froyo

Dec

Meanwhile In Indonesia… Nexian Offers Android Magic A893 – A Familiar-Looking Device Which Allows Users To "Switch Up"

Adding to the ever-growing list of knockoff devices found overseas, Nexian (an Indonesian mobile phone manufacturer) brings us the Android Magic A893 – a device that looks awfully similar to the iPhone, but which packs Android 2.2 Froyo and rings in at IDR 1,599,000 (about $175 USD). To get a better idea of the device's eerily familiar form factor, check out this unboxing video:

And here are the device's (less than magical) specs:

Android 2.2 Froyo
WCDMA 2100MHz and GSM 900/1800 MHz compatibility
HSPA/EDGE/GPRS
3.5" HVGA multitouch display
VGA front shooter and 2MP rear camera
Wi-Fi connectivity
Bluetooth
FM Radio

...

Oct

3 Years Of Android: A Look At Android's Home Screens - From Cupcake To Ice Cream Sandwich

Posted by David Ruddock in Android OS, Cupcake 1.5, Donut 1.6, Eclair 2.1, Froyo 2.2, Gingerbread 2.3, Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0, Jelly Bean

Oh, Android. How far you've come since the days of the G1. Actually, tomorrow, October 22nd, will mark 3 years to the day that Android has been available on consumer handsets in the United States, and the G1 on T-Mobile was concepción.

With Ice Cream Sandwich finally revealed, Android has gone through its seventh major iteration. How has Android changed? What better way to illustrate Android's evolution than its home screen, the hub of user interaction. Here's a look at the face of Android over the last 3 years.

Android 1.5: Cupcake

Android Version 1.5: Cupcake

Cupcake was step ...

Aug

HP TouchPad 32GB Said To Be Running Android 2.2 Out Of The Box Now On eBay For Almost $700

Posted by John Thompson in Froyo 2.2, News

With its $99 fire sale price, the TouchPad finally hit the sweet spot. Units have been selling like crazy over the past week, but it seems as though one new owner got a little more than he bargained for. No, unfortunately HP didn't accidentally send him 100 units for the price of one, but he did allegedly receive a unit running Android 2.2, rather than webOS.

Making its way onto eBay, the TouchPad has already racked up 8 bids and is sitting at $685 with over 2 days still remaining on the auction, so people are obviously interested in ...

Aug

Motorola Flipside Gets Updated To Android 2.2 (Froyo), Available To Download Right Now

Posted by John Thompson in AT&T, Flipside, Froyo 2.2, News

Users of the Motorola Flipside have had to be a patient bunch whilst waiting for their Froyo fix; since making its debut on AT&T in October of last year, the device has been running Android 2.1 with MOTOBLUR software. Fortunately for those users, they can now upgrade to a newer version of Android through the Motorola support website right now!

According to the update page, you will need to have at least 40 MB of internal free space on your phone and 100 MB of SD card space available before getting your hands on Froyo, but the whole process ...

Jul

HTC Thunderbolt OTA Update 1.70.605.0 (Froyo) Rolling Out Now, Fixes Reboots, Enhances Data Connectivity, More

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Froyo 2.2, HTC, News, Thunderbolt (Mecha)

Would you look at that - only hours after we leaked the long overdue update that, most importantly, fixes reboot issues, Verizon opened the flood gates and is now pushing the 74MB download over-the-air to HTC Thunderbolts all over the country.

The update version number is 1.70.605.0 and, unfortunately, it's not Gingerbread (remember how we told you that the June 30th Gbread rumor had to be fake?). The full list of improvements can be found in this PDF document, which I will include below for convenience:

Verizon Wireless is pleased to announce a new software update,
Build

...

Jul

Google Updates Android Platform Distribution Chart Again - Eclair On The Decline, Gingerbread Continuing To Make Headway

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Android OS, News

As is its wont at this time of the month, Google has updated its Android platform distribution chart, and while there aren't any real shockers to be found, it's still nice to see which versions of Android are most popular.

Let's start from the top of the table: as should be expected, the number of devices running Android 1.5 (Cupcake) and 1.6 (Donut) is steadily dropping, as more and more users upgrade their devices or receive software updates. 2.1 (Éclair) is continuing to loose headway, with 17.5% of Android users running it.

Moving on to more modern versions of ...

Jul

Cincinnati Bell Releases Froyo For The Motorola Milestone XT720, And It's Pre-Rooted

Posted by Cameron Summerson in News

Here is something that you don't hear every day: a carrier released a rooted ROM as an upgrade. That's right - regional carrier Cincinnati Bell pushed an update to its Motorola Milestone XT720 users today, and the update instructions include rooting the device and using Titanium Backup to restore apps. I know, it's hard to believe, so here's a snippet from the official upgrade PDF:

Yeah, believe that. This is indeed an unprecedented move coming from a carrier - after all, most carriers (and manufacturers) fight the rooting community tooth and nail. Because of this, I say to you, Cincinnati ...

