Android coders get high-speed graphics ability

From CNET News.com: Google has let programmers tap directly into mobile phone graphics power by releasing a third version of its Android Native Developer Kit (NDK) on Monday.

Android applications typically run in a variation of the Java programming environment, a move that aids in making applications that move more easily from one hardware system to another. But Google also lets those applications bypass the Java layer for some direct communications with the hardware through the NDK interfaces. And the big change in the third revision, or r3, is support for a standard graphics interface called OpenGL ES--in this case version 2.0, the same technology supported by newer iPhone 3GS.

"Applications targeting Android 2.0 or higher can now directly access OpenGL ES 2.0 features," said Android programmer David Turner in a blog post.

Supporting OpenGL could help programmers who've already written games using the technology move more easily to Android and maintain high performance.

But it's not just for games. Mozilla is bringing its mobile version of Firefox to Android using the NDK, and one programmer on the project, Vladimir Vukicevic, welcomed the OpenGL ES move.

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