Android 2.x Devices Getting OpenGL ES

Google's new Android Native Developer Kit supports OpenGL ES 2.0.

I must confess: I love my new Motorola Droid. My wife isn't quite so hip to the new union, calling the device my new "mistress." Indeed, I've spent quite a bit of time getting acquainted with the sexy new smartphone and virtually "moving in," trying to find the right apps that help me through the day on and off the PC.

But in the last few weeks of this relationship, I've come to discover that there's not much to be said in the gaming department save for a few gems like Mystique, Raging Thunder, and Speed Forge. But that may change thanks to the third version of Google's Android Native Developer Kit (NDK), released Monday.

According to Android programmer David Turner in a blog post, applications targeting Android 2.0 or higher can now directly access Open ES 2.0 features. "This brings the ability to control graphics rendering through vertex and fragment shader programs, using the GLSL shading language," the blog states.

The Apple iPhone 3GS also supports OpenGL ES.

The new support won't only apply to game development: other apps such as Mozilla's Firefox for Android will make full use of Open GL ES. "We're planning on switching our rendering on Android to go through an OpenGL path soon, and full ES 2.0 support will allow us to accelerate that even more," Mozilla told CNET.

On another note, Quake III Arena and Quake 2 simply rock on the Droid.