What to Expect From Froyo
Froyo is coming – there’s no doubt about it now. And with Google I/O starting in just a few days, with the added fact that the Froyo statue has been delivered to Google HQ, we know it’s coming soon. So, what will make this new version of Android better than Eclair?
Quite a few things, actually. Though we have no idea what phones will receive the update, with the exception of the Nexus, which will surely receive it immediately, we know plenty about Froyo. For one, it’s going to have the incredible convenience of automatic app updating, something we learned from the very first leaked screens of Froyo (which happened to be running on the myTouch, interestingly enough). I’m not really sure how Google plans to do this; if the application updated and the Security information (what it needed to access) changed, would it still be updated? Would you be notified? The new feature can be switched on and off for each app, but it would be a privacy nightmare if the apps could get updated without your knowledge and access more of your information.
Android 2.2 is also going to be the first version of Android to fully support Flash. Yes, you read that right – Froyo will come with full support for Flash 10.1. This was rather unclear, as it was confirmed in an interview with The New York Times, but Adobe had previously said that Flash would not be tied to a specific version of Android. Whatever the case, there are also hardware limitations to Flash, meaning first-gen devices, even if they run a 2.2 ROM, will probably not be able to run Flash 10.1.
You want speed? You got speed. The folk over at Android Police got their hands on a Nexus One running 2.2, and ran a Linpack test (which simply finds how quickly the phone can operate) on it compared to a Hero and a Nexus One running 2.1. The results? The Hero pulled in a weak 2 MFLOPS (lower is worse, by the way) while the Nexus One running 2.1 managed scores of around 6-7 MFLOPS. The Nexus One running Froyo? 37 MFLOPS. While each and every process on your phone might not be that much faster, you should definitely notice some major improvements in speed. (Just another comparison: I tested my myTouch running a 2.1 ROM and achieved only 2.28 MFLOPS, not very impressive at all.)
The latest feature unveiled by the people at Android Police is, quite frankly, incredibly surprising. Android 2.2 will come with support for wireless tethering. For those of you who don’t know, wireless tethering allows WiFi-enabled devices to connect to your phone and use your data connection. Sprint is unveiling their Mobile Hotspot plan for the HTC Evo, and it will cost an extra $29.99 a month – so when the Evo gets updated to 2.2, it’s quite possible that it may lose this feature; in fact, other carriers could stop this as well, but of course, rooting will still always be an option.
A new homescreen has also been seen, which includes an app dock right under the launcher and a new, universal search widget. More information will be posted when it is released.
What features do you want to see in Android 2.2? Post in the comments now!
Image credit: Android Authority, Android Police
