Android 3.2 Updated SDK tools

 

Today we are announcing the Android 3.2 platform, an incremental release that adds several new capabilities for users and developers. The new platform includes API changes and the API level is 13.

Here are some of the highlights of Android 3.2:

Optimizations for a wider range of tablets. A variety of refinements across the system ensure a great user experience on a wider range of tablet devices.

Compatibility zoom for fixed-sized apps. A new compatibility display mode gives users a new way to view these apps on larger devices. The mode provides a pixel-scaled alternative to the standard UI stretching, for apps that are not designed to run on larger screen sizes.

Media sync from SD card. On devices that support a removable SD card, users can now load media files directly from the SD card to apps that use them.

Extended screen support API. For developers who want more precise control over their UI across the range of Android-powered devices, the platform’s screen support API is extended with new resource qualifiers and manifest attributes, to also allow targeting screens by their dimensions.

For a complete overview of what’s new in the platform, see the Android 3.2 Version Notes.

We would also like to remind developers that we recently released new version of the SDK Tools (r12) and of the Eclipse plug-in (ADT 12). We have also updated the NDK to r6.

Visit the Android Developers site for more information about Android 3.2 and other platform versions. To get started developing or testing on the new platform, you can download it into your SDK using the Android SDK Manager.

 

Google+ is now available for the iPhone!

Google+ for mobile makes sharing the right things with the right people a lot simpler. Huddle lets you send super-fast messages to the people you care about most. And no matter where you are, the stream lets you stay in the loop about what your friends are sharing and where they’re checking in.

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/google/id447119634?ls=1&mt=8#

Features:
* Circles let you share the right things with just the right people.
* Stream is where you can get updates from your circles or see what people are saying about things nearby.
* Huddle is super-fast group messaging for everyone in your circles.

Google Earth Imagery – July 16

 

Thanks to sharp-eyed GEB reader ‘Andy’, we see that Google has just pushed some fresh imagery into Google Earth. It’s been a longer delay than we normally see between updates, but it looks like it might be a fairly substantial one!

 

crete.jpg 

As is usually the case, you can use Google Maps to determine for sure whether or not a specific area is fresh. This new imagery isn’t in Google Maps yet, so you can compare Earth vs. Maps to see what’s new; the fresh imagery is already in Google Earth, but the old imagery is still in Google Maps. If you compare the two side-by-side and they’re not identical, that means that you’ve found a freshly updated area in Google Earth!

[UPDATED – 16-July, 11:417am EST]

  • France: Autun, Morhange
  • Germany: Picher, Rastow, Samerberg, Wobbelin
  • Greece: Chametoulo, Ierapetra, Kymi, Santorini Island
  • Mexico: Various — thanks ‘augusto’
  • Poland: Lanieta
  • Romania: Various — thanks ‘twist3r’ and ‘spiderpc’
  • Spain: Aranda de duero, La Carolina
  • United States: Idaho (Boise) and New York (Manhattan, Syracuse) — thanks ‘AndreasK’ and ‘Jonas’