Android 2.2 (A.K.A. Froyo) Goes Gold
- Thread starter STR
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They're phonetic codenames, each version aside form the original 1.1 had a letter designation to designate version families. Kinda like the USS Enterprise. Cupcake is Android-C, offically relased as Android 1.6. It was followed by (D)oughnut. In summation:
Android 1.1 No generally used codename
Android 1.5 Cupcake
Android 1.6 Doughnut
Android 2.0 Eclair (only really used on Motorola Droid, quickly updated to 2.1)
Android 2.1 Eclair (probably could have been given its own name, but eh)
Android 2.2 Froyo
Android-G is named Gingerbread and is due for release by the end of the year. Nothing is known about it other than that it is in the earliest stages of development. Google probably only started serious work on it this week, since 2.2 was only just released last week. There are a lot of rumors going around, case in point the one above. Google has not given Android-G an official number yet. It could be 2.3, 2.5, 3.0, or they could abandon the numbering scheme altogether (unlikely, but point is there has been no announcement). If we can take anything from past history, the codename for Android-H (I'm rooting for will come out before the version number for Gingerbread is announced.
About the only thing they HAVE said is that a major goal will be to separate out some of the functions from the OS and make them into individual apps (e.g. Google Maps, GMail, etc.). This will allow phone makers to do less testing (since there's fewer parts baked in). The other initiative is a UI overhaul to try and stop phone makers from installing their own skins and coding on top of Android, which slows down updates and can cause compatibility problems with 3rd party apps. Anything else is just a rumor. If need, I can actually back the above statements up with quotes from the Android team.
I can only imagine what they're cooking up, or planning to cook up. It became obvious with the launch of 2.2 that Google has the technological lead in mobile OS's. It has the marketshare to start getting better 3rd party support (Flash for example), ever since Google I/O a couple months back, every week there's been a major new app. Hell, even Yahoo! just launched a suite of apps in Google's App Market (The Yahoo! Mail app is quite nice, though I don't know why they let the app sync over wifi, but not the built-in IMAP client, but I digress). I did not get in on launch, I waited for the Nexus One and Android 2, but even before I switched I saw the potential.
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I've used the Blackberry, had an ipod touch and now have and android HTC Hero. I am very, very impressed with the android OS. I'm not saying it's better than the iphone/ipod touch, but it isn't worse either. Everyday I use the phone, I learn something new or find another app and am stunned at what I can do.
The most confusing part, for me are all the different operating systems that are out there, the modifications of the operating systems, the future operating systems and figuring out that HTC sense means I have widgets that other android phones don't have. (I bought a samsung moment for my mother at the same time that I got the Hero and was constantly trying to figure out why our phones looked so different).
The most confusing part, for me are all the different operating systems that are out there, the modifications of the operating systems, the future operating systems and figuring out that HTC sense means I have widgets that other android phones don't have. (I bought a samsung moment for my mother at the same time that I got the Hero and was constantly trying to figure out why our phones looked so different).
^That's pretty much what Google is getting at with Gingerbread. HTC slaps on its SenseUI. Samsung has TouchWiz. Motorola does its Blur, and Sony uses slow moving vomit on its Xperia phones. It dilutes the brand, increases the time it takes to update phones (because the OEM has to test the new Android build, then test it with the add-ons, and if the new Android version duplicates functionality with the add-on, the add-on has to be modified or the alteration ripped out, and then you have to go back and test that), or can cause problems with 3rd party apps. On top of that, most of the add-on UI elements are fugly, illogically designed, and add stupid things no one wants.
With my Nexus One I have a "naked" Android build, which aside from the Google Phone, you can only get with the Motorola Droid (the original Droid) and a couple of really old phones that can't handle Android 2.x. If I want more widgets, I can download them from the market (Pure Calendar is awesome now). Hell, if I want to replace the whole homescreen, I can do that too. I'm using Launcher Pro, which is very customizable and has features the default launcher doesn't. It runs silky smooth to boot. But it doesn't work on a HTC SenseUI phone, because HTC didn't just replace the homescreen, but reprogrammed a lot of the underhood software.
