Android fans got a tasty treat at the recent Google I/O conference - a sneak preview of Android 2.0, also known as the Donut version. Having only this week sent version 1.5, "Cupcake", as an OTA (Over-The-Air) update to its T-Mobile users in the USA, the signs are well and truly present for the direction their OS is taking.

Whats new?

Google, being no stranger to search technology, have expanded on this feature in Android in a way Apple fans will recognise with Searchlight. Android users can currently search online from the handset, but they will now be able to search locally - and its a deep search function too, so that means right across apps such as the calendar, contacts, emails etc. This sounds like a godsend - how often has it happened that you know a phrase from something on your handset but can't find where it is?

Hot on the heels of the Cupcake virtual keyboard comes handwriting recognition, or should that be finger-writing? In any case, gestures clearly play a major role in the Android experience and this addition is very welcome indeed.

As if that wasn't enough Google also previewed version 2.0's text-to-speech API. This will allow  developers to code their apps so they can use similar functionality to Google Voice Search, which had been present in earlier releases but not available to programmers.