2.1 - 3/5 - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

Aug

Dell Streak 2.1 Pre-Release Build Leaked–Get It Now, For O2 UK Devices Only

Posted by Brian O'Toole in O2, Streak

Last Updated: August 15th, 2010

This file could make your phone permanently unusable (“bricked”). This update is ONLY for UK Dell Streak phones with the version _21 baseband (O2 phones). Do NOT flash this on a US Streak. As with all unofficial updates, flashing this is done at your own risk.

So you’ve read all about what features are coming in the Streak’s Eclair update, and the planned September release window. Well, some enterprising members over at the MoDaCo Android forum have managed to catch a pre-release version of the 2.1 update, purportedly a newer version than that tested in the original Engadget post. There’s also an XDA thread on the update

DOWNLOAD: Dell Streak 2.1 Pre-Release For UK Streaks ONLY with version _21 baseband

The leak seems to only work on O2 UK models (serial XXX_21), so those with the factory unlocked SKU are currently out of luck.

Aug

Dell Thunder Spotted In The Wild, Running Android 2.1, Will Be Available Before The End Of The Year

Posted by David Ruddock in Dell, News, Thunder, Videos

Dell’s elusive not-a-tablet-phone has broken its cover once again, this time showing up on a video exclusive over at Engadget.

The phone remains unchanged on the hardware side of things, it seems, but it’s now confirmed to be running Android 2.1. We’ll go ahead and give you a quick brush-up lesson on what the Thunder is bringing (pun very much intended):

4.1” WVGA AMOLED 480x800 display
Android 2.1 with Dell’s “Stage UI” overlay
1 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor
Removable 1400 mAh battery
8MP camera with LED flash and 720p video recording
FM radio
External SD card support

Internal storage specs for the Thunder remain unknown.

Jul

Acer Stream Coming To eXpansys In The UK On August 2nd; Packing Android 2.1, 1GHz Processor, 3.7” AMOLED, HDMI And More For £400

Posted by David Ruddock in Liquid Stream

The Acer Stream is coming to the UK, and it’s coming soon. Acer’s newest and most powerful Android device to date will initially be available exclusively through eXpansys.com in the UK starting on August 2nd. £400 will get you the device, unlocked. This is your only purchase option, as no carrier subsidies have yet been announced. I will say it’s pretty robust on the spec-sheet. The Stream features:

A 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon Processor
3.7” WVGA AMOLED Display
512MB ROM / 512MB RAM
2GB Internal (Flash) Memory
MicroSD Card Slot
WiFi (presumably B/G/N), Bluetooth, and GPS
Mini HDMI-out
3.5mm Headphone Jack
720P (24FPS) Video Recording
5MP Camera
Android 2.1 with Acer Touch 3D UI 4.0

And here is the Stream, in all its glory:

The first thing I notice about the Stream is its lack of a trackball, d-pad, or optical trackpad.

Jul

Motorola Officially Announces CHARM For T-Mobile USA Running Android 2.1, Goes After BlackBerry Users

Posted by David Ruddock in CHARM, News, T-Mobile

While Motorola didn’t do a great job keeping CHARM under wraps, they did manage to hide a few features of the candy bar phone until today’s official press release. Given the amount of MOTOBLUR and social-networking talk going on in the CHARM’s somewhat lengthy introduction, we’ve broken it down and provided you the juicy bits for easy digestion:

2.8” 320x240QVGA TFT LCD touch-capacitive display with Gorilla Glass
Android 2.1 with the newest "enhanced" version of MOTOBLUR
3 Megapixel camera
Physical QWERTY keyboard
2GB Removable MicroSD card included (expandable to 32GB MicroSDHC)
Accelerometer
WiFi B/G and N (Single-band 2.4GHz)
Can capture 24FPS video (we assume that is with VGA 640x480)
Secondary noise-cancellation microphone with CrystalTalk PLUS technology
Compatible with T-Mobile HSDPA 3.6
Support for Adobe Flash Lite
1170mAh Lithium-ion battery
3.5mm headphone jack

Additional MOTOBLUR and social networking features are described in the press release.

Jul

HTC Profits Exceed Expectations; Over 20 Million HTC Phones Expected To Ship Worldwide This Year

Posted by David Ruddock in HTC, News

According to the Wall Street Journal, HTC beat estimates in its Q2 2010 earnings report; with net profits coming in at $268 million for the first half of the year, a 33% increase over 2009. The reason? Probably the fact that HTC is on track to ship over 20 million phones in 2010, a 66% increase over the 12 million they sold last year.

