To Google: All (or at least most) Is Forgiven

It was only a week ago I wrote a post haranguing Google about the delays in getting a more complete and unimpaired Android SDK released, and today they've done it. This blog obviously has tremendous influence - uh, right.

The enhancements to the telephony module seem to be just about what I was looking for, and there are associated additions that are particularly useful to the applications I have in mind. I can't go in to specifics about what I am up to, but telephony integration in Symbian doesn't meet my needs. I have not looked at LiMo or iPhone or Blackberry to the same level of detail so I can't comment on those.

I have only quickly skimmed the other changes in the 0.9 SDK beta, but what I've seen does indicate that that it is as advertised - close to production release.

Some things I want to do still require an actual Android phone, which I would have preferred to see in the emulator. I can live with that if the phone can be tested here, in Canada, on a actual network. I am less hopeful about that occuring anytime soon, though I'd be happy and relieved to be proved wrong.

I am feeling a bit more positive about selecting Android as a basis for prototyping mobile applications that require telephony integration. I haven't made an actual decision yet, but the new features and now firm schedule for Android appears likely to tip me in that direction.