Jun

Android Platform Distributions Updated, Gingerbread Finally Making A Dent In Froyo's Lead

Posted by David Ruddock in Android OS, News

It's that time of the month once again, Google has updated the platform version distribution charts for Android, and Gingerbread is finally gaining steam:

Gingerbread now makes up a whole 9.2% of the Android ecosystem, and the Gingerbread source has been publicly available for 6 months as of today. Froyo still dominates, at around 65%, with Éclair placing second. Pre-2.1 devices now account for less than 5% of the total, which really makes the whole 2-year device-life logic seem rather silly.

Honeycomb also has peaked its head above the grass, and represents a little over a half-percent of all ...

May

Dell Venue Review: It Really Is Better Than You Would Expect

Posted by David Ruddock in AT&T, Dell, Phone Reviews, Reviews, Thunder, Venue

Last Updated: July 24th, 2011

After being thoroughly unimpressed with the sleek and sexy DROID Charge last week, and knowing that the Venue was next on my device-review checklist, I was prepared for yet more disappointment. Let's face it - Dell has been the butt of quality control, technical support, and advertising (Dude! you're...) jokes for years now. Whether or not it has at all been deserved is another matter entirely - after all, Dell is a hugely successful company (I happen to be writing this review on a Dell netbook, in fact).

The Venue, then, is a device I went in having some ...

May

Casio G'zOne Commando Review: Built Like A Tank, And About As Fast As One, Too

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Casio, G'zOne Commando, Phone Reviews, Reviews, Verizon Wireless

Last Updated: July 24th, 2011

The Casio G'zOne Commando is a phone that knows what it is and what it isn't. It is not, for example, Casio's answer to the Galaxy S II or the EVO 3D - it simply doesn't have that much power under its rough, tough hood. But that rough, tough hood is precisely what makes the Commando stand out from the rest of the Android smartphone crowd - unlike your average piece of plastic, it is ready to take on the challenges of an outdoorsman's life (including but not limited to being submerged in water, thrown onto cement, or given the ...

Apr

Motorola DEFY Froyo Update Rolling Out Now

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in DEFY, Froyo 2.2, Motorola, T-Mobile

Motorola DEFY owners, you are second-class citizens no more, as T-Mobile's latest OTA software update will infuse your devices with a fresh Froyo taste. Unfortunately, the 112MB upgrade won't free you from the shackles of MOTOBLUR, but it will bring some staple 2.2 features - including Adobe Flash compatibility, WiFi hotspot capabilities, and faster performance - as well as some Motorola additions, such as a task manager and LinkedIn integration.

As the topping on the cake, it appears that all DEFY owners are now able to get the update, not just those lucky enough to have been included in the ...

Apr

[Updated: Download Link And Instructions] Just In: Samsung Fascinate ED01 Froyo Update Starts Early, Rolling Out Now

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Fascinate, Froyo 2.2, News, Samsung, Verizon Wireless

What an incredible day for Samsung Fascinate users on Verizon Wireless - earlier this morning, we reported that the coveted Froyo update was finally set to arrive tomorrow, April 21st. Looks like someone at Verizon pulled the trigger a little earlier, as we are seeing multiple reports of the update rolling out as we ~~speak~~ write.

Want some proof? Have a look at the screenshot (that can easily take the top prize in the ugliest Android screen ever contest) our own Justin Case just pulled from his Fascinate:

So, grab your Fascinates and start mashing the Check for Updates button ...

Apr

The Wait Is Finally Over For Samsung Fascinate Owners: Froyo Update Is Ready

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Fascinate, Froyo 2.2, News, Verizon Wireless

All that time Fascinate owners spent waiting for Froyo has not been in vain - your day is finally coming. Officially announced by VZW via Twitter, all the frozen goodness that you can handle should start rolling your way first thing tomorrow. Assuming that it's handled the same way that past VZW updates have been, this update should drop in stages, so be sure to leave us a comment when you get yours.

For more info on the goodies that this update will bring, check out the VZW Support Center.

Source: Twitter

...

Apr

CNN Remembers Not All Of Us Have Tablets, Releases App For Android Phones

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Applications, News

Almost 2 months ago, CNN pushed out its first news app to the Android Market, though with one quite annoying caveat - it was created specifically for Honeycomb devices, which were quite scarce to say the least (i.e. the XOOM).

As you can imagine, ~~those without Honeycomb tablets~~ pretty much everyone started demanding an app as well and today finally got their wish granted. CNN App for Android Phones (as opposed to CNN App for Android) was just released to the Market, with support for Android 2.1+ and full of features you would expect from a smaller screen port ...

Apr

Motorola Rolls Out Froyo For Bravo - Users Applaud

Posted by Chris Dehghanpoor in Android OS, AT&T, Bravo, Carriers, Devices By Manufacturer, Froyo 2.2, Motorola, News

'Tis the weekend for Android device updates: unwilling to let European Samsung Galaxy S owners have all the fun, Motorola announced yesterday that Android 2.2 for the Blur-packing Bravo had begun rolling out in phases. They neglected to elaborate on how exactly these phases are structured, so unfortunately, we don't have much in the way of specific ETA's, but it's likely that you'll seen an update hit your device in the next few days.

Moto was kind enough to detail what exactly this update will change: (click to enlarge, or hit the release notes down below)