Android 2.0 features officially revealed

Early in the week, Google held several developer showcases around the world for its 2.0 update to the Android mobile platform. Today, the internet search giant has made the operating system's new feature set public, highlighting the benefits for both the user and the developer.

Bluetooth seems to be taking something of a front seat in the 2.0 update (also known as Eclair, in accordance with Google's proclivity for naming its software after confectionery), with the system being updated to Bluetooth 2.1 and the inclusion of Object Push Profiles and Phone Book Access Profiles.

For users, much of Eclair's new benefits focus on synchronisation. Multiple email accounts, including Microsoft Exchange accounts, can now be added to a device, and a combined inbox will allow users to browse email from multiple accounts on a single page.

A host of new APIs have also been made available to Android developers, including complete Bluetooth access, sync adapters to connect to any backend, an account manager to securely store user data, direct support for a camera flash, support for HTML 5 (including geolocation) and a host of other small but interesting new features.

Check out the official Android developers page for more information, and take a look at the official 2.0 features video below.

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