Nexus One development commences with Android 2.1 SDK update

In addition to launching the latest skirmish in the mobile platform/mobile carrier wars, Google and HTC's Nexus One smartphone also introduced the world to Android 2.1.

Before the Nexus One came out, the Motorola Droid launched in a similar fashion, where the device ran Android 2.0 exclusively before the SDK component was released to the public and other devices were upgraded.

Last night, the Android 2.1 SDK component was released, turning over the full 2.1 platform and new APIs to developers.

Unlike Android 2.0 (Eclair), version 2.1 is only a minor platform update which didn't get its own sweet confectionary name. It doesn't add any significant user features, but does add the much-discussed "live wallpaper" framework API, which will let developers take advantage of animated background screens. The Android Market, no doubt, will soon be flooded with animated clock wallpapers.

Nothing else has been added with the 2.1 SDK, but a number of crucial framework APIs have been changed, including SignalStrength, which lets network conditions affect the behavior of an application, and WebChromeClient which includes new methods for handling Web video, browser history, custom views, app cache limits, and so forth.

In addition to the new SDK component, Google's Android developers have also released a new USB driver so the Nexus One can be used to test applications when connected to a Windows computer.

The new components are available now at developer.android.com