[Hands0n]

Overall, the new Donut update for Android is not a major update in terms of new features. However, there have been a few, some of them are quite significant and others are maybe not so.

Today I have been making use of two of them, one pretty boring and the other has me fairly captivated at its sophistication.

Firstly then, the boring one - extended WiFi capabilities.
At work we use WPA-EAP protocol for WiFi attachment. This is an enhanced WiFi authentication that links in to our central authorisation system used for all access. It is a typical Enterprise setup.

The iPhone has no problem attaching to the WPA-EAP but, until Donut, the Android has not been able to make use of the company WiFi. Today, however, all has been different. I have been able to use Donut's enhanced WiFi functions to authenticate onto the WLAN as effortlessly as with the iPhone. This is useful to save me burning up the generous (sic) Unlimited 500MB granted to me by Vodafone each month.

Next up; Google Search by Voice
Updated for Donut 1.6 update the Search by Voice is a superb addition to the homescreen search bar on the Android handset. I have used it in Cupcake 1.5 but I don't remember it being quite so capable. The search seems to be so powerful now.

Press the microphone symbol on the search bar and speak clearly into the handset and it will scuttle off and find what you are looking for. But for me the speech recognition for dialling is superb. I have to say right now that it is not quite as sophisticated as the iPhone's built-in voice dialler, but the Donut 1.6 version is excellent. Just say "Call " and the app will locate the name in the Android's directory. If there is only one number it will call it. If there are several it will list them out, tap one and it will dial it. Just for comparison - the iPhone will read out the list of numbers if there are more than one for a person and prompt you to select one, again by voice - now that is smart.

For searching the web the Voice Search is equally capable, understanding full sentences such as "Show me todays news for Kent England" gave me a Google result with various local papers and news sites for Kent.

I do like smart software and the Google Search by Voice is very smart indeed.

[miffed]

Ah ,didn't realise there were any features !

...Will look again ;)

[Ben]

The WiFi enhancement is interesting - a sure sign that Android is very much still being built! But then it's still at v1, so of course there are going to be things missing.

[gorilla]

Just think about iPhone OS X and how even today it's still not quite there for *some* people, so Android can only get better with each release.

[Hands0n]

I have to say that Android in its 1.x guise is still a bit raw around the edges in places. That said, it is a highly capable smartphone OS that totally outstrips the likes of Symbian. And even gives Windows Mobile a very good run for its money.

What does seem to let Android down, though, it is the hardware itself. The current crop of Android hardware from HTC is somewhat underpowered and, in terms of RAM, quite under-specified. This results in a lagginess that is going to be familiar to early iPhone users. But I'm not convinced that the OS updates can do anything more than go some little way to ease the problem. Already there is some discussion that Google will not support the G1 beyond Android 2.0.

[Ben]

Exactly, I'm waiting for that killer bit of hardware before I try my first Android device. The 3GS revolutionised iPhone OS X, IMHO - that extra grunt just made sooo much difference. I pick my 3G up now and the difference is remarkable despite the fact that it's pretty much a clean device and my 3GS is packed!

Nokia, of course, are famous (IMHO) for using underpowered hardware, despite otherwise droolworthy specs. Almost every manufacturer is guilty of it, though. It's so rare to get a mobile device that truly has enough horsepower, which is quite ridiculous!