Android CupCake is the name of the several improvements that Google team is working on for the next ‘update’ (not release) of Android , the operating system that works on your G1 right now. Google’s Android “Cupcake” updates may not be available just yet, detailed screenshots of the platform update show new applications in addition to the highly-anticipated virtual keyboard.
Here’s a rundown of what is currently being worked on:
“1. New Local Setting Page – Gives you option to pick different locales and pick different text inputs.
2. New Option to view running and third party applications – An option to view running and third party applications from the normal application list. Does not provide a way to terminate them.
3. New windows opening/closing animation effect – a new popping effect when windows are opened/closed.
4. New default notepad – a very simple and ugly default notepad.
5. New Global Time application – not sure if it will be provided by T-Mobile but it’s just a rotating Earth and I couldn’t get it to do anything else.
6. New Spare Parts Application – Once again not sure if the official version will have this, but it provides a number of extra settings such as setting windows animation and transition animation speed, font size, end button behavior and etc. It also has a “display rotation†option which supposedly should allow auto-rotate base on orientation across the entire os, but it is not currently working.
7. New Virtual Keyboard (as seen on video -ed.)- The virtual keyboard will pop up on every edit box. I didn’t feel any haptic feedback but I am thinking that it’s just not there on the example keyboard. Because the phone does not auto-rotate (an option exists but it doesn’t work), it’s very hard to type on it. The sample keyboard also does not provide auto-corrections.
8. Slightly better looking buttons with more shadow.”
Here’s some images of the new Android features in action:
 
 
 
 
 