While at first glance these numbers hold little meaning, their implications could be significant. The fastest-growing portion of HTC’s phone lineup is undoubtedly smart phones running Android. As Google continues to develop Android into what it hopes will become the world’s premier mobile operating system, companies like HTC only stand to benefit.

Jun

BREAKING: Android 2.1 Eclair OTA Update Now Being Rolled Out To European HTC Hero Users

Posted by David Ruddock in Eclair 2.1, Hero, News

HTC Hero users across Europe are reporting that a two-part OTA update is being pushed to their devices. The first update addresses some bug fixes and system updates; but the second, OTA_Hero_HTC_WWE_3.32.405.1_R-2.73.405.93 is without a doubt the chocolate-éclair goodness Hero users have been salivating over for the past few weeks. One of our Danish readers tipped us that his hero had been updated, and was kind enough to provide us a few screenshots.

It seems that Hero users will finally be able to join the 2.0+ club. Additionally, many users are reporting (Credit: AndroidForums, @mclemmnsn) that the update does not perform a full data wipe.

May

Want A Rooted ROM Based On The Official Sprint HTC Hero Android 2.1 Update? Get The Fresh ROM By flipz

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Development, Hero (Sprint, HeroC), HTC, News, Sprint

If you are a Sprint Hero owner and want the latest official 2.1 update baked into a custom ROM with root, then you currently have only one alternative - the Fresh ROM.

Custom ROMs For The Hero

There are pretty much only 2 main Sprint Hero custom ROMs - DamageControl (by damageless and TrevE) and Fresh (by flipz). Both are very good, have an excellent track record, and great communities behind them.

I've personally been using DamageControl on my Hero but post-official 2.1 update, flipz has moved a little faster than damageless and TrevE, and incorporated it into his Fresh ROM pretty much on the next day, while DamageControl is still stuck at 2.08.1.

May

Verizon FTW: Droid Eris 2.1 Update ‘Coming Soon’

Posted by Chris Dehghanpoor in Carriers, Devices By Manufacturer, Eris, HTC, News, Verizon Wireless

I guess Sprint was feeling a bit lonely: Verizon has recently revealed on their official support site for the Droid Eris that users can expect an update to 2.1 ‘soon’. Unfortunately, they don’t offer a more specific time table, but they do provide documents both detailing the benefits of upgrading as well as instructions on how to do so, which is definitely reassuring.

Reading through the documents provided, it looks like Verizon is going to deliver the update over-the-air, as well as require the user to wipe the device. Exactly how thorough of a wipe will be required is unclear, but they do mention that you will lose your contacts (though they are easily resync’d) and that while you will also lose the Verizon Visual Voicemail application and some system settings, it’s implied that applications downloaded and installed from the Market should be preserved.

May

The Latest Official Word From Sprint: Android 2.1 Delayed For Both Samsung Moment And HTC Hero, Update Still Coming In Q2 2010

Posted by John Thompson in Devices By Manufacturer, Hero (Sprint, HeroC), HTC, Moment, News, Samsung, Sprint

As we reported yesterday, Sprint has once again pushed back the scheduled Android 2.1 update for the HTC Hero to an unknown future date, destroying expectations of the May 7th release.

Another official confirmation of this was given today in a Sprint statement by another Sprint admin, which notified customers that the delay also affects the Samsung Moment. The official statement on the Sprint forums said

Hello Community Members,

We wanted to let you know that Sprint continues to work closely with Samsung and HTC to deliver the highly anticipated Android 2.1 upgrade for Samsung Moment and HTC Hero.

We are on track for the upgrade to be available in Q2.

May

LG Going On The Android Offensive With A New LG Ally/Iron Man 2 Promo Site

Posted by Andrew Huff in Ally (Aloha), LG, News

In order to promote the upcoming Iron Man 2 movie together with the LG Ally Android phone (which seems to be featured in a variety of scenes), LG yesterday launched a new Flash powered site called LGIM2.com. While the url spells out "Iron Man 2", quite a large portion of the site is actually dedicated to the Ally.

In order to gain access to the part of the site where the phone is shown, you have to click on "Nav" at the bottom and then on "LG Ally", or just follow this direct link. After looking around checking out all the pictures and reading what little information about the phone was actually available, we have come up with a list of specs for the LG Ally.