2.1 upgrade

[tispectrum]

Google's Android 2.1: How It'll Change Your Phone - PC World

Google officially launched its Android 2.1 software development kit (SDK) this week, giving programmers their first glimpse under the hood of the updated operating system.
Android 2.1 debuted on the new Nexus One handset and is expected to reach other Android devices -- including the Motorola Droid, Motorola Cliq, and HTC Droid Eris -- very soon. While Google calls the update a "minor platform release," Android 2.1 includes several interface changes that are sure to catch your eye.
Here's a look at what you can expect.
Live Wallpapers
Those cool "live wallpapers" seen on the Nexus One are actually a standard feature of Android 2.1. The interactive backgrounds move in different ways: Some shift and swirl as you navigate around your home screens; others generate visualizations based upon music or finger-taps.
Additional Home Screens
Compared to the three home screens found by default in Android 2.0 (and the slightly updated Android 2.0.1), the 2.1 release of Android gives you five home screens to fill with shortcuts and widgets as you wish.
Updated Home Screen Navigation
Along with the added home screens comes a thumbnail-based navigation system that allows you to quickly jump to any screen. You can still swipe left or right normally to move through the various screens, but the thumbnail system gives you the option to also see small icons of all five screens and tap directly on any one to jump straight to it.
New App Launcher

The standard Android app launcher gets a new look in the 2.1 release. Compared to the drawer-like look seen in previous versions -- where the app list would slide up from the bottom of the screen -- the 2.1 app launcher flies the icons in from the corners of the screen while fading in a dark background behind them. It then uses a rolling effect as you scroll down through the list.
Voice Typing For All Text Fields
Android 2.1 builds upon previous versions' voice-to-text capabilities by providing voice recognition for all text fields. As first demonstrated on the Nexus One, the expanded voice typing system allows you to do everything from sending texts to writing e-mails by simply speaking the words into your phone.
New Widgets
The newly black-colored system widgets introduced in Android 2.0.1 are present in the 2.1 release. Google has also added a widget that displays the latest news stories and weather on your home screen, then offers multiple tabs of news and weather information when opened in its full size.
3D Photo Gallery
The photo gallery in Android 2.1, developed with Cooliris, shows all of your images in a slick three-dimensional view. It also integrates two-way sync with online photo albums stored at Picasa.
Other Considerations
Neither Motorola nor HTC has announced an exact date for when specific Android handsets will receive the 2.1 upgrade. Motorola has, however, stated that all of its Android devices will be updated. HTC has mentioned the Droid Eris as an upgrade certainty and has suggested certain other models will also be included.
(During the Nexus One news event, Google Android guru Andy Rubin did say that some older Android phones may not be able to fully support the 2.1 experience, so it's quite possible that some of the early Android handsets may not end up getting the upgrade.)
One thing still conspicuously absent from Android in its 2.1 incarnation: native multitouch support. With that said, you can get multitouch-driven pinch-and-zoom Web browsing on your Android phone with the free Dolphin Browser application.
For more tricks to maximizing your Android experience, check out my in-depth guide: "Master Google Android: 40 Tips and Tricks."
JR Raphael frequently covers mobile technology for both PC World and eSarcasm, his geek-humor getaway. Check out his new Facebook page: facebook.com/The.JR.Raphael

 

[aleis]

i will say, if/when the eris gets this...I WILL BE OK NOT HAVING A NEXUS ONE FOR AT LEAST 6 MONTHS
but then i`ll want speed!!
but man i cannot WAIT for those animated wallpapers!!!
i dont care what the do the the battery (cadillac dude! lol)
i need those.
and the way it scrolls is VERY cool (my coworker has one).
looking for 2.1 a lil more than the nexus 1!

 

[Jegas]

The live wallpapers just look tacky and juvenile.

 

[telltime]

The live wallpapers just look tacky and juvenile.

Now THAT'S why they call it an opinion!

I like them, and even if I didn't I would choose words to express it so it wouldn't be insulting or derogatory to those who do.

 

[smacky]

The animated wallpaper is a gimmick, but it's a gimmick no other phone OS has...I think...

I can't wait for this thing either. Something tells me, though, that this thing will be a little ways from now, and while we haven't heard rumblings of whatever is after 2.1 (3.0, 2.2, I dunno) I'm pretty sure by the time we get 2.0/.1, we'll be hearing rumblings of the next thing.

Now while the stuff on 2.1 will be awesome and will be a whole lot better than 1.5, we're all human here and we're going to start wanting the next best thing. So I feel this thing is gonna be one mean, vicious cycle.

Regardless, I can't wait. It's gonna be awesome and I'm gonna squeal like a little girl when I make up one morning and see the update waiting for me on my phone.

 

[falltime]

In reality Sense offers similar 'benefits' - so unless it also speeds up my Eris - given how well the updates and 3rd party apps (Meridian A/V player!!!!!) have my Eris running, I am no longer that anxious for the upgrade (although turn-by-turn navigation will be nice)

 

[BY724]

That sounds amazing, and exactly like what I've been hoping for.

