Android 2.2, codenamed "froyo" (as in frozen yogurt), is already being reported as released for the Nexus One. Google had announced at its 2010 I/O conference that the update should be expected in June and speculation for the update being available first for the Nexus One seems to be confirmed. However, the early over the air updates appear to be for the T-Mobile version and so far only to a lucky few. Other devices not tied directly to Google still have to be integrated and a June or a July release of Android 2.2 should still be expected.
A big part of the media swarm surrounding Android 2.2 has been the promise of support for Flash 10.1. Earlier this year Steve Jobs made it very clear Apple has no intentions to allow Adobe's product on the iPhone. Apple's disdain for the technology stated Flash would demand too much of a mobile device's resources, draining battery life needlessly, represent a security risk, and undermine the openness of web because it was a proprietary technology.
Froyo will address some of Apple's concerns in the form of the Dalvik JIT compiler. Google has cited a 2 to 5 times speed /performance boost for all Android 2.2 devices. Demonstrations with Adobe's Flash and Android 2.2 have shown a very good mobile flash experience. In addition, Google V8 javascript engine used in the Chrome browser will also be added to Android's default browser, further increasing speed and performance.
Another highly anticipated feature is support for tethering and the ability for Android to be used as a WiFi hotspot. This particular feature might be vetoed by mobile carriers concerned about the added increase this could mean for their data networks.
SD card application storage is the last of the big anticipated features. Currently, Android phones are tied to a limited amount of internal storage the size of which is unique to each handset. With this implemented it will possible for developers to build bigger apps, which is particularly enticing if what you want are better games.
There are also cosmetic changes. The new UI has phone and browser buttons flanking the app drawer icon, the Market has a minor change separating an apps description and comments on different tabs, and holding the Home button will show more recently used apps.
Other highlights include automatic updates for market apps and improved exchange support, particularly for the calendar.
Originally posted on Helium
No comments:
Post a Comment