Android release looms with new SDK

The first Android handsets are expected in the fourth quarter of the year

The Open Handset Alliance led by Google has posted an update to the Android Software Development Kit.

The update arrives with the release of the first Android handsets on the horizon and provides a better picture of what Android will look like.

Android 0.9 SDK is set to be the last 'beta' version of the SDK before the final Android 1.0 kit is released along with the first Android handsets in the fourth quarter of the year.

Along with the ever-present API and bug fixes, the update includes a new home screen and several interface tweaks.

Developers will also be given access to new messaging apps, picture viewers and music players, as well as alarm clock, calculator and camera software apps.

The new SDK also removes the Bluetooth API and GTalkService features for what Google describes as "security reasons".

"We have been working with our Open Handset Alliance partners to incorporate much of that feedback and finish the first devices," Android developer advocate Dan Morrill said in a blog posting.

"Since those devices are shipping in the fourth quarter, the platform is now converging on a final 'Android 1.0' version."

Google has also posted a roadmap for Android development, calling for the release of Android 1.0 some time this autumn followed shortly by the first handsets.

Among the first Android phones will be the HTC Dream, which will reportedly launch in the US with T-Mobile.