Google releases Android 2.1 SDK after complaints

Google has released the software development kit for Android 2.1, the version of its mobile operating system that powers the Nexus One smartphone.

When the Nexus One was launched a week ago, developers complained that they had not been given the SDK, making it impossible for them to test their applications for compatibility with the new OS version. The handset is the first to use Android 2.1.

Google introduced the software development kit on Monday, describing the new OS version as "a minor platform release".

"Today, we are releasing the SDK component for Android 2.1, so that developers can take advantage of the new features introduced in Android 2.1," Android SDK tech lead Xavier Ducrohet wrote on the Android developer site on Monday.

According to the developer page for Android 2.1, the kit includes application programming interface (API) changes and bug fixes. The downloadable platform includes "a fully compliant Android library and system image, as well as a set of emulator skins, sample applications, and more", but no external libraries.

The lack of an available Android 2.1 SDK was one of several issues that caused complaints following the launch of the Nexus One, which is the first physical product Google has sold directly to consumers.

Another problem was the lack of efficient, easy-to-find support for the device. Customer complaints over this prompted Android chief Andy Rubin to concede that Google has to "get better at customer service".

However, HTC, the manufacturer that makes the Nexus One, has set up a dedicated support page for the handset. The site includes phone numbers that can be used by Nexus One owners in the UK, US, Singapore and Hong Kong.