)

• Android 2.3.3–2.3.7 Gingerbread (API level 10)

• Android 3.0 Honeycomb (API level 11)

• Android 3.1 Honeycomb (API level 12)

• Android 3.2 Honeycomb (API level 13)

• Android 4.0–4.0.2 Ice Cream Sandwich (API level 14)

• Android 4.0.3–4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich (API level 15)

• Android 4.1 Jelly Bean (API level 16)

• Android 4.2 Jelly Bean (API level 17)

• Android 4.3 Jelly Bean (API level 18)

• Android 4.4 KitKat(API level 19)

Android 1.5 Cupcake

1. Release date:30 April 2009

2. third-party virtual keyboards with text prediction and user dictionary for custom words

3. Support for Widgets

4. Video recording and playback in MPEG-4 and 3GP formats

5. Auto-pairing and stereo support for Bluetooth

6. Copy and paste features in web browser

7. User pictures shown for Favorites in Contacts

8. Specific date/time stamp shown for events in call log, and one-touch access to a contact card from call log event

9. Animated screen transitions

10. Auto-rotation option

11. New stock boot animation

12. Ability to upload videos to YouTube

13. Ability to upload photos to Picasa

Android 1.6 Donut

1. Voice and text entry search enhanced to include bookmark history, contacts, and the web

2. Ability for developers to include their content in search results

3. Multi-lingual speech synthesis engine to allow any Android application to “speak” a string of text

4. Easier searching and ability to view app screenshots in Android Market

5. Gallery, camera and camcorder more fully integrated, with faster camera access

6. Ability for users to select multiple photos for deletion

7. Updated technology support for CDMA/EVDO, 802.1x, VPNs, and a text-to-speech engine

8. Support for WVGA screen resolutions

9. Speed improvements in searching and camera applications

10. Expanded Gesture framework and new GestureBuilder development tool

 Android 2.0 Eclair

1. Expanded Account sync, allowing users to add multiple accounts to a device for synchronization of email and contacts

2. Microsoft Exchange email support, with combined inbox to browse email from multiple accounts in one page

3. Bluetooth 2.1 support

4. Ability to tap a Contacts photo and select to call, SMS, or email the person

5. Ability to search all saved SMS and MMS messages, with delete oldest messages in a conversation automatically deleted when a defined limit is reached

6. Numerous new camera features, including flash support, digital zoom, scene mode, white balance, color effect and macro focus

7. Improved typing speed on virtual keyboard, with smarter dictionary that learns from word usage and includes contact names as suggestions

8. Refreshed browser UI with bookmark thumbnails, double-tap zoom and support for HTML5

9. Calendar agenda view enhanced, showing attending status for each invitee, and ability to invite new guests to events

10. Optimized hardware speed and revamped UI

11. Support for more screen sizes and resolutions, with better contrast ratio

12. Improved Google Maps 3.1.2

13. MotionEvent class enhanced to track multi-touch events

14. Addition of live wallpapers, allowing the animation of home-screen background images to show movement

Android 2.2–2.2.3 Froyo

1. Speed, memory, and performance optimizations

2. Additional application speed improvements, implemented through JIT compilation

3. Integration of Chrome’s V8 JavaScript engine into the Browser application

4. Support for the Android Cloud to Device Messaging (C2DM) service, enabling push notifications

5. Improved Microsoft Exchange support, including security policies, auto-discovery, GAL look-up, calendar synchronization and remote wipe

6. Improved application launcher with shortcuts to Phone and Browser applications

7. USB tethering and Wi-Fi hotspot functionality

8. Option to disable data access over mobile network

9. Updated Market application with batch and automatic update features

10. Quick switching between multiple keyboard languages and their dictionaries

11. Voice dialing and contact sharing over Bluetooth

12. Support for Bluetooth-enabled car and desk docks

13. Support for numeric and alphanumeric passwords

14. Support for file upload fields in the Browser application

15. Support for installing applications to the expandable memory

16. Adobe Flash support

17. Support for high-PPI displays (up to 320 ppi), such as 4″ 720p screens

18. Gallery allows users to view picture stacks using a zoom gesture

Android 2.3–2.3.2 Gingerbread

1. Updated user interface design with increased simplicity and speed

2. Support for extra-large screen sizes and resolutions (WXGA and higher)

3. Native support for SIP VoIP internet telephony

4. Faster, more intuitive text input in virtual keyboard, with improved accuracy, better suggested text and voice input mode

5. Enhanced copy/paste functionality, allowing users to select a word by press-hold, copy, and paste

6. Support for Near Field Communication (NFC), allowing the user to read an NFC tag embedded in a poster, sticker, or advertisement

