Android 2.2 (Froyo) features

http://blogs.zdnet.com/Google/?p=2010

by mberube • 16 years ago

91 56 16 years ago

blogs.zdnet.com

Some great stuff in here. I'm hoping a couple of Android's browser quirks get worked out as well with this release.

ebiester• 16 years ago

I'm worried about developer-side automatic update. I can think of more than a few times where I wouldn't want such an update, or bad things that a developer could do to a user. As a developer, I'd like it, but I'm not so sure as a user.

hexis• 16 years ago

From the screenshot (of dubious authenticity) I saw on a different website, it seemed like the automatic updates was a setting that the user controls per app. There are still some problems with automatic updates (as there also are with non-automatic updates), but at least the control is relatively fine-grained.

wanderr4• 16 years ago

There was a streaming music app not too long ago that accidentally wiped people's SD cards entirely if the update was installed. Definitely glad I waited a few days and checked the comments before updating.

jsz0• 16 years ago

I'd be happy with an "Update All" button.

fauigerzigerk• 16 years ago

"Update All" plus an exclusion list

psyklic• 16 years ago

True, but currently I have fifteen apps that say they have updates, and I am by no means a heavy app user. To update them (which requires FOUR clicks per app) is a waste of my time, to be quite honest. Yes, I am incurring a slight risk (depending on whether the apps I d/l are trusted), but I for one would be more than happy to automate this part of my life.

For the cautious users, perhaps there could be a "wait x days after release before update" option.

sandGorgon2• 16 years ago

it is actually quite surprising that an update all button is not available in Android.

I did'nt know until you mentioned it here.

Fail!

unfair• 16 years ago

It would be nice if they added a few options, I would like to see a "don't notify me about updates" checkbox. If an app is working fine and not a security risk (much more likely on android), then I don't want it to bug me.

darshan2• 16 years ago

You already can, although it's not per application, it's all-or-nothing. The setting is located at Market->Downloads->Menu->Notifications (at least on T-Mobile's brand of Android 1.6 -- I think it was in a slightly different place on 1.5, but it was there somewhere.)

mey• 16 years ago

I'd really love Bluetooth HID profile support. Even just keyboard.

risotto• 16 years ago

I want mouse too! My phone should/could be a little VNC/KVM type device for many computers

machrider• 16 years ago

Has there been any update on the Nexus Two rumors from a month or two ago? I want an Android phone and I'm tempted to get the Nexus One, but I don't want it to instantly be obsolete... Recommendations?

romland• 16 years ago

I picked up the HTC Desire a few weeks back and I have never been happier with a phone, I would sincerely recommend it. It runs Android 2.1 out of the box.

http://www.htc.com/www/product/desire/overview.html

I have to say, though, it actually looks better in real than it does on the pictures, if looks is anything you care about. Not sure how HTC botched the pictures, can't really put my finger on it.

theBobMcCormick3• 16 years ago

The Nexus One is the same way. It looks kind of plastic and cheap in pictures, but is damn good looking in person. A couple of the iPhone users at work have commented that it's the first non-iPhone phone that they've been tempted by.

borism• 16 years ago

isn't the problem with those HTC Android phones that you'll get such updates at least half a year later than most other people, which is time needed for HTC to upgrade it's Sense UI?

wanderr4• 16 years ago

I don't think you have much to worry about, the N1 is hardly going to become obsolete the moment a better Android phone comes out. My droid wasn't obsoleted by the N1 and likely won't be obsoleted by an N2 either; afaik there aren't any apps that require an N1 or even run poorly on the Droid.

tvon• 16 years ago

I don't follow Android phones that closely, but the HTC Incredible[1] and HTC Evo[2] both look very nice, I'm not sure of the details but it looks like the Incredible is Verizon and the Evo is Sprint...?

[1] http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/19/droid-incredible-review/

[2] http://www.geekogle.com/2010/htc-evo-the-soon-to-be-released...

theBobMcCormick3• 16 years ago

Err, just because a newer more powerful phone come out doesn't mean the older one is obsolete! The Nexus One is still more powerful than almost every Android phone that's been released or announced so far.

As I see it, the top Android phones on each US provider currently are:

* Tmobile - N1

* ATT - N1 (actually, the only decent Android choice on ATT so far is the N1)

* Verizon - HTC Droid Incredible

* Sprint - HTC EVO.

For those who absolutely insist on a hardware keyboard, the only decent options I know of are the Moto Droid on Verizon, and the upcoming MyTouch Slide on Tmobile. Both are less powerful than the phones listed above, but the Moto Droid is still a pretty darn nice phone (particularly after the recent update to 2.1), and the MyTouch Slide looks like it'll be the next best hardware keyboard option.

