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Google Drops Bluetooth API From Android 1.0
Ian Lamont writes "Google has dropped Bluetooth and the GTalkService instant messaging APIs from the set of tools for Android 1.0, but says that handsets using the Android OS will work with other Bluetooth devices such as headsets. According to a post on the official Android developer blog, Google dropped the Bluetooth API from the mobile OS because 'we plain ran out of time.' The GTalkService API was removed because of security concerns that included the possibility of applications revealing more details about users than they might want to let out, such as their real names and e-mail addresses."
If you read the article, you'd see the API was for third party applications to extend bluetooth. Android phones will be able to connect to headsets just fine, and a software update will add further support.
- oZ
// i am here.
Android 1.0 phones *will* still have working Bluetooth and IM. This announcement is specifically referencing developer APIs that would allow hackers like us to do awesome stuff. Bluetooth headsets, etc and normal IM will work on Android just like we've always expected.
Exposing the Bluetooth API is. The phone supports things like bluetooth headsets.
You can still have an IM with this phone. What they did was take out an IM API! The idea was that other applications could use GTalk as a communication channel. If you read the blog you will see they have some pretty good privacy reasons to pull that API I am sorry to say.
Nothing would stop you form writing a jabber client for the phone.
See my blog http://ilovecookes.blogspot.com/ for light hearted technical information.
How? Okay maybe the Bluetooth API, but Gtalk was left out because of security. I highly doubt that Google would really want to leave out their own chat messenger from an OS they're releasing unless there was a pretty big reason to. That's like Microsoft leaving out Messenger. So, what did Microsoft leave out of Vista? WinFS That's pretty major in itself and was one of the most major marketing points originally. What else? Safe Delete, Start Menu action field.. And the list goes on. It's not like Google's marketing campaign was all about the bluetooth API anyways. Lots of companies drop out features before it's released fora variety of reasons or leave it as experimental (just look at ZFS in Leopard and its Read Only capability).
This is the Bluetooth API anyways, it means that people who make software can't communicate over bluetooth. It's crippled, but you can still use a bluetooth headset if you want to. That's quite a bit different than leaving the entire feature out.
Apple has in fact severely limited bluetooth on the iPhone, and that includes even specific profiles for external devices. As far as i know the headset is the ONLY thing that works with it.
That'll probably come built into the Contacts app or whatever - the basic apps that come with the phone. It's only third party app developers who are affected by this.
Headsets are a tiny fraction of what makes Bluetooth useful. Actually, it's a fraction I don't care about at all. OBEX is essential, because it's how you give people your phone number (send them your personal vCard via Bluetooth OBEX) - it's about three button presses on any recent phone. File Transfer is not essential, but is nice since it lets you browse the phone from a computer and copy files on and off it easily (photos, music, a copy of a map for somewhere you're going).
I am TheRaven on Soylent News
How many stupid "smart" people there are on here. Reading skills ftl. The API's have nothing to do with the base functionality, as has already been stated a dozen times.
IM and bluetooth are not minor things for a smartphone.
You missed the point - the title of the article is completely misleading. Android will have IM AND Bluetooth, just not IM-over-BLUETOOTH-using-dedicated-api. Assuming there is another way of getting a functional IP stack to the world - is a really a minor thing and will not affect anything.
And also, please don't compare iPhone to a smartphone. iPhone is "a pretty but significantly mentally chalenged" phone.
-Em
RelevantElephants: A Somatic WebComic...
Apple has in fact severely limited bluetooth on the iPhone, and that includes even specific profiles for external devices. As far as i know the headset is the ONLY thing that works with it.
Handsfree Bluetooth devices work with the iPhone. Mine pairs with my car's stereo system.
However, that's not much different than a headset.
Actually, no different. It uses the same profile
On the contrary, Verizon has intentionally shunned Android and went with the LiMo Foundation.
References?
Here.
The other articles you likely read are now old.
I left Verizon and went with my wife's T-Mobile account for two reasons: the one you mentioned about Verizon closing out everything they can to squeeze money out of their customers, and T-Mobile's founding support of the Open Handset Alliance.
They're going to have to deliver that Bluetooth API pretty quick if they don't want to tank their OS right out of the gate
Why? Which of these other OSes (WinMob, Symbian, and Palm) has a bluetooth API? None, I think. Of course they all support Bluetooth, but we're talking about a software API to it. Maybe Symbian does, I know next to nothing about it.
Actually both Symbian and Windows Mobile have relatively mature and full featured Bluetooth APIs, I've used them and they've been around for years. This is a big chunk of missing fundamental functionality for Android to have.
>Which of these other OSes (WinMob, Symbian, and Palm) has a bluetooth API? None, I think.
Actually, they all do.
Windows Mobile Bluetooth API
Symbian Bluetooth API
Palm Bluetooth API
It was removed temporarily:
http://android-developers.blogspot.com/2008/08/some-information-on-apis-removed-in.html