Available since yesterday (from official sources, I've been running a test build for the last month) for the Google Nexus One. The official rundown of new features is below, but I'll highlight the best part for end users.
*Flash 10.1 Beta. Probably the biggest news, this single app has demonstrated how much work is needed, and how seemingly effective the relationship is between Adobe's app and Google's browser. The Flash is still in beta, the 3rd one to be exact, and has come a long way in a short time. Married with the final Froyo browser (FRF85B) it yields a stable, usable experience. Interactive flash elements, including games, work excellently in most cases. Video can be choppy (usually quite doable though), but that along with the more demanding flash games should work fine once Flash goes gold and as able to tie into hardware acceleration, allowing for silky smooth non-HD video and excellent battery life as well.
*Chrome to Phone, which is also available as a Firefox extension "Send to Phone." Reading a webpage and it's time to go to bed/answer natures call? With one click, send it to your phone and it will pop up in the browser ready to go. It seems like something stupid, but is really nice once you get used to it. It's a big reason why I switched to Chrome after using FF for 5 years.
*Speed. The early 2.2 build (roughly version FRF50) famously matched the iPad (or beat, depending on the review, but I'll stay conservative since this isn't about Apple) on browser speed tests. The final version is even faster, able to pull full webpages (flash included) about as quickly as the Android 2.1u1 browser could pull down the flash-less page.
The speed isn't limited to just browsing. Massive improvements under the hood allow all apps to run quicker using Just In Time compiling, which takes the Java-language all apps are written in and converts them efficiently into machine code for the CPU to crunch quicker. This means faster, more complex apps while getting better battery life. Not everything in the OS is written in Java, like many 3D apps or parts of the OS itself, so not everything will benefit from this. However, the OS has been polished up and runs better and faster than ever.
*Better Exchange support. Not everyone is familiar, but it's nice to have industry standard push email/contacts/calendar. 2.2 finally reach usable levels here.
Official Highlights
http://developer.android.com/sdk/android-2.2-highlights.html
Nexus One is just the first to get it. The Motorola Droid looks like it will be next (slated for July, but with VZW in the way, we could see delays). The Motorola Droid 2 is scheduled to be the first handset to ship with 2.2 The following phones are going to get updates too:
HTC Aria, Desire, Droid Incredible, Evo 4G, Legend, MyTouch 3G, MyTouch 3G Slide
Motorola Droid X
Samsung Galaxy S (all variants)
Dell Streak
The HTC G1, Hero and Samsung Behold and Moment will not get updates. It is unlikely the HTC Droid Eris, or Motorola Devour or Blackflip will get 2.2, but the latter may get 2.1 as a consolation.
*Flash 10.1 Beta. Probably the biggest news, this single app has demonstrated how much work is needed, and how seemingly effective the relationship is between Adobe's app and Google's browser. The Flash is still in beta, the 3rd one to be exact, and has come a long way in a short time. Married with the final Froyo browser (FRF85B) it yields a stable, usable experience. Interactive flash elements, including games, work excellently in most cases. Video can be choppy (usually quite doable though), but that along with the more demanding flash games should work fine once Flash goes gold and as able to tie into hardware acceleration, allowing for silky smooth non-HD video and excellent battery life as well.
*Chrome to Phone, which is also available as a Firefox extension "Send to Phone." Reading a webpage and it's time to go to bed/answer natures call? With one click, send it to your phone and it will pop up in the browser ready to go. It seems like something stupid, but is really nice once you get used to it. It's a big reason why I switched to Chrome after using FF for 5 years.
*Speed. The early 2.2 build (roughly version FRF50) famously matched the iPad (or beat, depending on the review, but I'll stay conservative since this isn't about Apple) on browser speed tests. The final version is even faster, able to pull full webpages (flash included) about as quickly as the Android 2.1u1 browser could pull down the flash-less page.
The speed isn't limited to just browsing. Massive improvements under the hood allow all apps to run quicker using Just In Time compiling, which takes the Java-language all apps are written in and converts them efficiently into machine code for the CPU to crunch quicker. This means faster, more complex apps while getting better battery life. Not everything in the OS is written in Java, like many 3D apps or parts of the OS itself, so not everything will benefit from this. However, the OS has been polished up and runs better and faster than ever.
*Better Exchange support. Not everyone is familiar, but it's nice to have industry standard push email/contacts/calendar. 2.2 finally reach usable levels here.
Official Highlights
http://developer.android.com/sdk/android-2.2-highlights.html
Nexus One is just the first to get it. The Motorola Droid looks like it will be next (slated for July, but with VZW in the way, we could see delays). The Motorola Droid 2 is scheduled to be the first handset to ship with 2.2 The following phones are going to get updates too:
HTC Aria, Desire, Droid Incredible, Evo 4G, Legend, MyTouch 3G, MyTouch 3G Slide
Motorola Droid X
Samsung Galaxy S (all variants)
Dell Streak
The HTC G1, Hero and Samsung Behold and Moment will not get updates. It is unlikely the HTC Droid Eris, or Motorola Devour or Blackflip will get 2.2, but the latter may get 2.1 as a consolation.
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