They say soon...it IS Q1, and maybe it's possible that they won't make us wait all the way until the end.

I never read anything about the OTA update we just got before it came out...maybe they threw that out there as a little patch to hold us off until 2.1 on the 22nd?

It's still possible, right?

 

[smacky]

That sounds amazing, and exactly like what I've been hoping for.

They say soon...it IS Q1, and maybe it's possible that they won't make us wait all the way until the end.

I never read anything about the OTA update we just got before it came out...maybe they threw that out there as a little patch to hold us off until 2.1 on the 22nd?

It's still possible, right?

It could be. I'm still rather new to smart phones as a whole and how the whole firmware upgrading thing works, but it's a bit fishy the code is released this week and then an update is due the 22nd, or rumored to be. I do have a feeling, though, that it's possible we could all wake up groaning when we look at our phone come the 22nd.

 

[davros]

boy that nexus 1 is slick and fast

 

[falltime]

Really you think so - it hardly seems more than a tad faster than the Eris.

 

[davros]

I dunno when he opens the apps it might look like its kinda faster. The tmobile service prolly sux tho. Lol

 

[aaronjohnston]

Really you think so - it hardly seems more than a tad faster than the Eris.

It is alot faster. I tested them side by side. I have absolutely no lag issue's with my Eris and am completely happy with it, but the reaction time of the Nexus is insane.

 

[RC Addict]

The 2.1 release appears to be visual only. How 'bout we see some fixes, HTC? Maybe get the BlueTooth protocols right. Maybe fix the camera (that is the grainiest 5 MP camera I have EVER seen). I don't need window dressing--I need platform performance upgrades. Out.

 

[ericDylan]

are we sure that the 2.1 update will come OTA? i was reading on another thread and they said there may be some issues with that. but everywhere else i have read has said its OTA... idk if they just assumed or if they have some facts behind it. does anyone actually know how the 2.1 update will get to us?

 

[falltime]

It is alot faster. I tested them side by side. I have absolutely no lag issue's with my Eris and am completely happy with it, but the reaction time of the Nexus is insane.

Good, I want it to be good (the better it is, the more Android will get developer attention). It just didn't look much faster in the video.

 

[smacky]

Word out of the early-adopters is that the Nexus really isn't that revolutionary. It's only a bit faster than the Droid, which is only a bit faster than the Eris. Until it comes to VZW in a few months, I think we have the best phone on VZW's network, second overall only to the Nexus One, which has none of the Droid's bulkiness, but a very similar physical design to the Eris, which is a good one. T-Mobile sucks ass, I have several friends who are miserable when I get mobile internet, or even just reception in the basements of our campus buildings but they can't. Coincidentally, it's my house that gives me one bar and robs me of precious battery life.

 

[hrbib21]

Voice to text and turn by turn for Google Maps are the two things I would love to have. The rest, couldn't care less.

 

[SuperStuff]

The 2.1 release appears to be visual only. How 'bout we see some fixes, HTC? Maybe get the BlueTooth protocols right. Maybe fix the camera (that is the grainiest 5 MP camera I have EVER seen). I don't need window dressing--I need platform performance upgrades. Out.

Yeah fix the major issues like BT, camera performance, youtube playback, and better battery management on my Droid Eris.

 

[ekyle]

Yeah fix the major issues like BT, camera performance, youtube playback, and better battery management on my Droid Eris.

+1 for better battery management on the Eris

 

[Napster]

The Eris with its slow and ancient ARM11 CPU is going to choke.

 

[smacky]

+1 for better battery management on the Eris

The Eris with its slow and ancient ARM11 CPU is going to choke.

I'm calling it. Same person.

 

[Caddyman]

Napster and Onoin are the same person, I can almost guarantee it.

 

[_lowedown]

Napster and Onoin are the same person, I can almost guarantee it.

The Mod can confirm this by checking both their IP addresses.

 

[ekyle]

I'm calling it. Same person.

I'm in no way related to the one threatening to sue over the youtube app lol. the battery is the only thing I don't like about the Eris. I haven't fully drained and charged it yet though. I'm giving that a shot tonight

 

[smittythepig]

The Eris with its slow and ancient ARM11 CPU is going to choke.

do you actually have the Eris? i would assume so based on the whole lawsuit thing and the fact you hang here all the time. if so, why in the world have you not sold it and gotten something else? as miserable as you are with it (again, assuming you have the Eris) you should be able to sell it and buy something else even if you have to fork over a couple hundred bucks (at most) since you're probably not eligible for any discounts now. you'd be a lot happier. or you could go to verizon and complain to them as much as you do here and they'd probably eventually give you a different phone.

i wonder if you can condition the battery later, after you've used it a while. personally i don't really know for sure that conditioning a lithium ion battery actually does anything. but if it does, i wonder if i could try to condition it again. i didn't spend much time doing that when i first got mine. maybe if i try and burn through 3 complete charge and discharge cycles my battery would do better.