Google Outlines Feature Set For Android 2.2

evdotorrey writes "Google announced new features and improvements for Android 2.2. New features include Flash and HTML 5 support, faster browser performance using the V8 engine, Microsoft Exchange support, a Portable Hotspot feature that makes your phone a Wi-Fi hotspot, and many more exciting features." An anonymous reader adds some more on the new release, codenamed Froyo: "Google claims the operating system will be from two to five times faster thanks to advances made in the compilers and the Dalvik virtual machine it uses, and how it is ported to new processors and platforms. On the enterprise front the new operating system comes with full support for Microsoft Exchange, including access to the global address book and the ability to translate native security features to mobile handsets. APIs have also been added to allow controls such as the automatic wiping of missing handsets and other remote management features. Google is also making its voice translation and search APIs open to developers, and showed off an application developed for the handset that allowed real time translation from English to French."

Comments

Vendor / carrier upgrades

[Kethinov]

I love everything about Android except one thing: Vendor/carrier OS upgrades.

As someone who wants to switch from iPhone to the HTC Evo 4G in June, I have one message to Sprint/HTC/whoever is responsible: Please make Android 2.2 available as soon as a stable build is out. If it takes months after stable 2.2 is released, I'm gonna be a very vocally dissatisfied customer.

So please vendors / carriers, do us this courtesy and we'll all love you and happily part with obscene quantities of money for quality service.

Re:Vendor / carrier upgrades

[Anonymous Coward]

I got a HTC Hero.
It still runs Android 1.5 But in the US they got it upgraded to 2.1 a few days ago. And here in Europe we will get the 2.1 Update sometime next month.

So android 1.6, 2.0, 2.1 and now 2.2 has been released in the time it takes HTC to upgrade from 1.5 to 2.1
So it will still be a release behind.

Sure I got a 1.5 phone, but the way that they update softwre today, and develepers develop to the newes OS and not old OS (New API, features etc.)
Then the OS realy need to be upgraded basic when it's released

Re:Vendor / carrier upgrades

[sznupi]

Can't you just debrand the phone? It was awlays quite straightforward with Symbian devices. As far as "skyrocketing you into another price bracket"...OTOH you can choose more affordable models and get cheaper plan/prepaid (yeah, I know, US specifics)

Re:Vendor / carrier upgrades

[Anonymous Coward]

If they just made Vendors UI's module based. it would help a lot.

HTC, SonyErisson both have there own UI over the standart Android UI.
And they says that it's porting that UI that takes time, so thats why they are so long to get new firmware out. (Even that HTC have released new phones with Android 2.1 and still claiming that the UI port is given trouble so older phones must wait 2 month longer)

If they made is module based, then you could upgrade the core Android, and get the new features, and fixes.
And the Vendor then just have to supply the UI.
Or if you got the phone for the hardware spec, and not the fancy UI, you could just get the standart Android.

Re:Vendor / carrier upgrades

[L4t3r4lu5]

The first thing I did with my Touch Diamond 2 was install a custom ROM. Stock / Vendor ROMs are almost always out of date before shipping, and updates from the vendor are few and far between. I don't expect this to be any different on Android phones.

There's a good community at xda-developers for Android phones. Check them out.

Re:Vendor / carrier upgrades

[hedwards]

Some already do. If you've got one through AT&T it's fully locked down. That was my only gripe about my backflip. Motorola had their locked down phone in the Milestone. One of the main reasons why I bought my Nexus one was that it would be getting all the updates promptly up until some point in the future when it's discontinued. It's really the only phone that guarantees you that it will be getting prompt updates for things that Google thinks are important.

I'd expect most other phones to take quite a bit of time as each carrier has to customize quite a bit before releasing it for the OTA update.

Wifi tethering

[Thanshin]

I wonder what will be the effects of millions of people carrying wifi hotspots.

If I put my happy optimistic hat, I can imagine a next generation that forgets about ownership of connection and creates a giant web of constant wifi access to the web.

A world where every little gadget can access the web as you approach, by using your phone.

Re:Wifi tethering

[LingNoi]

It's already happening, check out OLSR being ported to the android. With this your android can connect to an OLSR mesh network.

Put your tinfoil hat on

[oldhack]

Have we audited the Android code enough to know that it's not phoning the mothership sending god-knows-what? Do we know there is no other "oops we didn't mean to"? It's one thing to have gov't spooks snooping on you, wholly another to have a private corporation piling dossier on you.

Paranoid? Pretty damn well justified when we are talking about Google, I say. Ask them about their data collection policy.

Re:No Wonder Why Apple Got Dumped Into 3rd Place

[Anonymous Coward]

I develop on both platforms too... android's implementation is by far superior. You obviously don't understand what is going on. That's fine... keep your little fanboy. Reality distortion field going.

Re:No Wonder Why Apple Got Dumped Into 3rd Place

[RMH101]

I've just switched from iPhone to Android. I'd jailbroken my phone to add the features Apple didn't seem to want to give me, I'd call myself a power user of the iPHone (if there is such a thing) and I just got tired of fighting Apple. Every update they push, arbitrary app restrictions (google voice?) - in the end it was an Engadget podcast that persuaded me to switch. Do I want a future of everything coming thru Apple and iTunes (with Apple nickle-and-diming me to death on each transaction), or do I want a connected handset produced by a vendor who has a vested interest in it integrating nicely with as many third-party services (twitter/facebook/flickr etc) as possible? When Apple bought the mobile advertising network it was the last straw.
I now have 2.1 on an HTC Desire and couldn't be happier. All of a sudden you're not treated like an evil hacker for wanting apps that "think different" - it's encouraged.
Case in point: forgot to copy a new album over to my phone. I realised I could wirelessly connect to my LAN, browse the content, copy an album over to my handset. Job done.

