Google has officially unveiled the next generation of its Android operating system for mobile devices today at the Google I/O developer conference. The SDK is available for developers today, and Google says Android 2.2 Froyo will be available to OEMs in the next few weeks.
There are a ton of changes in Froyo, but here are some of the most exciting new features:
Tethering and WiFi hot spot
As expected, you’ll be able to tether your Android phone to a computer or other device, allowing you to share a 3G wireless connection without paying two separate bills…. should your carrier permit this functionality. If so, you’ll be able to turn your phone into a portable Wifi hot spot or share your connection over a USB connection.
Faster app performance
Google has added a new just-in-time Javascript compiler, which increases the speed of 3rd party apps by 200% to 500%. This is also something we’d heard about previously, but Google showed off a few demos making it clear just how much faster apps will run.