[SingAlong]

Here's a quick summary from the SDK release notes:

* Alarm clock APIs

* ability to detect first install time and last update time of an app

* Download manager API

* Mixable audio effects API

* A lot more locales (including indic language support)

* SIP VOIP support

* Front camera support

* 5-point multi-touch API

* Barometer

* Gyroscope

* NFC support (near field comminucation) - can interact using high frequency wireless communication with other stuff with NFC chips. Wikipedia has a pic of a phone interacting with a smart poster.

Can anyone throw some more light on NFC stuff and also why does a phone need a barometer?

[ravichhabra]

There are indeed locales, but no indic support. While for some strange reason Android got Indic locale, specifically Hindi, there is no support for it in terms of rendering and the built in font does not contain any Indic. Pretty wierd stuff as the Input Language selector is just showing Square Boxes for Hindi and after setting locale to Hindi all numerals are just square boxes. The Arabic support is also spotty as currently Android Gingerbread just doest not have any shaper for these complex scripts.

[jason]

Barometer = Altitude.

[FooBarWidget]

Or it just senses when it's going to rain.

[jrockway]

Indeed. The reason that pressure altimeters work on airplanes is because your starting altitude is known and you calibrate the barometer at that point. As the flight progresses, you keep it updated depending on weather readings on the ground.

But I guess the phone can just get this information from the Internet. (Or it can just set itself to 29.92 if the GPS says you're above 18,000 feet!)

[nixme]

I'm relatively certain they will be combined with gyroscopes for dead-reckoning [1] so that location-based services can nail you down to an exact office and floor indoors.

All this technology and I bet its primary use will be to check into conference rooms on foursquare.

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead_reckoning