Re:Anonymous Cow

[beav007]

I just bought an HTC Desire, which is running Android 2.1. It's absolutely fantastic to use.

I have but one complaint. The RSS reader is a PITA to put a feed into unless it's a predefined/preapproved feed.

Dear Google;

Please, can we have an icon/button somewhere on the browser that shows that there are RSS feeds associated with that web page, and an integrated way to subscribe to them?

Thanks

-beav007

Isn't Android supposed to be "open source" ?

[Qubit]

Okay, sure, Google cuts some deal with Adobe to suck up the Adobe Flash Player code and bake it into builds of Chrome. Or Chromium (whichever one is their proprietary version of the browser).

But why would they describe that support as existing in Android? I thought that Android was Google's FOSS-licensed, linux-kernel-based OS.

When Google, HTC, and other people release a phone running Android, they invariably pile all kinds of proprietary stuff on top. Other options would be nice, but they don't seem too interested in that.

Maybe it's just this particular news site being imprecise, but I'm concerned that Google is trying to peg Flash support via this browser to all Android phones. I mean, it's great for people who want to run the software, but it's shifting Android away from a FOSS project to Yet Another Proprietary Stack.

C'mon Google, you're chock full of smart engineers who want an open web, so please make sure that Android stays an open stack.

Gone back to cooking ROMs - BAD!!!

[Anonymous Coward]

As much as I agree about Apple controlling the iPhone OS and the phone (and it being somewhat limited) - and there being some great Jailbroken apps - the WiFi iTunes syncing is my favourite. BUT I actually like, not having that constant desire to have the latest rom upgrade with the latest features all the time. I've just got a HTC Desire - but I honestly thought it would have the OTA updates as and when Google releases new updates.

I've realised we've just gone back 5-6yrs with Andriod, do you remember buying a Windows Mobile device (XDA or similar) and only 2months later, a new device, with a new version of Windows Mobile on it - with some great features, only to find out, that your device will not be updated for xx Months - or never.

Take the current HTC devices - the Hero is still on Andriod 1.6 no? - And people are having to hack/root them for the Andriod base to get the Hero (and other handsets) to running the latest ROMs.

I'm done with cooking roms, not working bluetooth, not functioning qwerty keyboards etc etc. iPhone - works. Simple.

Comparing their latest Chrome to a year old Safari

[tyrione]

One of the many improvements that Android 2.2 will bring is better performance when running applications. They have made improvements to how applications are compiled that allows apps to run more efficiently, which ultimately allows the applications to run faster and smoother than ever before. Android's web browser Chrome, has also been improved with a 2-3x javascript performance boost using the V8 engine which allows web apps to load a lot faster with Android 2.2. During the live demonstration using Sun's standard Spider javascript test, Chrome on Android 2.2 out performed the same phone running Android 2.1 and even outperformed the Apple iPad running Safari!

I sure hope it outperforms Safari on iPad seeing as it's not remotely near the WebKit nightly that's been in development for nearly a year.

Re:Something doesn't sit right with me.

[Tukz]

That's not Androids fault, that's the vendors.

Android is the OS, which is quite open indeed.
What vendors do with the firmware on their own phones, is entirely up to them.

Re:Anonymous Cow

[suggsjc]

I haven't found a better or faster browser for a mobile device yet

Tried microB (the default browser) on the N900?

FWIW, I'm also really liking Opeara Mobile 10 (on the n900) as well. I particularly like it in portrait mode as it scales very well horizontally and you are able to see a considerable amount vertically.

I don't think either one is "perfect" as I use both depending on what I'm trying to do. I'm finding Opera a little faster to render at the expense of a little stability (and no flash, which I'm ok with). MicroB is rock solid and renders everything just like on a desktop browser (including flash), and I can use it to access all of my online banking.

Conclusion, we aren't there yet, but getting closer. I doubt there will ever be (or should be) "one true" browser as competition is good and everyone is going to have personal needs/preferences. Also, froyo looks interesting...but I think the carriers are going to make it or break it (at least for the non-custom rom crowd).

Re:No Wonder Why Apple Got Dumped Into 3rd Place

[jo_ham]

Consider how consumers react to ads - if you unnecessarily include ads, you annoy your customers, they leave. You lose out.

If you were already using ads, all you have done is change suppliers - transparent to the consumer.

If you have a paid add and you also include ads, people are going to moan that they are being double dipped.

It's AOL in the UK all over again back in the early days of the internet - used to cost £10 per month for service, but local calls here are not free so you were paying twice for the service and the call. As soon as the freephone numbers (supported by ads) came along, people went for it like flies on shit. They also went for the free service, but subsidised by the local call cost (and no adverts). You very rarely get something for nothing. It's all about perceived value though - adverts already exist on the app store, and are pretty "self regulating". The addition of Apple's ad system just makes it easier for developers to do what they are already doing.