With my Nexus One I have a "naked" Android build, which aside from the Google Phone, you can only get with the Motorola Droid (the original Droid) and a couple of really old phones that can't handle Android 2.x. If I want more widgets, I can download them from the market (Pure Calendar is awesome now). Hell, if I want to replace the whole homescreen, I can do that too. I'm using Launcher Pro, which is very customizable and has features the default launcher doesn't. It runs silky smooth to boot. But it doesn't work on a HTC SenseUI phone, because HTC didn't just replace the homescreen, but reprogrammed a lot of the underhood software.
So, what will the H be called in Android-H? Im rooting for Hot Chocolate or maybe even Honey Buns
I'm hoping for hoe cakes (because the word "hoe" is fun) or huckleberry (reminds me of a stereotypical southern dandy).
You know what, actually no, nothing official, plus with all the "rework the UI" talks, it very could be 3.0. So ya, I take it back.
So, what will the H be called in Android-H? Im rooting for Hot Chocolate or maybe even Honey Buns
I'm hoping for hoe cakes (because the word "hoe" is fun) or huckleberry (reminds me of a stereotypical southern dandy).
I like Honey Buns, or Hot Buns, then we get to call it "HoBu"
On the other hand, the entire point of making Android open source in the first place is precisely so any manufacturer can modify it.
There's certainly a lot of rumors flying around about Gingerbread, but I seriously doubt that Google is going to force the manufactures to abandon their own branding. At best, they can make it easier for said branding to be done. But Android is nothing without the support of the people actually making phones and those people are going to continue to want their own branding and experience on their phones to differentiate them in the marketplace. I'd also disagree that people don't want any of that... SenseUI certainly does have a following and there are people who prefer it to the stock experience.
As an aside, I'm pretty sure LauncherPro does work under SenseUI. The Sense launcher still runs in the background though, so you have to pull off all the widgets to avoid flooding your RAM. But I've read of people running it on both the Desire and the EVO.
It seems like they're going to make skinning the UI easier, something I figured would be in there in 1.1, it blew me away that you have to flash the device to change to color of the notification bar. They're also probably making it easier to build in customized launchers. What they're trying to stop is the digging deep into the OS and rebuilding it from top to bottom, which is what Sense and the Sony UI do. That's why you still have Sense running in the background, even if you replace the launcher, it still has claws in other parts of the system, so it stays in memory.
But you are definitely right in that they're not trying to stifle innovation, they're looking to stay on the forefront so the OEMs stick to launchers and not mess with, say, exchange activesync support.
But you are definitely right in that they're not trying to stifle innovation, they're looking to stay on the forefront so the OEMs stick to launchers and not mess with, say, exchange activesync support.
Anyway to undo froyo without erasing my entire phone?
I've been using the swype beta and now it won't work with froyo. I've tried numerous delete/reinstalls but no dice.
I've been using the swype beta and now it won't work with froyo. I've tried numerous delete/reinstalls but no dice.
You can't go back, certainly not without unlocking the bootloader and wiping.
The Swype problem though is because even though you uninstall it, it's leaving data behind. You might even need to go back through the Swype Downloader program to get it to work. I've used Titanium Backup to pull out the Swype data so I can reinstall it after a system upgrade but that requires root, not sure how to do it without.
I've wiped the installer and redownloaded that numerous times as well.
I would risk wiping the phone if I knew that would work with 100% certainty.
The only other thing I can think of is to install something like Astro and search for any references for Swype on your phone and SD card and delete them after uninstall.
If you were rooted, it's easy to pull out all the application data... but I'm not sure how to do that if you aren't. The problem isn't Froyo itself, just that there's old configuration files hanging around from pre-Froyo that Swype is trying to use.
If you were rooted, it's easy to pull out all the application data... but I'm not sure how to do that if you aren't. The problem isn't Froyo itself, just that there's old configuration files hanging around from pre-Froyo that Swype is trying to use.