Froyo 2.2 - 10/19 - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

Sep

Google Finally Separates The Gmail App From The OS, Releases New, Speedier Version 2.3

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Android OS, Froyo 2.2, News

With the release of Froyo, Google promised to start decoupling applications bundled with the Android at the core - we've already seen it done to Maps, Navigation, Street View, and other programs. Today Gmail joins the party with the rollout of a new version 2.3 that can now be installed from the Market.

What does it mean? Well, previously, the Gmail app was only updated when you upgrade the whole operating system. Now that the app is downloadable from the Market directly, any updates will be available immediately.

Unfortunately, only users of Froyo and above are able to install the standalone version - everyone else is out of luck.

Sep

DROID X 2.2 Update Coming Tomorrow? Seems Like It

Posted by David Ruddock in Droid X (Shadow), Froyo 2.2, News

It seems the DROID X's overdue update may be coming a day sooner than previously thought.

Wait, didn’t we just say yesterday that it would be coming on Wednesday? Yes, yes we did. I’d say right now that 9/22 looks pretty likely at this point.

Kellex on Droid-Life

Droid-Life has pointed eager X users to Verizon's support page for the device, which has been updated with a PDF espousing the delights of Android 2.2, along with various DROID X-specific changes. There's also a PDF with instructions on how to get the update- but we've yet to see any confirmation that anyone has actually gotten it.

Sep

Android Spin Digs Into Desire HD ROM, Reveals eReader, HTC Hub, User-Designed Skins (Of Sorts), And More

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Desire HD (Ace), Desire Z (Vision), Development, Froyo 2.2, G2 (Vision), HD2, Milestone, News

So I'm not exactly a huge fan of custom UIs, bloatware, and the like, but even I've got to admit that this new version of HTC's Sense UI looks pretty nice.

According to Android Spin, an Android blog which just got done loading the HTC Desire HD ROM (a very similar ROM will also run on the Desire Z) on an HD2, this new ROM will contain several new features such as the previously announced HTCSense.com, much more in-depth customization options, a new HTC Likes app, HTC Hub, and even an eReader app!

Customization

Apparently, the new Sense includes a new feature called "Skins" which allows users to choose from amongst five skins that change up widgets, the status bar, and the launcher (the two skins seen above are, from left to right, the "Metal" skin and the "Woodgrain" skin.

Sep

CyanogenMod 6.0.0 Final/Stable For HTC Hero CDMA Released

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Development, Froyo 2.2, Hero (Sprint, HeroC), HTC, News

Last Updated: August 1st, 2012

CyanogenMod 6 is one of the most popular Android custom ROMs, and for a good reason - besides supporting a myriad of devices, it is built from AOSP (Android Open Source Project), which means no extra garbage that normally comes installed by carriers and customizations/improvements for the people, by the people (the CM contributor community is huge).

Sprint has abandoned our beloved HTC Hero (it was my first Android device a bit under a year ago now and holds a special place in my heart) but the Android community hasn't. The Hero lives on - in fact it has been enjoying Android 2.2 Froyo for a while now in alpha/beta/RC form, not thanks to Sprint yet again.

Sep

T-Mobile UK's HTC Desire Froyo Update Now Officially Rolling Out

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Desire (Bravo/BravoC), Froyo 2.2, HTC, News, T-Mobile

Unlocked HTC Desire owners have been enjoying their chilled Froyo update for over a month now, and today T-Mobile UK announced that its customers are finally going to be able to catch up to the rest of the pack.

Want to know what Froyo can offer you on top of Éclair? Check out our Everything You Need To Know About Android 2.2 Froyo roundup.

Over at T-Mobile UK forums, Sorcha from the T-Mo team posted the following announcement:

Hi all,
We have some exciting news for all our Desire users.
The 2.2 firmware update (FroYo) will be available from today and will be sent over the air (OTA) direct to your phone over the coming weeks.

Sep

CyanogenMod 6 Achieves A New Milestone... Motorola Milestone That Is

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Development, Froyo 2.2, Milestone, Motorola, News

This article mentions flashing of custom ROMs. If you’re unfamiliar with this term, hit up our primer here:

Custom ROMs Explained And Why You Want Them

CyanogenMod 6, a very popular custom Froyo ROM for a whole slew of Android phones, has given thousands of Android users something device manufacturers tried to take away - absolute freedom in customizing your Android experience. One glaring omission from the bunch is the Motorola Milestone, which Motorola decided to lock down way harder than its US counterpart, the original Droid.

All of this changed the other day with the announcement of Milestone support for CyanogenMod 6.1.

Sep

Verizon Page Teases Froyo Update for DROID X - Really, It's Coming. When? Good Question

Posted by David Ruddock in Droid X (Shadow), Froyo 2.2, News, Verizon Wireless

With a leaked 2.2 build for the DROID X already floating around, Froyo for the DROID X is not a matter of if, but when. Unfortunately, "when" is best answered as "soon." This was the speculation after the leak, but soon has not come nearly soon enough. Given Motorola's very stern warning regarding copyright infringement on the leaked version, the delay is probably owed to Moto patching up the exploits that have allowed the DROID X to be rooted and its bootloader security to be circumvented (à la Birdman and Koush).

Regardless of the reason behind Moto's delay in updating the DX to 2.2, it seems Verizon's having trouble containing its excitement over the Froyo jump.

Sep

Galaxy Tab On Its Way To Verizon, Sprint, And AT&T?

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in AT&T, Froyo 2.2, Galaxy Tab, News, Sprint, Verizon Wireless

Last Updated: October 25th, 2010

The Galaxy Tab is really shaping up to one awesome tablet, and if this latest rumor from the Wall Street Journal turns out to be true, a lot of people will be able to experience it for themselves.

Apparently, "three people familiar with the matter" told WSJ that Samsung already has deals with Verizon, Sprint, and AT&T that involve a certain 7-inch tablet - deals similar to the ones made for the Galaxy S line of phones. Obviously, this means more people would be able to experience the wonders of Android blown up to a 1024x768 resolution on a 7" diagonal display (although, if you ask Google, there aren't many to be had yet).

Sep

The State Of Android Fragmentation: Lookin' Pretty Good, Still Much Better Than iOS Fragmentation

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Android OS, Cupcake 1.5, Donut 1.6, Eclair 2.1, Froyo 2.2, News

It's that time of month again: Android's platform distribution numbers are up for the period ending September 1, and things are looking pretty good. Android 2.1 is up to nearly 41.7% of the market, and 2.2 checks in at 28.7% - between the two, 70% of Android phones are running 2.1 or better.

Android 1.5 and 1.6 still measure at a combined 29.5% of all devices. Obviously, any number above 0 isn't good, but as long as the rate is dropping, we'll take it.

In early August, we found some data from Chitika which suggested that fragmentation is worse in iOS than Android.

Sep

Archos 32 PMP - I Mean Internet Tablet - Now Available For $150

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in 32, ARCHOS, Froyo 2.2, News

Sure, it's no Galaxy Tab, but the Archos 32, which just began shipping today, does offer some bang for your buck.

With specs like:

a 3.2 inch 400x240 resistive touchscreen
an 800MHz ARM Cortex A8 processor
802.11 b/g/n WiFi
BlueTooth 2.1 + EDR
a G-sensor

it's not exactly at the top of the Android tablet heap (or even the Archos tablet heap), but for $149.99, what more could you ask? Other than, of course, a name change (seriously, how does a 3.2-inch device qualify as a "tablet" rather than a "portable media player?") and an operating system that isn't FroYo.