1 page.title=Android 2.3.3 APIs 2 excludeFromSuggestions=true 3 sdk.platform.version=2.3.3 4 sdk.platform.apiLevel=10 5 6 7 @jd:body 8 9 <div id="qv-wrapper"> 10 <div id="qv"> 11 12 <h2>In this document</h2> 13 <ol> 14 <li><a href="#api">API Overview</a></li> 15 <li><a href="#api-level">API Level</a></li> 16 </ol> 17 18 <h2>Reference</h2> 19 <ol> 20 <li><a 21 href="{@docRoot}sdk/api_diff/{@sdkPlatformApiLevel}/changes.html">API 22 Differences Report »</a> </li> 23 </ol> 24 25 </div> 26 </div> 27 28 <p> 29 <em>API Level:</em> <strong>{@sdkPlatformApiLevel}</strong></p> 30 31 <p>Android 2.3.3 ({@link android.os.Build.VERSION_CODES#GINGERBREAD_MR1}) 32 is a small feature release that adds several improvements 33 and APIs to the Android 2.3 platform.</p> 34 35 <p>For developers, the Android {@sdkPlatformVersion} platform is available as a 36 downloadable component for the Android SDK. The downloadable platform includes 37 an Android library and system image, as well as a set of emulator skins and 38 more. To get started developing or testing against Android {@sdkPlatformVersion}, 39 use the Android SDK Manager to download the platform into your SDK.</p> 40 41 42 43 <h2 id="api">API Overview</h2> 44 45 <p>The sections below provide a technical overview of what's new for developers 46 in {@sdkPlatformVersion}, including new features and changes in the framework 47 API since the previous version.</p> 48 49 <h3 id="nfc">Near Field Communications (NFC)</h3> 50 51 <p>Android 2.3.3 provides improved and extended support for NFC, to allow 52 applications to interact with more types of tags in new ways.</p> 53 54 <p>A new, comprehensive set of APIs give applications read and write access 55 to a wider range of standard tag technologies, including:</p> 56 57 <ul> 58 <li>NFC-A (ISO 14443-3A)</li> 59 <li>NFC-B (ISO 14443-3B)</li> 60 <li>NFC-F (JIS 6319-4)</li> 61 <li>NFC-V (ISO 15693)</li> 62 <li>ISO-DEP (ISO 14443-4)</li> 63 <li>MIFARE Classic</li> 64 <li>MIFARE Ultralight</li> 65 <li>NFC Forum NDEF tags</li> 66 </ul> 67 68 <p>The platform also provides a limited peer-to-peer communication protocol 69 and API. Foreground Activities can use the API to register an NDEF 70 message that will get pushed to other NFC devices when they connect.</p> 71 72 <p>Advanced tag dispatching now gives applications more control over how and 73 when they are launched, when an NFC tag is discovered. Previously, the platform 74 used a single-step intent dispatch to notify interested applications that a tag 75 was discovered. The platform now uses a four-step process that enables the 76 foreground application to take control of a tag event before it is passed to any 77 other applications (<code>android.nfc.NfcAdapter.enableForegroundDispatch()</code>). 78 79 The new dispatch process also lets apps listen for specific tag content and 80 tag technologies, based on two new intent actions — 81 <code>android.nfc.action.NDEF_DISCOVERED</code> and 82 <code>android.nfc.action.TECH_DISCOVERED</code>.</p> 83 84 <p>The NFC API is available in the {@link android.nfc} and 85 {@link android.nfc.tech} packages. The key classes are: </p> 86 87 <ul> 88 <li>{@link android.nfc.NfcAdapter}, which represents the NFC hardware on the device.</li> 89 <li>{@link android.nfc.NdefMessage}, which represents an NDEF data message, 90 the standard format in which "records" carrying data are transmitted between 91 devices and tags. An NDEF message certain many NDEF records of different types. 92 Applications can receive these messages from 93 {@link android.nfc.NfcAdapter#ACTION_NDEF_DISCOVERED NDEF_DISCOVERED}, 94 {@link android.nfc.NfcAdapter#ACTION_TECH_DISCOVERED TECH_DISCOVERED}, or 95 {@link android.nfc.NfcAdapter#ACTION_TAG_DISCOVERED TAG_DISCOVERED} Intents.</li> 96 <li>{@link android.nfc.NdefRecord}, delivered in an 97 {@link android.nfc.NdefMessage}, which describes the type of data being shared 98 and carries the data itself.</li> 99 <li>{@link android.nfc.Tag}, which represents a tag scanned by the device. 100 Multiple types of tags are supported, based on the underlying tag 101 technology.</li> 102 <li>{@link android.nfc.tech.TagTechnology}, an interface that gives applications 103 access to tag properties and I/O operations based on the technologies present 104 in the tag. For a full list of tag technologies supported in Android 2.3.3, see 105 {@link android.nfc.tech}.