Remember that Sprint Evo 4G developers guide that we all kinda looked at and sniffed? Well, the lads at Neowin noticed a snippet of commented code that mentions a feature that "will be included in Froyo SDK," referring to the next major release ("Frozen Yogurt") of the Android Operating system. It should come as no surprise that the Evo 4G would receive the latest and greatest version of Android — question is whether we’ll be seeing FroYo at launch, or as a future update. [Neowin]
We’re back after a week off for CTIA. After the break, check out the latest app recommendations from your favorite Android Central editors.
Not using the doubleTwist yet to sync movies, music and photos to your Android Smartphone? You’re really running out of reasons why, especially if you’re on a Mac. (Oh, and by the way, it’s still free.) The popular sync solution for Android unleashed a new version on the Mac client, bringing Android Market integration as well as a Web portal to the Market. Search for an app, and you’re greeted with screen shots, a QR code for download, and recent reviews. Unfortunately, there’s no direct communication with your phone, so you’ll have to hit up the QR code. But it’s one step closer to making doubleTwist the perfect sync solution.
Also new in the Mac version is podcast search (the ability to sync and subscribe is coming up) as well as a new integrated music player. The Windows version of doubleTwist should get Market integration in the next release. [doubleTwist]
The Verizon Motorola Droid Android 2.1 update! Finally! It’s finally here! Only, it’s not here for everybody. Such is the way over-the-air updates go. A few people get them at first, and then the rest of us. Fortunately, you can now update manually. (Note: This method does not — repeat: NOT — require root access, deals with the devil or any sort of Pagan sacrifice.) Here’s how.
That’s it! You should now be updated to Android 2.1. Congrats! We’re in the midst up updating our own phones, so let us know in the comments how it’s going. (But do remember that you’re doing this manual update at your own risk.) [via Android Central Forums; Download links via AndroidForums and AllDroid]
Update: Killed Location 3, and renamed Location 1 to make it clear it’s the official download from Google.
Update 2: OK, to answer a few of your questions:
Now that everybody’s all excited that Motorola Droid’s Android 2.1 update finally is coming out (for reals, this time — maybe), reader Sharon reminds us that we might have to wait a little while, at least for the over-the-air update, if we go by the internal Verizon document that details the roll-out.
Only 10,000 people will have it before April 1st. Then only 200,000 per day will receive it. Given the Motorola said that by the end of Q4 they had shipped 2 million Androids (those being only the Droid/Milestone & Cliq)if 1.5 million of those were Droid/Milestone and even that doesn’t include the number sold in Q1 2010.
If they’ve sold even only 2 million Droids to Verizon in the last five months. Do the math. 2 million divided by 200,000/day = 10 days, 4 million = 20 days, etc.
Words to remember as you run your battery down checking for updates. But don’t worry. We’ll have the manual update soon enough. Thanks, Sharon!
Here’s the problem with developing your application in public, with the source code readily available: Next thing you know, what’s really not meant for widespread dissemination is bring run by every Tom, Dick and Harry with a phone and incorrectly dubbed "leak," "beta" or at least "pre-Alpha." And that’s fine. that’s part of the deal. (And it’s why we have to go rumor hunting on occasion.)
So remember that as you watch the videos of the Firefox browser on Android after the break. Remember that this isn’t some leak, or even a proper beta released by Mozilla. This is readily available code, compiled and running on a phone. It’s not fast. It’s huge. And it’s nowhere near ready for judgment.
If you do want to follow along the development of the mobile Firefox browser (aka Fennec), we suggest you do so at Mozilla’s site here and here, as we’ve been doing for quite some time. But if you still really need a look at it running on a phone, do so after the break. [via XDA Developers and Android Forums]
It’s Android-on-Android action today in LaptopMag’s March Smartphone Madness tournament, with the HTC Hero taking on the Motorola Droid (all full of itself now that the Android 2.1 update is finally rolling out).
Which one’s going to move on to face the Verizon BlackBerry Tour? Well, that’s up to you, now isn’t it. Thanks to the 83 people who sent this in.
Here we go again, folks. After a number of false starts, we started getting word this morning that the Android 2.1 update was making its way to Motorola Droid users. Engadget snagged the following from an internal Verizon e-mail:
Starting 03/30/2010, Verizon Wireless is pleased to announce a new software update for the DROID by Motorola. Users will be able to upgrade their software to version AP: ESE81/BP: C_01.3E.03P to receive new improvements and enhancements.
The SOP of 1,000 people in the first batch applies, followed by 9,000 more at midnight tonight, and 200,000 on Thursday. So stand by for an OTA update, and stand by for the manual download link. Or stand by for more disappointment. One of those things is bound to happen. Sing out in the forums if you get some Android 2.1 love.
Update: Actual shot of said internal e-mail is above.
Yesterday we heard from HTC, manufacturer of the Evo 4G, about the Android phone’s capability to do voice calls at the same time as data. And as a quick follow-up, Sprint just pinged us on Twitter to clarify things on its end. The Evo 4G will do voice calls at the same time as you’re connected over WiFi and not when you’re connected over EV-DO (3G).
That’s par for the course these days on any CDMA carrier. WiMax is a brand-new ballgame, however, and Sprint says they’re still testing things, and that simultaneous voice calls while using data over WiMax is to be determined. That lines up with what HTC told us. It’s not a hardware issue, it’s just a matter of getting it to work, and getting it to work properly. So godspeed, Sprint. We’ve got faith in ya.
