Top six Android 1.5 apps from Google I/O

Google's I/O developer conference last week saw a couple of dozen publishers showcasing their applications developed for Android 1.5 -- aka Cupcake -- and we've picked out six of our favourites.

Some of the apps implement newer technologies and solutions that further push what you can do on a mobile phone, while others demonstrated the seamlessness of their service between the desktop and device. With more Android phones arriving all the time, such as the HTC Magic Google gave away to conference attendees, independent software developers will have greater opportunity to distribute their applications to a much larger audience.

First up in our roundup, social network BrightKite is preparing to unleash its first-ever Android app, which it demoed on the HTC Magic running Android 1.5. While BrightKite for Android will match the iPhone edition in terms of feature offerings, it will also include a few more goodies, such as integrated Google maps and background notifications for newly received messages.