page.title=Android 1.5 Version Notes
sdk.version=1.5_r1
sys.date=April 2009
@jd:body
<p>
<em>Date:</em> April 2009<br />
<em>API Level:</em> <strong>3</strong></p>
<p>This document provides version notes for the Android 1.5 system image included in the SDK. </p>
<ul>
<li><a href="#overview">Overview</a>
<li><a href="#overview">External Libraries</a>
<li><a href="#comp">Device Compatibility</a>
<li><a href="#apps">Built-in Applications</a>
<li><a href="#locs">UI Localizations</a>
<li><a href="#features">New Features</a>
<li><a href="#api-changes">API Changes</a>
</ul>
<h2 id="overview">Overview</h2>
<p>The Android 1.5 system delivered in the SDK (as library and system image) is
the development counterpart to the Android 1.5 production system image,
deployable to Android-powered handsets starting in May 2009. The system is fully
compliant and includes no external libraries. This is the first version of the
Android SDK that does not include the Maps external library.</p>
<p>The Android 1.5 system delivers an updated version of the framework
API. As with previous versions, the Android 1.5 API
is assigned an integer identifier — <strong>3</strong> — that is
stored in the system itself. This identifier, called the "API Level", allows the
system to correctly determine whether an application is compatible with
the system, prior to installing the application.</p>
<p>Applications can reference a specific API Level value in their
manifest files, to indicate the minimum version of the Android system
required to run the application. To reference a minimum API Level, applications
can add an <code>android:minSdkVersion</code> attribute in their manifest files.
The value of the attribute is an integer corresponding to an API Level
identifier. Prior to installing an application, the system then checks the value of
<code>android:minSdkVersion</code> and allows the install only
if the referenced integer is less than or equal to the API Level integer stored
in the system itself. </p>
<p>When you migrate your application to the new SDK, you will need to choose
the platform version against which you will compile your application. In
general, you should compile your application against the lowest possible
version of the platform that your application can support. After you determine
the lowest version, you should ensure that your application's manifest file
defines the API Level of the lowest compatible platform version in the
<code>android:minSdkVersion</code> attribute.
<p>After compiling your application, you should make sure to test it on the
platform specified in the application's <code>android:minSdkVersion</code> attribute. To
ensure forward-compatibility, you should also run the application on platforms
using a higher API Level than that used by your application. To run your
application against different platform versions in the emulator, you create an
AVD for each platform version that you want to test. For more information about
AVDs, see <a href="{@docRoot}guide/developing/tools/avd.html">Android Virtual
Devices</a>. If you are using a physical device for testing, ensure that you
know the API Level of the Android platform it runs.</p>
<p>If you build an application using the Android 1.5 library and your
application makes use of any APIs introduced in API Level 3, you <strong><span
style="color:red;">must</span></strong> set the
<code>android:minSdkVersion</code> attribute in the application's manifest to
"3". </p>
<p>Specifically, you define the <code>android:minSdkVersion</code>
attribute in a <code><uses-sdk></code> element as a child of
<code><manifest></code> in the manifest file. When set, the
attribute looks like this: </p>
<pre><manifest>
...
<uses-sdk android:minSdkVersion="3" />
...
</manifest></pre>
<p>By setting <code>android:minSdkVersion</code> in this way, you ensure that
users will only be able to install your application if their devices are running
a compatible version of the Android platform. In turn, this ensures that your
application will function properly on their devices. This is especially
important if your application uses <a href="#apichange">APIs or system features
introduced in Android 1.5</a>. </p>
<p>If your application uses APIs introduced in Android 1.5 but does not
declare <code><uses-sdk android:minSdkVersion="3" /></code>, then it will
run properly on Android 1.5 devices but <em>not</em> on Android 1.0
devices. In the latter case, the application will crash at runtime when
it tries to use the Android 1.5 APIs.</p>
<p>Conversely, if your application does not use any new APIs introduced in
Android 1.5, the application will in most cases function normally on devices
running a later version of the platform. However, if you have published
the application, you are strongly encouraged to install and test your
application on the Android 1.5 system image included in the SDK. This will
ensure a smooth transition for users, as they upgrade their devices to
the new version of the Android platform. </p>
<p>Finally, if your application does not use any new APIs introduced since
Android 1.1, you can indicate general Android 1.1 compatibility by
setting the attribute to "2". If your application does not use any
new APIs introduced since Android 1.0, you can remove the attribute or
set it to "1". However,
before publishing your application, you must make sure to compile your
