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Google releases Android 2.0 SDK ahead of Droid launch

The software development kit (SDK) for the Android 2.0 operating system has been officially launched by Google.

Codenamed "Eclair", the latest version features support for multiple email account synchronisation, HTML 5 and Bluetooth 2.1, as well as complete support for Microsoft Exchange. It also includes multi-touch control and support for digital camera zooming.

A "Quick Contact" feature enables users to click on a photograph and then choose to call, email or message the individual, while the graphics processing software has been boosted to make mobile apps more appealing to end users.

Xavier Ducrohet, Google's Android SDK technical lead, explains in a blog post that current developers can use the SDK Manager to add Android 2.0 support to their SDK, while new developers can download it.

"Over the next few months, we expect to see more and more Android devices being released," he adds. "These devices will be running Android 1.5, 1.6 or 2.0."

According to Ducrohet, "a minor version update of Android 2.0" will emerge towards the end of the year.

Google's release of the SDK comes ahead of the Motorola Droid, the first Android-powered smartphone to emerge from the Verizon Wireless stable.