Android 2.0 “Donut” features demoed at Google I/O

We’re still trying to get used to the overwhelming joy of having Cupcake installed on our G1s, but it’s full steam ahead over at Google where engineers are already slaving away on the Donut branch that’ll eventually come to be known as Android 2.0. Demoed today at the first I/O keynote were Donut’s universal search (known simply as “Android Search”), which will let you search both online and locally on the phone through contacts, calendars, music, and any app with the proper code, and a text-to-speech API, which should allow developers to integrate Google Voice Search-style awesomeness into the apps of their choice. We also got a brief glimpse of handwriting gestures used for searching through list — the live example was drawing the letter ‘e’ and going to that specific point in a list of songs. Nothing wildly different interface-wise — yet — but we know from the initial 1.0 release that the UI’s very much subject to change, not to mention the fact that HTC and others look poised to do some serious customization of their own. Check out the gallery for shots live from the I/O keynote!

Android 2.0 “Donut” features demoed at Google I/O

T-Mobile confirms next Android phone will be announced next week

Call it an announcement of an announcement, if you will — not quite as detailed as we’d like, but it’s one small morsel of information on the long road to the US’ second Android handset. Perhaps in response to the Wall Street Journal’s suggestion that T-Mobile would be releasing details on its next Android phone next week, a company spokesperson has said just that: “Next week, T-Mobile will share more details about its next Android-powered phone, the follow-on device to the T-Mobile G1 with Google.” No mention is made of what that phone will be, but the odds-on favorite has to be the myTouch 3G, seeing how it’s already launched in the form of the Google Ion — it just needs a T-Mobile logo, some packaging, maybe a gently tweaked firmware, and it’s ready to rock.

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

T-Mobile confirms next Android phone will be announced next week originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 18 Jun 2009 00:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.