application against the Android library that corresponds to the application's
<code>android:minSdkVeresion</code> value.</p>
<h2 id="apps">Built-in Applications</h2>
<p>The system image includes these built-in applications:</p>
<ul>
<li>Alarm Clock</li>
<li>Browser</li>
<li>Calculator</li>
<li>Camcorder</li>
<li>Camera</li>
<li>Contacts</li>
<li>Custom Locale (developer app)</li>
<li>Dev Tools (developer app)</li>
<li>Dialer</li>
<li>Email</li>
<li>Gallery</li>
<li>IME for Japanese text input</li>
<li>Messaging</li>
<li>Music</li>
<li>Settings</li>
<li>Spare Parts (developer app)</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="locs">Locales</h2>
<p>The system image provides a variety of built-in locales. In some cases,
region-specific strings are available for the locales. In other cases,
a default version of the language is used. The languages that will be
available in the Android 1.5 system image are listed below (with
<em>language</em>_<em>country/region</em> locale descriptor).</p>
<table style="border:0;">
<tr>
<td style="border:0">
<ul>
<li>Chinese, PRC (zh_CN)</li>
<li>Chinese, Taiwan (zh_TW)</li>
<li>Czech (cs_CZ)</li>
<li>Dutch, Netherlands (nl_NL)</li>
<li>Dutch, Belgium (nl_BE)</li>
<li>English, US (en_US)</li>
<li>English, Britain (en_GB)</li>
<li>English, Canada(en_CA)</li>
<li>English, Australia (en_AU)</li>
<li>English, New Zealand (en_NZ)</li>
<li>English, Singapore(en_SG)</li>
<li>French, France (fr_FR)</li>
<li>French, Belgium (fr_BE)</li>
</ul>
</td>
<td style="border:0;padding-left:5em;">
<li>French, Canada (fr_CA)</li>
<li>French, Switzerland (fr_CH)</li>
<li>German, Germany (de_DE)</li>
<li>German, Austria(de_AT)</li>
<li>German, Switzerland (de_CH)</li>
<li>German, Liechtenstein (de_LI)</li>
<li>Italian, Italy (it_IT)</li>
<li>Italian, Switzerland (it_CH)</li>
<li>Japanese (ja_JP)</li>
<li>Korean (ko_KR)</li>
<li>Polish (pl_PL)</li>
<li>Russian (ru_RU)</li>
<li>Spanish (es_ES)</li>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>Localized UI strings match the locales that are displayable in
the emulator, accessible through the device Settings application.</p>
<h2 id="features">New Features</h2>
<p>For a list of new system features, see the <a
href="{@docRoot}sdk/android-1.5-highlights.html">Android 1.5 Platform
Highlights</a> document.</p>
<h2 id="api-changes">API Changes</h2>
<h3>Overview</strong></h3>
<ul>
<li>UI framework</li>
<ul>
<li>Framework for easier background/UI thread interaction</li>
<li>New {@link android.widget.SlidingDrawer SlidingDrawer} widget</li>
<li>New {@link android.widget.HorizontalScrollView HorizontalScrollview} widget</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>AppWidget framework
<ul>
<li>APIs for creating secure home screen {@link android.appwidget
AppWidgets}. For information about how to use AppWidgets, see the Developer's
Guide <a href="{@docRoot}guide/topics/appwidgets/index.html">AppWidgets</a>
documentation. Also see <a
href="http://android-developers.blogspot.com/2009/04/introducing-home-screen-widgets-and.html">
Introducing home screen widgets and the AppWidget
framework</a> on the Android Developer's Blog.</li>
<li>APIs for populating {@link android.provider.LiveFolders Live Folders}
with custom content.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Media framework</li>
<ul>
<li>Raw audio recording and playback APIs</li>
<li>Interactive MIDI playback engine</li>
<li>Video recording APIs for developers (3GP format)</li>
<li>Video and photo sharing Intents</li>
<li>Media search Intent</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Input Method framework
<ul>
<li>{@link android.inputmethodservice.InputMethodService Input Method
Service} framework</li>
<li>Text-prediction engine</li>
<li>Ability to provide downloadable IMEs to users</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Application-defined hardware requirements
<p>Applications can now use a new element in their manifest files, <a
href="{@docRoot}guide/topics/manifest/uses-configuration-element.html"><uses-
configuration></a> to indicate to the Android system what hardware features
they require in order to function properly. For example, an application might
use the element to specify that it requires a physical keyboard or a particular
navigation device, such as a trackball. Prior to installing the application, the
Android system checks the attributes defined for the
<code><uses-configuration></code> element and allows the installation to
continue only if the required hardware is present.</p>
</li>
<li>Speech recognition framework
<ul>
<li>Support for using speech recognition libraries via Intent. See {@link
android.speech.RecognizerIntent RecognizerIntent}.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Miscellaneous API additions
<ul>
<li>LocationManager - Applications can get location change updates via
Intent</li>
<li>WebView - Touch start/end/move/cancel DOM event support</li>
<li>Redesigned {@link android.hardware.SensorManager Sensor Manager
APIs}</li>
<li>GLSurfaceView - convenience framework for creating OpenGL
applications</li>
<li>Broadcast Intent for app update install succeeded - for smoother app
upgrade experience</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3 id="api-diff">API Change Details</h3>
<p>For a detailed view of API changes in this platform (API Level 3), see the <a
href="{@docRoot}sdk/api_diff/3/changes.html">API Differences Report</a>.</p>