A Taste of Froyo: Google Android 2.2 Explored
by Saumitra Bhagwat on June 23, 2010 1:03 AM ESTFlash 10.1, Tethering & Hotspot Support
Adobe has taken much trashing from Apple lately due to inability of Flash to deliver a smooth user experience on mobile devices without sacrificing battery life. With Froyo, Adobe has teamed up with Google to prove them wrong. While Adobe’s claim that 250 million mobile devices will be Flash-enabled by the end of 2012 seems a little far-fetched, the Nexus One and Froyo seemed to handle flash quite well. 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.
USB Tethering & Wi-Fi Hotspot
I believe this is one of the greatest additions to Froyo and an incredibly useful one at that. It allows you to share your phone’s GPRS or 3G connections via Wi-Fi to other devices by turning the phone into a wireless access point. Although it only supports WPA2 at this point, the feature itself is a lifesaver when your internet service goes out (like right now, as I write this article). Thumbs up to Google for including this!
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Enterprise Features
Since I’m not important enough to have an exchange account, I haven’t been able to test the new features like support for Exchange calendars and remote wipe.
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Zirconium - Wednesday, June 23, 2010 - link
Nope, dguy6789 is right. If it takes you 10 seconds to complete something that only takes me 5, then I am 100% faster than you, not 50%. Think of it like this: you and I are running a race (in this case, Android 2.1 and 2.2 are racing to complete a task). If I finish in half the time as you, then I am running twice as fast, or 100% faster. According to the numbers posted, Android 2.2 is about 140% faster on BenchmarkPi and 155% faster on SunSpider.Is it just me, or is it sad that I have to explain basic math on a tech site?
Saumitra - Wednesday, June 23, 2010 - link
That's right, I just saw the spreadsheet I had with the numbers and noticed an error in the formula! Let me update that ASAP!hughlle - Wednesday, June 23, 2010 - link
haha, i'm just tired and confused. i'm sat here thinking that if something is 100% faster, that it is not though a 100% performance increase. just ignore me today hahacleric7x9 - Thursday, June 24, 2010 - link
Actually, since you are using the word "faster" as a qualifier, you begin with the slower (higher) value. Therefore, 5, in relation to 10, is 50% slower, or in other words, 100% faster.Is it just me, or is it sad that I have to explain basic math on a tech site?
djc263 - Thursday, June 24, 2010 - link
Actually you aren't using math skills anymore. English language skills interpret objects and comparative language. You admitted the math skills were correct, while disagreeing that he had identified the object of the comparative phrase.ekerazha - Wednesday, June 23, 2010 - link
The fact that Android lacks WPA-Enterprise support (auth through certificates) and a decent proxy support, makes it unusable with "advanced" network infrastructures therefore useless for many people.Death666Angel - Wednesday, June 23, 2010 - link
http://pboos.ch/wordpress/2009/04/android-using-wp...Requires some work, but there you go. :)
ekerazha - Wednesday, June 23, 2010 - link
It's hackish and the phone must be rooted, so it's not an acceptable solution.fepple - Wednesday, June 23, 2010 - link
I thought the Nexus one update was official? I remember seeing links to the ROM on a google.com domain? Also I thought I saw instructions for installing it with the standard (locked) boot loader?One thing I've noticed is my GPS seems to pick up a signal way when I turn it on than 2.1. Also I grabbed a radio update at the same time, which gives me loads better 3G - but I think thats cause I put a crappy update on before :)
Spoelie - Wednesday, June 23, 2010 - link
I'm not convinced it was the best choice to standardize on "black text on white background". This makes sense if most devices are TFT with poor blacks, poor viewing angles, high brightness and constant power consumption - but aren't most new devices AMOLED? On those screens, a white screen consumes a lot more power than a black screen, and you don't have any contrast problems. It would make sense to invert the colors on those devices. Why not make it switchable?Or a make it switchable?