Google has now unveiled the major improvements and new features that will come with Android 3.0, as well as releasing a preview of the Software Development Kit (SDK). Android 3.0 has been specifically designed for devices with larger screens and is particularly aimed at tablets.

 

UI Improvements

 

The first major improvements come in the form of new user-interface (UI) which brings "fresh paradigms for interaction, navigation and customization".

 

The new system bar, which is available in all applications, gives you access to notifications, system status and has soft-navigation bars. It now features a "lights out mode" so it can be dimmed when you are viewing full-screen videos.

 

A new action bar is also present across all applications which offers contextual options related to the current application.

 

You can choose to have up to 5 home-screens with Android 3.0 which enables you to customize the widgets, app shortcuts and wallpapers using a dedicated visual layout.

 

Improved Soft Keyboard

 

The soft keyboard has also been redesigned in Android 3.0 with the keys being reshaped and repositioned for more efficient text input. You can also now touch-hold keys to access menus of special characters and to switch text/voice input modes.

 

New Text Selection Options (Copy and Paste)

 

Android 3.0 also has improved text selection and copy and paste which enables you to quickly select a word by press-hold and adjust the selection as needed by dragging a set of bounded arrows. You can then choose from a variety of options when the text is selected including copy, share, paste, web-search or find.

 

Connectivity

 

A number of new connectivity options have been added to Android 3.0 which includes support for Media / Photo Transfer Protocol which enables you to instantly sync media files with a USB camera or computer without needing to mount a USB storage device.

 

The Bluetooth has been updated to now support even more devices and you can also connect full keyboards to your mobile over either USB or Bluetooth. The WiFi has also been improved with a new combo scan which reduces scan times.

 

Application Refinements

 

A number of key applications have been improved including the Browser, which now support multiple tabs and a new "incognito" mode which enables anonymous browsing. Multi-touch support has been made available in Java and plugins. Bookmarks and history have also been unified into one view.

 

The Camera application has also been improved to take advantage of larger screens. 

The Email and Contacts screens now both use a new two-pane UI which makes viewing and organizing them much easier.

 

Support For Multi-Core Processors

 

Android 3.0 is the first mobile operating system designed to take advantage of multi-core processors, such as the Nvidia Tegra 2 processor which features in many new tablets and smartphones. This will ensure automatically that applications run with the best possible performance.

 

HTTP Streaming

 

Android 3.0 adds support for HTTP Live streaming which is a technology that enables streaming video or audio to be sent over HTTP, which means it uses less data and can be used to traverse Firewalls.