Developers Upset By Lack of Android 2.1 SDK for Nexus Smartphone

Developers were delighted when Google released their Nexus One phone earlier this week, but have expressed concern that although the phone is out, the Software Developer’s Kit (SDK) for the Android 2.1 operating system has not yet surfaced. This puts them in the position of not knowing if their applications will work properly on the Nexus One.

One developer pondered why Google hasn’t provided an SDK to developers yet, especiallyy since they gave over 10,000 Nexus One smartphones to their own employees in December as an early “test” gift.

On the Google discussion forums, Dianne Hackborn, an Android framework engineer, downplayed the potential for the Android 2.1 OS to degrade the applications that have already been working on the previous version. “While I will not argue that we need to be better about getting SDKs out earlier, for developers the changes in 2.1 are really not that significant. Pretty much all of the stuff (little that it was) that could impact existing applications is already in 2.0.1,” which is the previously released version.

While developers appreciated the response from Google, they were still largely concerned that Murphy’s Law will always intervene, and that by not releasing the SDK with the phone, if not before the release so developers could at least have a chance to test their applications. Time will tell if their worries are true, and if Mr. Murphy was right all along.