Key Features Cut Out Of Android API


Google has decided that its initial release of the Android SDK will not include formal Bluetooth support or Google Talk. Bluetooth headsets will still work, but developers will not have access to the Bluetooth portion of the API. Google’s security researchers have announced that Google Talk was left out because of multiple security concerns. Bluetooth, on the other hand, was left out because the development team ran out of time.

Out of these two features, we think users are going to be most disappointed by the omission of Google Talk. Chatting has become one of the most useful features of new smart phones. The ability to just chat instead of sending a text message is one of the main attractions to phones like the iPhone, which has support for AIM.

[photo: dreamside]

10 thoughts on “Key Features Cut Out Of Android API

  1. I don’t see how this is a hack. Why are these here? I see enough news items repeated on /. and LifeHacker, I would prefer to not see them on a favorite site that is more for electronic hacking then news. The only news I am interested in seeing is about ‘cons like DefCon or MakerFaire. Sorry if this came out rude.

  2. Ryan is correct. Google Talk will still be included, but third party applications will not be able to use google talk as a platform for their messaging. Those applications can still use another chat protocol, like Jabber.

  3. Not only is it not a hack, it’s horribly summarized, and makes no mention of the reasoning behind the removal.

    They dropped bluetooth after the new bluez changed the interface, because they realized they needed to put more thought into it before they locked themselves (and everyone else) into a setup for the next X years, and they dropped the talk service API over security concerns. You can still write your own Jabber client, and I’m sure someone will in short order (if they haven’t already)

    They clearly stated they plan on bringing bluetooth back, and they clearly said they’ll bring back some sort of RPC, they just needed more time to get it right. The dev blog post (linked in the linked article) has a lot more info: http://android-developers.blogspot.com/2008/08/some-information-on-apis-removed-in.html

  4. I disagree about the propriety of the article in this blog. It is not a hack, but there has been so much anticipation of Android due to its potential hackability that news on its development is, I think, welcome. To those who disagree: is there a forum where you think this would be more appropriate?

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