Eclair 2.1 - 2/5 - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

Nov

Android 2.1 Update For T-Mobile Garminfone Available For Manual Installation; All 10 Owners Ecstatic

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Eclair 2.1, Garmin, Garminfone, News, T-Mobile

Granted, this particular bit of news is only valuable to the (very) small crowd of people who purchased the T-Mobile Garminfone, but it's nice to hear nonetheless. The good news: Garmin has released an update to Android 2.1 (Éclair). The bad: it's a manual update.

The update process isn't complicated per se - but it's definitely more work than an OTA:

1. Download the software update package for your Garminfone which can be found here: http://www.garminasus.com/en_US/support/software/006-B1130-00.update

2. Connect your Garminfone to your computer using the USB cable provided in your box

3. Select "File Transfer" mode when the "USB connected" dialog appears

4.

Nov

Motorola Backflip Finally Officially Hits Android 2.1

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in AT&T, Backflip, Eclair 2.1, Motorola, News

It's hardly the latest and greatest, but it's a hell of a lot better than what users of the AT&T Backflip were stuck on previously - that's right, a manual update to Android 2.1 Éclair for the much ballyhooed device is now up on both AT&T's and Motorola's servers.

It's not an OTA (over the air), and it comes with an installation guide worthy of a novel, just like the Cliq yesterday. Unlike the Cliq upgrade, however, Backflip owners have a choice of an automated online upgrade tool in addition to the manual approach. Hey - we'll take our dessert regardless of the delivery method.

Nov

Motorola CLIQ 2.1 Éclair Update Now Officially Available, Complete With The Longest Installation Instructions EVER

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in CLIQ / DEXT (Morrison), Eclair 2.1, Motorola, News

Motorola CLIQ owners have been waiting for this day for a very-very-very long time, but, believe it or not, it's finally here. Following the leaked version from 3 weeks ago, the official Éclair for you phones (but not CLIQ XT just yet) is now available from Motorola - not as an OTA, but as a downloadable .zip.

Why Motorola put together the longest update instructions I've ever seen, with more warnings than a prescription drug, is beyond me - it seems to me like the same effect could have been achieved via the existing OTA (over-the-air) update mechanism Android already supports.

Oct

Android 2.1 Now Rolling Out For Sony Ericsson Xperia X10, X10 Mini, X10 Mini Pro

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Eclair 2.1, Sony Ericsson, Xperia X10 (es209ra), Xperia X10 Mini / Mini Pro (Robyn / Mimmi)

Right on time, Sony Ericsson's begun rolling out the update to Android 2.1 Eclair (build number 2.0.A.0.504) for the Xperia X10, X10 Mini, and X10 Mini Pro. Judging by what we're seeing on Twitter and from what our tipster told us, it's only available in Scandinavia for now, so we can only hope that other regions will get to join in on the fun soon enough.

Our tipster also mentioned that Universal Androot does not work, although a bit of digging through the forums revealed that SuperOneClick does indeed root the phones, even after the update. On that note, where's our Froyo?

Oct

Sony Ericsson Xperia X10, X10 Mini, And X10 Mini Pro To Start Receiving Update To Android 2.1 In November

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Android OS, Eclair 2.1, News, Xperia X10 (es209ra), Xperia X10 Mini / Mini Pro (Robyn / Mimmi)

Try to contain your excitement, here: Sony-Ericsson will begin rolling out an the update to Android 2.1 (Éclair) for the Xperia X10, X10 Mini, and X10 Mini Pro devices starting November 1. As sarcastic as we are about being updated to an already out-of-date version, it's still a huge step up from the current Android 1.6. Major features of the updates:

Xperia X10:
• HD video recording with continuous auto-focus for high quality videos
• Upgrade of the Android platform to Android 2.1
• New back up and restore application, with extended content back up
• 5 homescreens for apps, widgets, shortcuts and folders
• Social phonebook which automatically syncs contact pictures from Facebook and shows when your friends are online

Xperia X10 mini and X10 mini pro:
• Improved Bluetooth functionality with support for sending and receiving pictures, contacts and more
• New backup and restore application with extended content back up
• Automatic synchronization of your contact pictures between Facebook and your phone book
• Improved ways of handling pictures, audio, text and numbers in your messages
• Upgrade of the Android platform to Android platform 2.1

Android 2.1 brings a slew of benefits on its own, so their "Upgrade of the Android platform to Android 2.1" entails an awful lot of changes on its own.

