Mobile & Wireless - eWeek

Mobile & Wireless: Google's Android Emulator


Googles new mobile OS is both intriguing and easy to develop for.
 
  • Googles new mobile OS is both intriguing and easy to develop for.
  • The emulator takes a moment to start up, but once it does, it shows an image of a phone with the full operating system running. The phone starts up in a locked mode, and you click the Menu button to unlock it.
  • Once the phone is unlocked, you get a desktop screen similar to what you find in Windows and Linux today, complete with wallpaper, icons and widgets, such as the clock.
  • Clicking the contacts button opens the contacts application. This is just the built-in, default contacts application. Third-party developers can create enhanced, better applications, and I predict that this will be one place where youll quickly see some really sophisticated third-party apps.
  • Since the maps app is powered by Google Maps, it works just like the big one. Type in even a vague location and you can get a map. And remember, this is all live via the Internet.
  • Notice the 3-D buildings. But remember, this is just the built-in map application. Well see what developers create beyond this.
  • The ubiquitous Google page. The Web browser is built on Webkit, which is also the heart of the Chrome browser (as well as Apples Safari browser).
  • To scroll the page, just touch the screen and slide around, much like the familiar iPhone interface. What you cant see from this static picture is if you slide your finger across the screen, the page will continue scrolling a bit as it slows down, which is a particularly comfortable feel.
  • Clicking towards the bottom brings up the zoom feature. Notice that when I zoom out, the text re-flows to fit the new width of the browser.
  • And of course, we cant skip over the phone application. It has all the usual features. For a bare-bones app, its pretty nice. But if you dont like it, download the SDK and write a new one.
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