7. New audio effects such as reverb, equalization, headphone virtualization, and bass boost

8. New Download Manager, giving users easy access to any file downloaded from the browser, email, or another application

9. Support for multiple cameras on the device, including a front-facing camera, if available

10. Support for WebM/VP8 video playback, and AAC audio encoding

11. Improved power management with a more active role in managing apps that are keeping the device awake for too long

12. Enhanced support for native code development

13. Switched from YAFFS to ext4 on newer devices

14. Audio, graphical, and input enhancements for game developers

15. Concurrent garbage collection for increased performance

16. Native support for more sensors (such as gyroscopes and barometers)

Android 3.0 Honeycomb

1. Optimized tablet support with a new virtual and “holographic” user interface

2. Added System Bar, featuring quick access to notifications, status, and soft navigation buttons, available at the bottom of the screen

3. Added Action Bar, giving access to contextual options, navigation, widgets, or other types of content at the top of the screen

4. Simplified multitasking – tapping Recent Apps in the System Bar allows users to see snapshots of the tasks underway and quickly jump from one app to another

5. Redesigned keyboard, making typing fast, efficient and accurate on larger screen sizes

6. Simplified, more intuitive copy/paste interface

7. Multiple browser tabs replacing browser windows, plus form auto-fill and a new “incognito” mode allowing anonymous browsing

8. Quick access to camera exposure, focus, flash, zoom, front-facing camera, time-lapse, and other camera features

9. Ability to view albums and other collections in full-screen mode in Gallery, with easy access to thumbnails for other photos

10. New two-pane Contacts UI and Fast Scroll to let users easily organize and locate contacts

11. New two-pane Email UI to make viewing and organizing messages more efficient, allowing users to select one or more messages

12. Support for video chat using Google Talk

13. Hardware acceleration

14. Support for multi-core processors

15. Ability to encrypt all user data

16. HTTPS stack improved with Server Name Indication (SNI)

17. Filesystem in Userspace (FUSE; kernel module)

Android 4.0–4.0.2 Ice Cream Sandwich

1. Soft buttons from Android 3.x are now available for use on phones

2. Separation of widgets in a new tab, listed in a similar manner to apps

3. Easier-to-create folders, with a drag-and-drop style

4. A customizable launcher

5. Improved visual voicemail with the ability to speed up or slow down voicemail messages

6. Pinch-to-zoom functionality in the calendar

7. Integrated screenshot capture (accomplished by holding down the Power and Volume-Down buttons)

8. Improved error correction on the keyboard

9. Ability to access apps directly from lock screen

10. Improved copy and paste functionality

11. Better voice integration and continuous, real-time speech to text dictation

12. Face Unlock, a feature that allows users to unlock handsets using facial recognition software

13. New tabbed web browser under Google’s Chrome brand, allowing up to 16 tabs

14. Automatic syncing of browser with users’ Chrome bookmarksA new typeface family for the UI, Roboto

15. Data Usage section in settings that lets users set warnings when they approach a certain usage limit, and disable data use when the limit is exceeded

16. Ability to shut down apps that are using data in the background

17. Improved camera app with zero shutter lag, time lapse settings, panorama mode, and the ability to zoom while recording

18. Built-in photo editor

19. New gallery layout, organized by location and person

20. Refreshed “People” app with social network integration, status updates and hi-res images

21. Android Beam, a near-field communication feature allowing the rapid short-range exchange of web bookmarks, contact info, directions, YouTube videos and other data

22. Support for the WebP image format

23. Hardware acceleration of the UI

24. Wi-Fi Direct

25. 1080p video recording for stock Android devices

26. Android VPN Framework (AVF), and TUN (but not TAP) kernel module. Prior to 4.0, VPN software required rooted Android.

Android 4.1 Jelly Bean

1. Smoother user interface:

2. Vsync timing across all drawing and animation done by the Android framework, including application rendering, touch events, screen composition and display refreshTriple buffering in the graphics pipeline

3. Enhanced accessibility

4. Bi-directional text and other language support

5. User-installable keyboard maps

6. Expandable notifications

7. Ability to turn off notifications on an app specific basis

8. Shortcuts and widgets can automatically be re-arranged or re-sized to allow new items to fit on home screens

9. Bluetooth data transfer for Android Beam

10. Offline voice dictation

11. Tablets with smaller screens now use an expanded version of the interface layout and home screen used by phones.

12. Improved voice search

13. Improved camera app

14. Google Wallet (for the Nexus 7)

15. High-resolution Google+ contact photos

16. Google Now search application

17. Multichannel audio

18. USB audio (for external sound DACs)

19. Audio chaining (also known as gapless playback)

20. Stock Android browser is replaced with the Android mobile version of Google Chrome in devices with Android 4.1 preinstalled

21. Ability for other launchers to add widgets from the app drawer without requiring root access

Android 4.4 KitKat

1. Wireless printing capability

2. New framework for UI transitions

3. NFC Host Card Emulation for emulating

4. The Wi-Fi and mobile data Tx-Rx indicators are disabled

5. Browser text wrap is disabled

6. Built-in screen recording

7. Expanded functionality for Notification listener services