Google has kept their mouths tightly shut this time round for their next update for Android (codenamed “Eclair”, version number 2.0). But this hasn’t stopped the BGR guys from having a good look at what the new update will be like and what benefits Android users will soon be able to see. The Boy Genius Report got their hands on a Moto Sholes running 2.0, see a nice list of highlights on the new functions you’d expect to see in Android 2.0 below…

• The OS now has native support for Facebook, including contact syncing
• Native Exchange support
• There’s a new unified inbox that brings all of your emails to one place – except Gmail emails. Those are still handled through the Gmail app.
• The maps application has been overhauled to support “layers”, which lets you toggle overlays such as Wikipedia entries, Latitude buddies, etc. There does appear to be multitouch support in the app, but you can not pinch to zoom.
• The browser has been kicked up a notch in the speed department, along with an overall UI polish.
• New Widgets, including an on-the-spot Youtube record/upload widget.
• We’re not sure if this is part of 2.0 or something that the handset manufacturer added, but this build includes something called “Car Home”. Car Home allows you quick voice-based access to a bunch of functionality, limited to the scope of stuff you’d need while driving. You can, for example, launch a Google Maps search for nearby coffee.
• The contacts screen has been dramatically cleaned up, removing much of the screen-to-screen clutter that has been dragging it down. Tap a name, and available contact methods pop out of a little speech bubble. Fun!

More screens over at BGR…

[via GadgetCrave and MobileCrunch]