A Taste of Froyo: Google Android 2.2 Explored
by Saumitra Bhagwat on June 23, 2010 1:03 AM ESTFinal Words
Don’t be fooled by the minor 0.1 bump in the version number; Froyo is a massive update that brings a lot to the table. With Froyo, Google has focused on improving the overall fit and finish of the OS. There are numerous speed improvements like the new JIT compiler and the V8 Javascript Engine, small fixes and UI tweaks and some big ticket features like Flash support and Wi-Fi Hotspot that make Froyo feel much more refined and usable.
Although there are times when the Android’s UI does seem inconsistent and clumsy. The Music player for instance definitely needs a better UI. Google Talk for instance, does not let you switch accounts; you can only sign in to the Google account used to set up the phone. So if you need to use multiple accounts, you’ll have to turn to Meebo or other similar apps. The favorites section of the dialer only arranges contacts alphabetically, there’s no way to customize the order of that list. While nagging, these issues can be easily fixed via a software update. The keyboard in Froyo is still a disappointment, but this is largely attributable to the responsiveness of the screens being used in many Android devices. One of the main reasons why navigating the iPhone is a pleasure is because of the incongruously more accurate and responsive capacitive display. It will be interesting to see how the keyboard performs when paired with a display that matches the iPhone’s caliber.
When oh when will you get to have some Froyo dear Incredible?
But, Android as a platform suffers from some outstanding issues as well. First and foremost is platform fragmentation. Froyo is the 4th update to Android in the past year, but hardly any devices (with the exception of the Nexus One) are actually running on v2.2. The nature of the Android ecosystem is like a double-edged sword. While it allows handset manufacturers the leeway to design custom UIs and choose underlying hardware configurations to cater to a wide price band, it also makes adopting the latest updates that much harder.
Therefore Google, as the promoter of the Android OS cannot guarantee a consistent user experience from one manufacturer to another. Once you bring tablets into the equation, you’re looking at an even bigger mess. Google’s partly addressed this issue by decoupling certain components of the OS and making them available as standalone downloads, such as Google Maps. In the long run though, Google needs to aggressively pursue this policy to at least bring about a semblance of a consistent user experience across its devices. Andy Rubin, Android’s platform head recently announced that they would be adopting a, “one major release per year” cycle. This will allow Google and handset manufacturers some time to prepare their devices and upgrade their custom UIs, but more importantly, maintain a certain baseline user experience that can be guaranteed to all users.
I’m sure Google will address a lot of these issues in the upcoming releases, but till that time, Froyo makes the case for the Android platform as one of its best releases to date.
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The0ne - Thursday, June 24, 2010 - link
This is why I hate apps in general. For some of the most basic and common sense stuff, it requires apps to do them. Why? Is it so hard to type a number and have a list come up? Seriously?I need to apply to better design the UI. Personally, it's horrible and outdated.
bla5t3d - Wednesday, June 30, 2010 - link
Ummm my 1.5 Magic Sense UI has that? Or am I mixing this up with something else.dmjazzijeff - Wednesday, June 23, 2010 - link
While I'm not keen on Android (disclaimer: I've only had light hands-on time with a Droid while I configured it to work with a client's Exchange 2007 server), I have to admit that the Android WiFi hotspot feature makes me envious.Do the various and sundry carriers ding you with a tethering fee to cover this (AT&T, I'm specifically looking at you)?
How does battery life fare when you're using your phone as a hotspot?
keyibua - Wednesday, June 23, 2010 - link
Hello, summer, good place for shopping, fashion, sexy, personality, maturity, from here to begin. Are you ready?ScruffyNerfherder - Wednesday, June 23, 2010 - link
Please add performance comparison to iPhone3GS, iPhone4 and iPad.strikeback03 - Thursday, June 24, 2010 - link
right, I'm sure they are going to get right on comparing a pre-release OS to unreleased hardware.quasi51 - Thursday, June 24, 2010 - link
I'm in the market for a new smartphone but I need to be able to encrypt email on the device. I'd much rather buy an Android phone than an iPhone but I can't find any information on how to do this. This is available on the iPhone 3GS/4 with iOS4. Any suggestions for something similar on Android? As far as I know there aren't any Android devices with hardware encryption but I'd be content to try a software solution.Veroxious - Thursday, June 24, 2010 - link
I was hoping that the official Froyo release would have a native media player that could play divx etc......as this has been one of the big thing lacking imho.....that is the only thing I am soooo missing on this otherwise brilliant HTC Desire.Also a more simplistic manner of controlling data/updates etc via 3G. There have been many times where I just needed to do some 5 minute browsing using 3G only to have all the programs that access the internet starting up in the background and scoffing down megabytes that makes my head spin at the cost.
Lastly, no navigation in Google maps yet?
B3an - Thursday, June 24, 2010 - link
"However, things did get a little choppy on some of the more intensive websites like South Park Studios, which then, invariably took a toll on the battery life too. I’ll be honest, a warm Nexus One is not fun to hold in your hands...at all."You make it sound as if Flash is the only thing thats going to get the phone this warm. Playing Flash vids on Froyo does not drain the batter any faster than playing vids in a media player app, nor does it get the phone any hotter. The same goes for games.... but i dont see Apple not allowing video or games on there devices.
Flash on Android 2.2 proves very well how well Flash can run on a phone (with a touch interface too), and that Apple, as usual, are talking BS.
And i would have liked to of seen more on Flash performance in the article, not just a quick video mention on one site.
ScruffyNerfherder - Thursday, June 24, 2010 - link
"right, I'm sure they are going to get right on comparing a pre-release OS to unreleased hardware."Uh, that's what this article is all about (a pre-release OS, duh) which as of today is officially released to open source.
iPhone 3GS and iPad are already out (duh) and iOS4 for iPhone was released to the public earlier this week and has been available by other means for a while.
Many if not most of Anandtech reviews are done on hardware that has yet to be released to the public (duh). And we are talking a few days from release to the public (double duh). If iPhone 4 is still not available to Anandtech or they aren't allowed to publish numbers yet, that's fine, just compare to iPhone 3GS and iPad.
It seems like old news (go watch the Day 2 keynotes of this years Google I/O conference on youtube and Froyo 2.2 on Google Nexus performance is already compared to iPad) and Anandtech is usually on top of these type of comparisons. Maybe because its Apple, they are being extra super careful to get everything exactly straight before releasing comparison numbers and incurring the wrath of Jobs.
After tasting this Froyo article, I'm ready for the main course. Bring it!!!