</li> 106 </ul> 107 108 <p>NFC communication relies on wireless technology in the device hardware, and 109 is not present in all Android devices. Android devices that do not support 110 NFC will return a null object when 111 {@link android.nfc.NfcAdapter#getDefaultAdapter(android.content.Context) 112 getDefaultAdapter(Context)} is called, and 113 <code>context.getPackageManager().hasSystemFeature(PackageManager.FEATURE_NFC)</code> 114 will return <code>false</code>. The NFC API is always present, however, regardless of 115 underlying hardware support.</p> 116 117 <p>To use the NFC API, applications must request permission from the user by 118 declaring <code><uses-permission 119 android:name="android.permission.NFC"></code> in their manifest files.</p> 120 121 <p>Additionally, developers can request filtering on Google Play, such that 122 their applications are not discoverable to users whose devices do not support 123 NFC. To request filtering, add 124 <code><uses-feature android:name="android.hardware.nfc" 125 android:required="true"></code> to the application's manifest.</p> 126 127 <p class="note">For more information, read the 128 <a href="{@docRoot}guide/topics/connectivity/nfc/index.html">NFC</a> developer guide.</p> 129 130 <h3 id="bluetooth">Bluetooth</h3> 131 132 <p>Android 2.3.3 adds platform and API support for Bluetooth nonsecure socket 133 connections. This lets applications communicate with simple devices that may not 134 offer a UI for authentication. See 135 {@link android.bluetooth.BluetoothDevice#createInsecureRfcommSocketToServiceRecord(java.util.UUID)} and 136 {@link android.bluetooth.BluetoothAdapter#listenUsingInsecureRfcommWithServiceRecord(java.lang.String, java.util.UUID)} 137 for more information. </p> 138 139 <h3 id="graphics">Graphics</h3> 140 141 <ul> 142 <li>A new {@link android.graphics.BitmapRegionDecoder} class lets applications 143 decode a rectangle region from an image. The API is particularly useful when an 144 original image is large and and the application only need parts of the image. 145 </li> 146 <li>A new {@link 147 android.graphics.BitmapFactory.Options#inPreferQualityOverSpeed} field in {@link 148 android.graphics.BitmapFactory.Options} allows applications to use a more accurate 149 but slightly slower IDCT method in JPEG decode. This in turn improves the 150 quality of the reconstructed image.</li> 151 </ul> 152 153 154 <h3 id="media">Media framework</h3> 155 156 <ul> 157 <li>A new {@link android.media.MediaMetadataRetriever} class provides a unified 158 interface for retrieving frame and metadata from an input media file.</li> 159 <li>{@link android.media.MediaRecorder.AudioEncoder} and {@link 160 android.media.MediaRecorder.OutputFormat} include new fields for specifying AMR 161 Wideband and AAC formats. </li> 162 </ul> 163 164 165 <h3 id="speech">Speech recognition</h3> 166 167 <p>The speech-recognition API includes new constants to let you manage voice 168 search results in new ways. Although the new constants are not needed for normal 169 use of speech recognition, you could use them to offer a different view of voice 170 search results in your application. For information, see {@link 171 android.speech.RecognizerResultsIntent}.</p> 172 173 174 <h2 id="api-level">API Level</h2> 175 176 <p>The Android {@sdkPlatformVersion} platform delivers an updated version of 177 the framework API. The Android {@sdkPlatformVersion} API 178 is assigned an integer identifier — 179 <strong>{@sdkPlatformApiLevel}</strong> — that is 180 stored in the system itself. This identifier, called the "API Level", allows the 181 system to correctly determine whether an application is compatible with 182 the system, prior to installing the application. </p> 183 184 <p>To use APIs introduced in Android {@sdkPlatformVersion} in your application, 185 you need compile the application against the Android library that is provided in 186 the Android {@sdkPlatformVersion} SDK platform. Depending on your needs, you might 187 also need to add an <code>android:minSdkVersion="{@sdkPlatformApiLevel}"</code> 188 attribute to the <code><uses-sdk></code> element in the application's 189 manifest. If your application is designed to run only on Android 2.3 and higher, 190 declaring the attribute prevents the application from being installed on earlier 191 versions of the platform.</p> 192 193 <p>For more information, read <a href="{@docRoot}guide/topics/manifest/uses-sdk-element.html#ApiLevels">What is API 194 Level?</a></p>