Hasta La Gadget!

Judging by the deluge of tips that just hit our inbox, it looks like Verizon just pulled the trigger and released the Android 2.2 Froyo over-the-air update for its venerable Droid handset. At least it has for some lucky owners. So tell us, did you get yours?

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Motorola Droid Android 2.2 Froyo OTA updates are go originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 11 Aug 2010 01:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

Motorola is set to refresh its original Droid phone with the launch of the Droid 2 later this week. The new Droid 2 phone will sport a better keyboard, the latest Android 2.2 Froyo operating system and a faster 1-GHz processor.

Droid 2 will cost $200 with a two-year contract on Verizon Wireless or $600 without a contract, according to Best Buy.

Motorola hasn’t confirmed a release date for the Droid 2 but widespread rumors suggest the phone will be introduced on Aug. 12.

The original Droid phone is now listed as “out of stock” on Verizon’s website.

The Droid 2 refresh comes nearly ten months after Motorola and Verizon launched the original Droid phone. In October last year, the two companies introduced Droid, then one of the most advanced Android devices in the market. The Droid debuted with a 3.7-inch touchscreen display, a slide-out keyboard, a 5-megapixel camera and a 600-MHz processor. Since then, the device has become one of the best-selling Android phones.

In June this year, Motorola announced Droid X, a device that extended the Droid brand. The Droid X, however, didn’t come with a keyboard. With its 4.3-inch touchscreen, the Droid X also sports a bigger display and a faster processor compared to the original Droid.

Droid 2 will now catch up to some of those specs. One of the key criticisms with the original Droid phone was the device’s keyboard. Many users complained that the keys weren’t comfortable to use. Motorola seems to have heard that. In a newspaper ad touting the imminent arrival of the Droid 2, Motorola has highlighted the Droid 2’s “new, advanced keyboard.”

Droid 2 also hopes to be the first phone to ship with Android 2.2 Froyo and support Adobe’s Flash technology for mobile phones — a distinction that shouldn’t matter much now since other devices including HTC Evo and even the original Droid are getting over-the-air upgrades to Froyo.

Another point to consider is that the feature upgrades won’t put the Droid 2 at the front of the pack of Android phones. HTC’s Evo has an 8-megapixel camera, compared to Droid 2’s rumored 5 megapixels. The Evo also has a front-facing camera and HDMI out — two features that will likely be missing in Droid 2.

If that’s the case, it is unlikely Droid 2 can on top of the best-seller charts like its predecessor.

See Also:

• Is This the Motorola Droid 2?
• Motorola Droid Rules Android
• Why I’m Not Getting a Droid Today
• Droid X Debut Leaves Hardcore Android Fans Leery
• Hands On With the Motorola Droid X
• Verizon Denies Tethering, Hot Spot Features to Droid Customers

Photo: Motorola Droid (Gubatron/Flickr)

A Motorola support forum response about issues involving Exchange 2003 email problems on the Droid X has actually yielded something far more juicy: an updated window for the Froyo upgrade’s release. Promised since the phone’s initial launch, Moto’s now saying that the new build is “scheduled for deployment by early September,” so barring a miracle, we can probably toss out those dreams of getting it by late August — and we can certainly forget the rumors that it had already started going out. Clearly we’d like it sooner rather than later, but hey, if they’re hard at work squashing bugs as we speak, more power to ’em — we’re all for stable releases.

[Thanks, ARR]

Droid X update to Android 2.2 coming ‘by early September’ originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 05 Aug 2010 18:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Motorola  | Email this | Comments

Motorola Droid users better not get too excited by Android 2.2, also known as “Froyo.” While Verizon Wireless is set to push out the latest version of the Android operating system to Droid users starting this week, two key features will be missing: tethering and Wi-Fi hot spot capability.

Verizon says the Droid won’t get these two features, which are built into the Android 2.2 OS, because the device’s hardware isn’t capable of supporting it.

“The Droid by Motorola doesn’t have [the] hardware to support a mobile hot spot,” a Verizon spokesperson told MobileCrunch. “With tethering there is no connection on the PC side that will allow you to tether the device, so the answer is: That option isn’t part of this update.”

But some Android developers are not convinced.

“It’s just a business decision,” says Steven Bird, who creates custom ROMs for the Droid. “People who have a Droid see this news. And Verizon can make them think that hot spot or wired tethering is a reason to now upgrade to a new phone.” When the companies finally do offer that upgrade, they are likely to charge for it, says Bird.

Bird isn’t a conspiracy theorist. Homebrew hot spot programs are available for Droids that have been rooted–the Android equivalent of jailbreaking the phone to get complete control. Custom flavors of the Android OS such as CyanogenMod also offer Wi-Fi and USB tethering, says a user.

If the hardware is capable of tethering and acting as a hot spot when running rooted firmware, why can’t it do that with the stock firmware?

A Motorola spokesperson says, “The original Droid by Motorola was not offered with a mobile hot spot feature and will not be upgradable for that feature in the future,” she says. “Our newer devices, such as the Droid X, are enabled for mobile hot spot.”

What also makes Verizon’s claims about the Droid’s hardware capability difficult to believe is that the carrier has a history of disabling features on a phone, only to turn around and charge for it later. For instance, in 2005, a class action lawsuit filed in California claimed Verizon removed some Bluetooth features in Motorola’s v710 phone so it could charge consumers for it separately. More recently, some users have complained about Verizon nickel-and-dimeing users by charging for the visual voicemail service ($3 a month on Verizon compared to AT&T, which offers it for free on the iPhone) and offering no rollover minutes.

If it is truly a hardware issue with the Droid, Verizon needs to step up and explain the details of what the device’s chipset is capable of what and what it can’t do. Consumers are intelligent and they deserve transparency.

Verizon’s moves with the Android also go against what makes the Google-designed operating system so attractive to consumers. By putting the kind of restrictions and controls it is on Android, Verizon is turning the OS into a pale shadow of its original self. If Android was created to help give consumers choice, more features and a better OS, it isn’t working now.

See Also:

• Motorola Droid Rules Android
• Motorola Droid Set for Android Upgrade
• Independent App Stores Take On Google’s Android Market
• Bloatware Creeps Into Android Phones

Photo: Motorola Droid (Jon Snyder/Wired.com)

We’ve just been dropped a brief note from Verizon that the original Droid will be getting the full Froyo treatment at some point next week. Considering the brevity of the announcement, it’s entirely possible that this was thrown together in response to Sprint’s EVO news — but who cares? The more Android 2.2, the better, right? No official word on other Droid variants — most of which are likely going to see Froyo updates soon — but we’ll be keeping our ears firmly planted to the ground.

Update: Want to know just how extensive your Droid makeover might be? Hit up the full Verizon PDF guide to Android 2.2 on Droid at our more coverage link. [Thanks, Sgenius]

Motorola Droid getting Android 2.2 next week (update) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Jul 2010 17:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments