Android 2.2, Froyo, New Feature Breakdown
UPDATE: Check out our full fledged video breakdown of all the new features!
Android 2.2 “Froyo” Overview
So finally Google I/O day 2 has come and with it comes the announcement of the new features of Android 2.2, Froyo. So here’s a quick recap of all the new features and just what they all mean…
First, Google’s own video of Android 2.2’s new features:
Update: Video has been taken down.
And now here is our recap of the new features:
| New Tips Widget – | Basically a little Android that helps new users learn how to use their new Android device. |
| New Launcher Buttons – | There are now 3 dedicated buttons that float at the bottom of the home screen. In addition to just the launcher button, there are also a phone button to bring up the dialer, and a browser button to open the browser. Making it easy to access these three things regardless of what homescreen you are on. |
| New Exchange Features – | Remote Wipe, Exchange server auto setup (no need to know your server settings anymore), and exchange calendar support have all been added to 2.2 |
| Camera Upgrades – | New zoom into picture stacks in the Gallery, new onscreen buttons for the camera app itself for things like zoom, geotagging, etc., and led support for videos (allowing you to take videos in low light situations now). |
| WiFi Tethering Built In – | This is a tricky feature though. It allows you to turn your phone into a WiFi hotspot for your laptop or other devices to connect to. BUT this will only be available on certain devices (like the Nexus One) as some carrier’s won’t be allowing it. |
| Multi-Language Support – | By swiping across the space bar when typing you can switch the keyboards language and have the auto correction and suggestions follow suite. |
| Speed Improvements – | The browser has been sped up with a V8 javascript engine. The CPU is able to move up to 5x faster on CPU heavy applications using the Dalvik JIT integrated. The RAM has been improved by adding a Kernel Memory Management Boost which reclaims up to 20x more RAM than previous Android versions. |
| Apps Have More Abilities – | Apps can now send information to the Google server and have it send the info to the phone, wake it up and even load up whatever info they want (check the video for how they do this with Google Maps). Apps can also backup their settings for users so when a user switches phones or uninstalls and then reinstalls an app, all of its data can be restored back automatically as well. |
| Flash Support – | The browser can now utilize plugins like Flash for instance. Flash 10.1 will be released at the same time as Android 2.2 and allow users to access Flash content on the internet on their phone. |
| Android Market Improvements – | The Market will now have an Update All button, and feature Auto-Update. Auto-Update will be able to be enabled per application and allow that app to automatically update itself whenever there is a new version to save you the time. For the Developers, a new reporting service will let the developers know of any crashes their app encounters. |
That’s pretty much it for 2.2 guys! Should be coming out “sometime in June”.
will g1 get this froyo 2.2?
love it
Android on the march…any improvements added to what my N1 alrdy has now is a bonus..just makes my N1 even more palatable…just give us a bigger battery(1800-2000mAh) and i will be set :). I saw one on wirelessground.com which gives u 3200mAh which is awesome but it greatly alters the profile of the N1..not bad though
is there any way to install flash player beta 10.1 on 2.1 nexus?
Froyo 2.2 is now available for download and install. Got it on mine and works great! love froyo. Only for Nexus One’s though. sorry everybody else. 🙂
Anyway to change froyo browser quick launch? Say to dolphin or xscope instead of the default?
will Froyo be available for Mytouch first generation?
Dennis,
Through official ROMs probably not, but through custom ROMs I’d say there is a great possibility. It will just take a little time for developers to get the Nexus Froyo ROM ported over.
If you want flash player on your G1 now use (Skyfire) browser, Everyones working really hard to get Froyo working on G1.
(Only flaw on G1 is the 528mhz processor)
Can somebody please give me a file to manually update to 2.2 for the G1? Just like i manually updated to 1.5 and 1.6 without root? Please. I’m afraid of bricking my phone if i root. It’s happened to me once before and my 1-year warranty is over. please help
=]