(HTC Desire looks nice also, it's almost identical to the N1. But I haven't heard confirmation of it landing on a US carrier yet. :-( )

hoprocker• 16 years ago

It looks like Dell is going to be releasing a hardware keyboard w/ the upcoming Dell Smoke: http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/21/dell-smoke-slaps-android-...

jaybol• 16 years ago

Froyo as in frozen yogurt right?

hyperbovine• 16 years ago

Yeah. Although how this is supposed to be an improvement over cupcake is anyone's guess.

joezydeco• 16 years ago

you forgot donut and eclair?

wanderr4• 16 years ago

Can anyone elaborate on how JIT is new to 2.2 and how that compares to how <=2.1 handles it? I haven't touched Java in ages, but I thought JIT was a fundamental part of how Java works, so I'm a bit confused.

teilo3• 16 years ago

Android does not have a JVM. While Android applications are written in Java, and initially compiled to Java bytecode, that bytecode is then translated into Davlik bytecode, and saved to a compact .dex executable, and run in the Davlik virtual machine. The Davlik virtual machine is quite different from the JVM. It is optimized for small devices. It is register-based rather than stack-based. It does not (currently) include a JIT compiler.

wanderr4• 16 years ago

Wow, I had no idea! Thanks for the summary. :)

danh• 16 years ago

Very true, except that it's called Dalvik.

wgren2• 16 years ago

"I thought JIT was a fundamental part of how Java works, so I'm a bit confused."

Suns JDK has had JIT since 1.2 (J2SE in marketspeak), but it is not a prerequisite for Java. It just speeds things up (after a short pause for compile to native).

dschobel3• 16 years ago

Here's hoping for a software fix for the N1's crappy multi-touch: http://androidandme.com/2010/03/news/is-multitouch-broken-on...

dschobel3• 16 years ago

umm, people disagree that it's broken? I don't get downvotes.

bretthoerner• 16 years ago

I believe it's been fixed: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWPsM2EdXPw&feature=playe...

dschobel3• 16 years ago

That video shows it still broken on the N1. The droid (and droid incredible) never had the issue.

teilo3• 16 years ago

It has been working great for me. Course, I am using Cyanogen's ROM, so that might be part of it.

orangecat• 16 years ago

I'm using Cyanogen's ROM too, and I don't think it helps. Run the Spare Parts app and select Pointer Location. If you touch the screen in two places and move them around it's pretty easy to get it to report bogus locations.

buster• 16 years ago

I used multi-touch only once or twice but it seemed to work as expected in maps and browser on my N1.

When i first got multitouch on the G1 i was pretty much underwhelmed, everyone with an iPhone told me "but it doesn't do multi touch!". And then? What i never thought of.. Why would i want to use two hands to operate my mobile when every app has good means to zoom, etc. with only one hand. Most overrated feature on phones nowadays, imo.

I guess others use multi touch a lot.. but well.. for me..

Anyway, how do i see this non-working multi touch in a real app, again? Because.. well, if this bug would be as bad as the movie makes it look like, a test at HTC would have found it instantly before production.

cesare• 16 years ago

It's a hardware limitation. The touchscreen used in the N1 is a Synaptics ClearPad 2000 (http://www.synaptics.com/solutions/products/clearpad) which is capable of dual-touch at best (can't really differentiate the two fingers).

Still a great phone, though.

Sephr• 16 years ago

It fails to mention the 802.11n support to be added.

enomar• 16 years ago

Are there any existing android phones that have FM hardware? I assume the FM radio support is for future phones...right?

sandGorgon2• 16 years ago

I feel the same way as you do... until I realized that for the vast majority of consumers

FM <<<<<<< Pandora = Last.fm

detst• 16 years ago

It's on the HTC Incredible running 2.1 and it works today. I believe it's on others too.

darshan2• 16 years ago

The HTC Desire does, but it already works there. Most people are speculating that this is one of the "secrets" Google claims is still hiding away in the Nexus One, given that the Desire and the N1 are basically the same inside, and their Broadcom chipset's specs include FM receiver/transmitter.

nailer3• 16 years ago

sorry, accidentally hit downvote. On desire here and fm is do much more convenient than web radio.

kelnos• 16 years ago

I'd read (though I can't find the link now) that there's no FM antenna connected to the FM radio in the N1. I'm not sure if that's true, or not... would be a damn shame if so.

RyanMcGreal• 16 years ago

>interesting features that I’m sure Android users will find interesting.

Really, copy-editor?

SkyMarshal• 16 years ago

It sounds like a beta version of Android 2.2 (Froyo) is out in the wild for testing — and it has some interesting features that I’m sure Android users will find interesting.

Hmm, how interesting.

JereCoh• 16 years ago

Until Google seeks the professional services of a graphic designer and a user experience designer to improve the core UI metaphors (like navigation based, tab bar apps, split view based concepts on the iPhone), I won't consider it a serious alternative to the iPhone. This isn't about skin deep beauty. The user experience on the iPhone is better in nearly every way and it deserves just as much attention as technical improvements.

nailer3• 16 years ago

Have you tried Sense on a current gen device? The experience leapfrogs iPhone.

Android 2.2 (Froyo) features

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