谷歌宣布 Android版本整合计划，新版支持USB

谷歌在年度开发者大会上，介绍了它准备把各种单独的Android版本整合在一起的计划，并对其进行扩展以支持USB。这个被称为“冰淇淋三明治”版的Android，将把支持平板电脑、智能手机和电视的Android版本合在一起，并在第四季度以开源代码的形式发布。 目前面向平板电脑的Honeycomb version 3.0，以及将于几周内推出的3.1升级版，将不以开源形式提供。GoogleTV客户软件将继续是单独的Android变种，但从今年夏季开始，为其开发的应用程序将能够在公开的Android应用在线市场上面得到。 “冰淇淋三明治”的谷歌开发者之一Mike Cherod表示：“我们想要一种可以在哪里都能运行的操作系统，而且我们希望开发者不必考虑各种设备的差异，”暗示在Google I/O开发者大会上将宣布更多的工具。 Android产品管理总监Hugo Barra在Google I/O大会的主旨发言中表示，谷歌在两年半的时间里推出了八个版本的Android。Android目前用于310种不同的设备上面，2011年在1亿部手机上面被激活，每天激活数量达40万个。 谷歌拒绝以开源方式发布其面向平板电脑的Honeycomb软件，触怒了OEM厂商。此外，今年稍早的时候，它调整了一年前在开发者大会上宣布的GoogleTV软件计划。 另外，谷歌宣布成立一个由10多家伙伴组成的一个联盟，将为现场升级设备定义一个标准计划，以提高Android市场的统一程度。该联盟包括AT&T、HTC、LG、摩托罗拉、三星、索尼爱立信、Verizon和沃达丰。他们初期承诺，在购买相关产品后的18个月之内，可以现场为其Android进行升级。 此外，谷歌宣布了一个面向Android设备的新的视频流与音乐服务，基于谷歌的云服务。 本文授权编译自EE Times，版权所有，谢绝转载 ［转下一页：新版Android首次支持USB］

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{pagination} Android对USB的支持 Android将在新的平板电脑版Honeycomb 3.1和智能手机版Gingerbread 2.3.4中首次支持USB。该支持包括一种新的Open Accessory API，含有谷歌提供的一个USB支持库。 Android与众不同，因其被定义为一个设备，不是Linux下面的一个主机环境。因此，Android USB附件从技术角度来看将是USB主机。谷歌库旨在为开发者消除这种差别。 这种设备/主机情形意味着Android USB附件将不能通过USB从Android手机或平板电脑获得电源。谷歌目前没有开发对USB 3.0的支持。 谷歌、Microchip和日本RT Corp.宣布了用于建立Android USB附件的硬件开发者工具。在一个视频中，Microchip的一名工程师演示了该公司的工具套件，使用基于MIPS的处理器。 谷歌表示，将来也会推出对使用蓝牙的Android附件的支持。谷歌的一名经理把新兴的Android附件市场与iPhone和iPad附件市场进行了对比。苹果严密控制其附件市场。 “生产附件将没有NDA和费用，也不需要批准，因此放手做吧，”谷歌Android的产品管理总监Hugo Barra表示。 另外，谷歌宣布了Android @ Home，用于通过Wi-Fi或某种无线家庭控制网络，把Android设备连接到多种家用电器和家庭自动化设备。LED灯与开关生产商Lighting Science表示，将在年底推出一款LED灯泡，可以由Android设备进行无线控制。 @ Home项目包括一个用于控制家庭媒体系统的硬件参考设计——Project Tungsten。谷歌展示了一个与网络相连的Tungsten装置，控制一个立体声系统，通过晃动具有近距通讯链接的设备，就能够购买或启动互联网音频流。 “它组合了新型云服务、软件和设备，开启了一个完整的应用领域，”作演示的一个谷歌开发者表示。 Android @ Home软件与无线网络支持细节将在今年稍晚的时候公布。 本文授权编译自EE Times，版权所有，谢绝转载 查看英文原文Android gets more unity USB support

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• Android平板趋势深度解析：蜂巢不迷恋
• Google可能在ARM芯片组上对Android标准化
• Android 3.0暂停开源，山寨平板还能继续吗？
• Android大军侵蚀，Nokia必须高举差异大旗31tesmc

{pagination} Android gets more unity USB support SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – At its annual developers conference, Google outlined its plans to pull together separate versions of its Android environment and extend the software to support USB. Support for tablet, smartphone and television versions of Android will come together in a so-called Ice Cream Sandwich version of the software to be released as open source code in the fourth quarter. The current Honeycomb version 3.0 for tablets and a 3.1 upgrade due within weeks will not be made available as open source. GoogleTV client software will continue to be a separate variant of Android, but starting this summer apps developed for it will become available in the public Android apps market online. "We want one OS that runs everywhere, and we want to insulate developers from differences in devices," said Mike Cherod, a Google developer working on Ice Cream Sandwich, alluding to additional tools to be announced tomorrow at the Google I/O event here. Google has released eight versions of Android in two and a half years. It is currently being used on 310 different devices and was activated on 100 million phones in 2011 with activations tracking at 400,000 a day, said Hugo Barra, director of Android product management in a Google I/O keynote. Google angered OEMs by refusing to release as open source its Honeycomb software for tablets. In addition, earlier this year, it re-tooled plans for GoogleTV software announced at this event a year ago. Separately, Google announced an alliance of more than a dozen partners that will define a standard plan for upgrading devices in the field to bring greater unity to the Android market. The group includes AT&T, HTC, LG, Motorola, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, Verizon and Vodaphone. They have initially pledged to make any Android upgrades available on devices in the field for the first 18 months after their purchase. In addition, Google announced new streaming video and music services for Android devices, based on Google cloud services. USB support for Android Google will support USB for the first time on the next version of its software for tablets, Honeycomb 3.1, and the smartphone version, Gingerbread 2.3.4. The support includes a new Open Accessory API which includes USB support libraries from Google. Android is unusual in that it is defined as a device, not a host environment under Linux. Thus Android USB accessories will technically be USB hosts. The Google libraries aim to smooth over that distinction for developers. The device/host situation means Android USB accessories will not be able to get power over USB from Android handsets or tablets. Google is not developing support for USB 3.0. Google, Microchip and RT Corp. of Japan announced hardware developers kits for building Android USB accessories. In a video, a Microchip engineer demonstrated his company's kit which uses a MIPS-based processor. Google said it will also release support for Android accessories using Bluetooth in the future. A Google manager contrasted the new Android peripheral market to the tightly controlled one maintained by Apple for its iPhone and iPad. "There will be no NDAs or fees and no approval process to build accessories, so go get started," said Hugo Barra, director of product management for Android at Google. Separately Google announced Android @ Home, an initiative to link Android devices to a broad range of home appliances and home automation devices over Wi-Fi or an unspecified wireless home control network. Lighting Science, an LED light and switch maker, said it will release LED light bulbs and switches by end of year that can be controlled wirelessly by Android devices. The @ Home initiative includes a hardware reference design for controlling home media systems, called Project Tungsten. Google demoed a Tungsten box linked to the Web, controlling a stereo and capable of buying or starting an Internet audio stream based on waving a device with a near field communications link. "This combination of new cloud services, software and devices enables a whole universe of applications," said a Google developer giving the demo. The Android @ Home software and details of its wireless network support will be released late this year.