Android developers: Time to make the Donuts
Code set to be used in the next release of Android--code-named Donut--is out and about, revealing features such as universal search and support for CDMA networks.
With Cupcake barely starting to cool, Google's Android team has started circulating the ingredients that will make up the Donut release of its Android mobile operating system.
Google is using sweet treats as code names for future Android releases, and Donut is next on the list, following the release of Cupcake in May.
According to several reports citing Android developers, including one from The Boy Genius Report, Donut code started making its way around the community of developers that work on Android this weekend. Among the notable additions are support for the CDMA networks used by Verizon Wireless and Sprint to the operating system, as well as new features like universal search.
At one point over the weekend, it was believed that Donut would usher in multitouch support for Android phones, but a Google developer shot down that rumor in a post to an Android forum, as spotted by InformationWeek.
Google's Andy Rubin, head of Android development at the company, has said Google expects to release about two Android releases a year. Developers do not expect Donut to surface as Android 2.0, however, even though Cupcake was labeled Android 1.5. That implies that Donut is being seen as an incremental release, adding a few features like search and a redesigned camera application but saving the big additions for another time.