Checking out Android

Taking a break from the unboxing to have a look around the Android site.

There's a blog Here.

Some highlights on the platform, from here:

* Application framework enabling reuse and replacement of components
* Dalvik virtual machine optimized for mobile devices
* Integrated browser based on the open source WebKit engine
* Optimized graphics powered by a custom 2D graphics library; 3D graphics based on the OpenGL ES 1.0 specification (hardware acceleration optional)
* SQLite for structured data storage
* Media support for common audio, video, and still image formats (MPEG4, H.264, MP3, AAC, AMR, JPG, PNG, GIF)
* GSM Telephony (hardware dependent)
* Bluetooth, EDGE, 3G, and WiFi (hardware dependent)
* Camera, GPS, compass, and accelerometer (hardware dependent)
* Rich development environment including a device emulator, tools for debugging, memory and performance profiling, and a plugin for the Eclipse IDE

A set of c/c++ libraries. Linux 2.6 for "core system services". Each app runs in its own VM, which I'm sure the security geeks are gonna be sweet on.

Android will ship with a set of core applications including an email client, SMS program, calendar, maps, browser, contacts, and others. All applications are written using the Java programming language.

Okay, sounds nice, but where's my ogg and flac support, dammit?

Check out the videos here. Tell me that introductory video isn't sweet -- Google Maps with integrated StreetView on a mobile device, with a touch interface? Nice. The UI looks nice and responsive, the browser seems to rival the iPhone's safari implementation...

So far it's looking good.