An early look at Google's Android

Hardware prototype with an early look at the Android OS

(Credit: Google)

Google released the Android SDK earlier today, which has no doubt sent aspiring programmers and developers in a downloading frenzy trying to get a piece of the proverbial Google pie. But here's what you, the consumer, would really want to know: An Android phone will most likely support a webkit-compatible browser, Wi-Fi, GSM technology (like EDGE and HSDPA), 3G, threaded text messaging, a photo gallery (with a filmstrip plus grid album view), plus a touch screen. Hardware is really up in the air at this point, but we did catch a glimpse of a couple of hardware prototypes included in the SDK--one has a full QWERTY keyboard, and the other has a touch screen. The SDK also included an emulator so you could check out the user interface without having a phone. Of course, this is just an early look, and the final user interface may be completely different. That said, it's still cool to take an inside look at what Android may look like in the future. Here's a more detailed list of what's in the Android SDK. Also, take a look at our slide show for more images and screenshots.