OK, you hungry Motorola Cliq users who are dying for another update: One’s coming your way tonight, at least for 1,000 lucky users. But before you call a baby sitter and abandon the family, know this: It doesn’t appear to be a full-on Android version update, though it will bring:
To get in on it tonight (for everybody else, this maintenance release is coming later this week), you’ll need to manually check for an update starting at 6 p.m. PDT (9 p.m. EDT), and follow this thread in T-Mobile’s forums. Good luck! [via TMoNews]
Remember the Dell Aero Android smartphone? The one we were allowed to fondle but not turn on at CTIA? (And the one that, yes, can’t run unsigned apps?) Well, the guys at Engadget managed to get their hands on a live one. And from what we’ve seen, they can have it.
We’re not at all against putting a good skin on top of Android, but what Josh shows us doesn’t look anything like a good skin on top of Android — especially that keyboard. Basically it’s some rather sleek (and almost sexy hardware), with a UI that makes us wonder (yet again) why some companies can’t leave well enough alone. [Engadget]
(Oh, and Phil’s alternate post, in a single sentence: "OK, now it’s crippled.")
O ye of little faith. We asked for your questions regarding the Sprint Evo 4G, the first WiMax Android smartphone around, and now it’s time to answer some of them. Obviously we’re not hitting on everything that was asked, and the first place to go if you have a question is the official spec sheet from Sprint. Otherwise, let’s get to it. Join us after the break.
See that phone up there? That’s the Motorola Milestone, the non-U.S. doppelganger of the Motorola Droid. And unlike its American cousin, it’s seeing the Android 2.1 update roll out in Europe as we type this. So hooray for the French. And Germans. And Italians. And British. (And probably another dozen or so countries, too.) In the meantime, we continue to wait. And wait. [via The Unwired]
Biggest complaint we hear about Android? The number of OS versions spread out over the vast number of devices, and the painful wait for updates. We’re currently running the gamut from Android 1.5 — even on new phones like the Motorola i1 — to Android 2.1, currently on the Nexus One and a handful of Milestones.
But what if that were to finally go away? Engadget says it has on good authority that Google’s going to do something about that with the FroYo and Gingerbread releases of Android. And it’ll do so by moving some of the core apps out of the ROM and into the Android Market. That’s already been done with Google Maps. And it makes sense. Move apps like Maps, Googles and Gesture Search — to name a few — into the Market, and the onus no longer is on manufacturers and carriers to test, update and approve them all over again just to push out a ROM update.
Engadget also points to a second track, in that the Android OS development may start to slow as it reaches maturity. Again, makes sense, and it’ll make life easier on everybody if we’re not seeing major releases come month after month.
This likely will still take some time to implement, so you guys are gonna have plenty of days left to gnash your teeth over when you’ll get the latest update. But it may well be light at the end of the tunnel. [Engadget]
One of the sticking points of using the Desire ROM with HTC Sense on the Nexus One was that, at least for a while, the camera wasn’t fully functional. That’s been fixed, and now you can do one better and run the Desire’s camera software — which has a few more features than the stock Nexus One camera software — without having to load the entire Desire ROM along with Sense.
It’s a basic update from MoDaCo — just download it to the root of your microSD card, reboot into recovery and apply the zip file. That simple, and it’s working at the full 5 megapixels. A few more screen shots after the break. [MoDaCo]
The Verizon Nexus One rumors are running rampant this morning. Piling onto the (likely fake) screen shot of the google.com/phone page showing the Verizon version actually for sale, there’s now video showing mostly the same thing. The chatter’s a little different however, and the URL appears to match up with the real thing. So have at it in the comments.
Another tasty morsels for this Monday morning: Jkontherun says to expect the N1 in April with "something that the versions on other U.S. carriers lack." Flash 10.1? A better touchscreen? Trackball swapped out for the Desire’s trackpad? Your guess is as good as ours.
Update: We’ve now had a couple people tell us the hold-up for the Verizon Nexus One has been because Skype wasn’t playing nicely with Android 2.1. Plausible?
We currently have the baristas in custody and hope to have their statements by the end of the day. DNA results from the coffee cups and restroom take a little longer. [Joy of Tech]
Here’s a look at the HTC Evo 4G, straight from Sprint’s official playbook. Nothing earth-shattering there, though our tipster tells us that Best Buy is currently being briefed on the Evo 4G and that we should see presales start in May, in the form of a gift card that will later be redeemed for the phone itself. If that all pans out, it means don’t look for the phone for another month and a half or so.
Of course, this is all highly unofficial and subject to change, so … [Thanks, anon!]
How dominant was Android last week at CTIA? As you can see in the picture above, it drove our pal CrackBerry Kevin to violence. Indeed, our favorite operating system was front and center in Las Vegas last week, with a few major device announcements, and more great software on tap. After the break, we recap what we saw, and what’s still ahead.
Here’s one more from our CTIA pile — the Kyocera Zio M6000. It’s got Android 1.6 running atop a Qualcomm MSM7627 processor, a 3.5-inch LCD touchscreen at 480×800, full H.264 playback, a 1130mAh battery, WiFi and aGPS, and a 3.2 megapixel camera. It’s being billed as one of the lightest Android smartphones out there at 3.7 ounces, and Kyocera compared its build to that of the Nexus One. Don’t know if we’d go that far, but it’s certainly positioning itself as a sleek Android phone at the lower end of the price scale. More pics and video after the break.