Oct

New Sony Ericsson Video Suggests X10 To Get 2.1 Very Shortly

Posted by Brian O'Toole in Android OS, Devices By Manufacturer, Eclair 2.1, News, Sony Ericsson, Xperia X10 (es209ra), Xperia X10 Mini / Mini Pro (Robyn / Mimmi)

This morning Sony Ericsson posted a teaser video on YouTube explaining to X10 users the differences they will find in the update from Android 1.6 to 2.1. As painful as it is to watch a video of someone demonstrating five homescreens, slide-to-unlock and live wallpapers like they're brand new features, the video underscores the growing expectation that an update will be released for the X10 within the next few days.

According to the Sony Ericsson blog:

(Note – It does have some wording on getting the update now – that is not yet really valid and it wasn’t scheduled to be released until the update is out there.

Oct

[Updated With Mirror] Motorola Cliq Gets Manual Update To Android 2.1 Éclair

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in CLIQ / DEXT (Morrison), Eclair 2.1, Motorola, News

Last Updated: October 24th, 2010

It's been a long and difficult journey for Cliq owners, but it looks like the finish line may just be around the corner – Motorola is now allowing a limited number of users to test out the update to Android 2.1 Eclair.

Jealous? Don't be - thanks to the folks over at Android Central, the rest of us get to join in on the fun too. Unfortunately, the process isn't exactly as simple as an OTA, so here's how to do it:

Download the update file (it should be called "Blur_Version.2.1.5.MB200.T-Mobile.en.US.zip") ~~from~~ ~~here~~.

Update: It was bound to happen sooner or later - the file at the link above has been pulled.

Oct

Sony Ericsson LiveView Priced And Dated For Europe, X10s To Get OS Update In November?

Posted by Brian O'Toole in Android OS, Eclair 2.1, News, Sony Ericsson, Xperia X10 (es209ra), Xperia X10 Mini / Mini Pro (Robyn / Mimmi)

The lucky folks over at French tech blog JournalDuGeek got themselves some on-wrist time with Sony Ericsson's OLED Bluetooth watch/remote/alert terminal. If you're not familiar with the device, check out our coverage of its official announcement in September: Sony Ericsson Outs The LiveView Remote For Android Devices...

JDG posted some rather blurry pics of the device, whilst also disclosing a price and rough release date: €59 in November. Considering Sony are known for "aspirational" pricing, this is very pleasing if true. Not much was said about the device itself, and it is unknown as yet how legible the OLED screen is in sunlight.

Oct

US Cellular Joins The Galaxy S Party - Samsung Mesmerize Official, Launching October 27 For $199

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Eclair 2.1, Galaxy S, Mesmerize, Samsung, US Cellular

If you've got a good memory (I don't), you may recall that back when the Samsung Epic 4G, the Fascinate, and the Vibrant were announced, there was also an unnamed version of the Galaxy S headed to US Cellular.

Well today, over three months later (and also about a month after Verizon became the last major US carrier to receive an incarnation of Samsung's flagship device), US Cellular has finally announced that the Samsung Mesmerize, aka their version of the Galaxy S, will be available starting October 27 for $199 after an $80 mail-in rebate. Like most other versions of the Galaxy S, the Mesmerize features:

a 4" Super AMOLED touchscreen
a 5MP camera capable of recording 720p
a 3.5mm headset jack
WiFi
Bluetooth 3.0
a microSD card slot
Android 2.1 Eclair
Swype

Personally, I would have been happier if Samsung had announced that the long overdue update to Android 2.2 FroYo were now available, but hey, another Android device is never a bad thing, especially when US Cellular only gives their customers two other alternatives - the rapidly aging Samsung Acclaim, and the HTC Desire, which still doesn't look too shabby.

Oct

FroYo's Share Grows to 33.4%, Eclair Still Dominates In Latest Android Platform Versions Chart

Posted by Nate Kimmey in Cupcake 1.5, Devices By Manufacturer, Donut 1.6, Eclair 2.1, Froyo 2.2, Gingerbread 2.3, News

The latest Android platform numbers are out, and thanks to carrier support of updates (Verizon and Sprint, anyway) FroYo has made an impressive boost to capture 33.4% of Android devices. This isn't enough to upset Android 2.1, which remains on top with 40.4%, but it's a good sign of diminishing Android fragmentation nonetheless.

When Gingerbread hits this fall/winter, however, this chart is bound to get pretty ugly - while Donut and Cupcake continued their decline, together they still make up a decent portion of Android devices, at 26.1% combined. Fortunately, while phones running these outdated operating systems will probably not be updated in the near future, they will be discontinued by carriers and replaced with newer models running newer versions of Android (for example, T-Mobile is discontinuing the original myTouch, Motorola CLIQ, and CLIQ XT today, and has already done it to the G1).