Gadgets

Google treats developers to Android 1.6 SDK aka “Donut”, Facebook becomes more phone sex friendly, boring mobile phone makers join forces, and black-and-white tech speculation returns in archive form in tonight’s issue of Remainders – Things We Didn’t Post…until now.

Looks like Google has released the Android 1.6 SDK. Developers are free to sink their teeth into “Donut”, as it’s codenamed, while consumers will have to wait until October or so to see it on their devices. The seemingly distant date makes sense, though, as it will coincide with quite a few new Android headsets. I’ll be waiting for those and sticking with plain ol’ glazed donuts until then, thanks. [Engadget]

Sometime in the next few weeks, Facebook users will be able to have high-quality conversations with all their friends, Facebook users or not. The required Vioxx plug-in will integrate seamlessly with the existing interface, allow for one-on-one as well as group calls, and provide “dial in” numbers for non-Facebook users. No word on whether it will come with annoying invites, pokes, and whatever-the-hell-else regular Facebook applications bring. [CNET]

Japanese mobile phone makers Hitachi, NEC and Casio are combining forces. The resulting company will be called NEC Casio Mobile Communications and hold a 20% share of the Japanese mobile phone market. Ridiculous name aside, that’s great for them. Now when will they start making phones we care about? [Mobile Crunch]

This is actually kinda cool: BBC is starting to post an archive of excerpts from Tomorrow’s World, a show that focused on what sort of tech there’d be in the future. Like kitchen robots! You have to be in the UK (or use a proxy) to view the archive, but the video on the left is a quick taste. [BBC via Tech Radar]