2.2

Samsung Intercept with FroYo issues?

If you're a Samsung Intercept owner who has had problems with the Android 2.2 software update, you're not alone. Sprint has announced in its forums that some users have reported the Intercept to be unresponsive after the upgrade. The company is working on a solution, so hopefully we'll get it all sorted out soon.

If you own a Samsung Intercept and have experienced these issues, let us know in the comments.

Nook Color getting Android 2.2 next month?

Engadget posted a story today about the Nook Color titled, "Nook Color getting Android 2.2 and Market in January, current hacks could make it blow up." The title is certainly catchy (whenever you write about mobile products blowing up, the traffic tends to go through the roof), but we were a little concerned with some info in the post.

After talking about the potential hazards of hacking the Nook Color to run Android 2.2 and linking to PC World and nookdevs articles, the writer went on to say, "Thankfully, there is a much easier way … Read more

How to scrap Flash, get HTML5 video in Safari on your Mac

With the rise of HTML5 vying for video supremacy on the Web, workarounds for disabling Flash Player continue to pop up, allowing users to get a smoother, faster video-viewing experience online.

John Gruber (Daring Fireball) provides a great tip for disabling Flash Player in Safari (edited by crarko on macosxhints.com), which forces Web sites to serve HTML5 videos (when available). Keep in mind that not all sites that serve videos have an HTML5 version. If you apply this hack, you may lose some functionality.

Another possible side effect of this process is sites that think your browser is Mobile … Read more

Froyo coming to Canadian Galaxy S devices

As word spread that Samsung was beginning to deploy Android 2.2 to its Galaxy S handsets, users began wondering when their particular handsets would see the update. In the United States we've seen only leaked builds for Sprint and T-Mobile's models so far, but Canada is a different story.

Samsung Mobile Canada took to its Facebook page earlier today to inform customers as to when to expect the update for the various models. First out of the gate will be Bell's Vibrant and Rogers' Captivate seeing Android 2.2 around mid-December.

Telus customers will need to … Read more

Insipid images

Artwork Wallpaper Collection is not a piece of software, but a collection of images meant to be used as wallpaper on computers or cell phones. We have seen such collections before, and sometimes they're worth having. Who doesn't like the idea of having a set of high-quality, attractive images handy when the desktop needs redecorating? Unfortunately, Artwork Wallpaper Collection doesn't really deliver; we could have easily found better images using Google Image Search.

There are 26 individual images, and each comes in a variety of different sizes and formats for different uses. Almost all of the images … Read more

The hardware guts of your Android phone

When Microsoft prepped cell phone manufacturers about Windows Phone 7, they were crystal clear in defining the minimum hardware specifications each phone would have to support the mobile software--a touch screen, 1GHz processor, and 5-megapixel camera, for instance. Android's rapid development, on the other hand, makes minimum hardware specs murkier. They're documented but less understood than the distinctions between the software versions themselves.

As a result, we've combed through page upon thrilling page of compatibility documents to bring you the minimum hardware requirements of your Android phone and breaking down what that means.

Before we begin, note that Google has not posted documentation for Android 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, or 2.0.1; the company cites technical reasons. Also note that we omit comparing Apple's iPhone, BlackBerry smartphones, and Palm phones because they're closed manufacturing systems.

Android 1.6, 2.1, 2.2 (* not required for v. 1.6) Windows Phone 7 QVGA (240x320 pixels) touch screen Capacitive WVGA resolution (800x480 pixels) touch-screen display (eventually opening up to HVGA) (480x320 pixels)) Virtual keyboard support Virtual keyboard support n/a 1GHz processor Must have a USB connection that connects to a standard USB-A port No manufacturer skins like HTC Sense or Samsung TouchWhiz 92MB RAM; 150MB user storage 256MB RAM; 8GB flash storage 2-megapixel camera 5-megapixel camera with LED flash, hardware shutter button Home, Menu, and Back functions available at all times Start, Search, Back hardware buttons Wireless high-speed data standard capable of supporting 200Kbps; like EDGE, EV-DO, HSPA, 802.11g (Android 1.6 requires Wi-Fi) DirectX GPU support Accelerometer* Accelerometer Compass* Compass GPS receiver* GPS receiver Bluetooth transceiver* Bluetooth transceiver n/a Ambient light sensor n/a Proximity sensor n/a FM radio

'Must' versus 'should' While this list reflects the minimum requirements that Google imposes on manufacturers, it isn't the full story. The Android team makes many hearty recommendations in legalese that "may" or "should" be used when building Android-compatible phones. For instance, a Micro-USB port isn't mandatory, but it is encouraged, as are hardware buttons and a dedicated search key. The base storage requirements also appear low, but Google recommends 128MB RAM and at least 1GB of on-device user storage for things like the address book and photos.… Read more

Flickr adds in-browser uploading for Android

Android users looking to upload photos and videos to Flickr now have a new way to do it. Today the company rolled out an enhanced version of its m.flickr.com mobile site that lets users upload within Android's browser.

This behavior should be familiar to desktop users of Flickr, though on mobile phones this process hasn't exactly been carried along for the ride. In this case, it's about as close as you can get to that same desktop experience, though you can only upload one photo or video at a time. Another big difference is that … Read more

Droid X getting Android 2.2 update September 22

Verizon just sent us a quick note to announce that it will begin rolling out Android 2.2 to the Motorola Droid X starting tomorrow. The Froyo update will be pushed out over the air, but users can also download it manually by going to Menu > Settings > About Phone > System Updates.

With the update, you'll get such new features as Flash Player 10.1, automatic app updates, as well as improvements to the 3G Mobile Hotspot application and Google Maps, among other things.

A full list of enhancements and step-by-step download instructions are available from Verizon's support site. … Read more

The latest scoop on Android phones and Froyo

The last six weeks have been relatively busy in the world of Froyo and Android phones. New devices, such as the Droid 2 are launching with the latest release of the Android OS, and others are getting over-the-air updates. In fact, Google's most recent figures show Android 2.2 running on 28.7 percent of handsets actively accessing the Android Market.

As we gear up for the release of the G2, MyTouch HD, and other devices launching with Froyo, I thought it was worthwhile to check back in with some of the Android handsets that are currently on the market. … Read more