Google Shows Android 2.0, Expects 20 Devices in 2009

Android 2.0, also known as Donut, is starting to take shape, as Google has recently unveiled some of the features that the upcoming platform should include as soon as it becomes available. Among the improvements that the upgrade is expected to offer we should mention a new search function, one that is designed to search both within the phone and on the Web.

Another feature that should be included into the Android 2.0 platform is a translation service that the company presented, while also announcing that there would be an API available for text-to-speech on Android phones. In addition, there will be on-screen handwriting gestures that allow users to navigate easier through long lists.

The upcoming Android 2.0 was demonstrated at the Google I/O event in San Francisco last week, where the company also announced that it expected a number of 20 new mobile phones running under Android to be launched on the market during the ongoing year. Although the company hasn't unveiled any name, it seems that there will be a number of 8 or 9 manufacturers releasing the handsets, without taking into account smaller makers that used the platform without announcing Google.

It seems that the company indeed allows manufacturers to use the platform without announcing it about the move, the only limitation being that the popular Google applications cannot be preloaded on the handset. These devices are not actually considered Google phones, only that they run under Android, yet they represent only a type of handsets that make use of the platform, and there are three of them in total.

There are also manufacturers that sign a distribution agreement to include Google applications on the devices, though they download a free version of Android and load it on the handsets. It seems that there will be 12 to 14 phones out of 20 to come to the market this way. The last type includes models that come with the “Google Experience” Option, and which have the search giant’s logo on them, as well as Google Applications and full access to the Android Market.