froyo

Earlier this week when I told you about the new Froyo features on the HTC Evo 4G, I also invited you to share the undiscovered goodies that weren't on Sprint's official list. Whether from Android or Apple, most operating system upgrades have some secret "Easter egg" features that aren't apparent right away. With a little effort, and a little patience, you can find them. Let me share with you the tips I've received so far, along with the name of the CNET reader who sent it in. As you send me more, I'll … Read more

Froyo rolls out to more devices, Android tops the smartphone market, and the Nexus One has a new life as an astronaut. Plus, guest Antuan Goodwin tells us about the highly configurable Tasker app.

Believe it or not, we manage to make it through a whole podcast without barely mentioning the iPhone! Sure, it comes up just for a second, but we spend the majority of the time discussing desserts that begin with the letter "H". If anyone at Google is listening, we're down to "Honeycake" or "Hamantash" for the next Android update beyond the forthcoming "Gingerbread" release.

Speaking of Android, we spend time in this episode talking about how Froyo looks on the HTC Evo 4G. Kent thinks it looks great, but no one … Read more

Bright and early this morning, just as RIM was announcing the new BlackBerry Torch, I downloaded the hefty Android 2.2 "Froyo" update to the already impressive HTC Evo 4G. As I said last week, Sprint is pushing Froyo out to Evo customers beginning Tuesday, and expects to be fully rolled-out by the middle of the month.

Froyo adds a long list of new features, each of which I've explained in detail below. You'll also find my general assessments on how the additions have been integrated onto the device. Most notably, however, Froyo fixes two longtime drawbacks of the Android OS: you now can store apps on a memory card and you can make hands-free voice calls over Bluetooth. On the downside, though Froyo can add Wi-Fi hot-spot functionality, the update will not change the Evo's current hot-spot feature. You'll still need to shell out an extra $29.99 per month to make that happen.

The update will arrive in waves, so not everyone will get it at the same time. Once it hits your Evo, you'll be notified via a message on the display. But if you can't wait--and there's no reason that you should--you can check for the update manually by accessing the "HTC software update" option under the "System update" folder in the Settings menu.

Voice dialing over Bluetooth The lack of hands-free voice dialing has long been a burr in the side of many Android users. The problem was particularly painful for drivers and anyone using a Bluetooth headset on the go. So you can understand why we consider the feature to be one of Froyo's biggest wins. Indeed, we were able to pair the BlueAnt T1 successfully and dial both by phone number and contact name.

App storage We've long complained that Android let you store apps on only a handset's internal memory. Thanks to Froyo, however, you can store titles on a memory card while saving room on your phone for other content. The only caveat is that you can't install a title directly on your memory card during the initial download. Instead, you must download it first to the phone and transfer it to the card later.

The process is easy, but we admit that it took a couple of minutes to figure it out. First, access the "Manage applications" tab under the Applications page in the main Settings menu. Then, after choosing the application that you want to move, select the "Move to SD card" option. The actual transfer takes only seconds and you can move the app back to the phone in as many steps. … Read more

You're a fool for this one, TerrorByte. Get on Twitter right now and add Jeff Bakalar (me and Wilson, too!) because his nerdcore alter-ego is "kickin' fresh jams in versions alpha or beta, don't get it twisted or he'll corrupt your data." In honor of his forthcoming album, "8-Bit State of Mind," we're asking YOU to come up with your best techy rap lyric and e-mail it to us at the404(at)cnet(dot)com. If it's even moderately as clever as Jeff's, we'll read it on the air!… Read more

Shortly after we told you that the HTC Evo 4G would get Android 2.2 "Froyo" starting Tuesday, a few CNET readers asked if the update would affect the handset's current Wi-Fi hot spot feature. We asked Sprint for comment and the carrier got back to us today with the expected news.

According to spokeswoman Natalie Papaj, Sprint has no plans to change the Evo's current functionality. Though Froyo includes both tethering and hot spot capabilities in its feature list, Evo customers will continue to pay $29.99 per month for the privilege of connecting up to eight Wi-Fi devices to their handset.

Papaj also offered a full list of the Evo's Froyo updates, which you can peruse for yourself below.… Read more

Apologies, but I got a little ahead of myself on Friday when I told you that the Motorola Droid would get the Android 2.2 "Froyo" update. Though Froyo will arrive as scheduled, the Droid will not receive the tethering and Wi-Fi hot spot features that the update can include.

Verizon Wireless did not disclose the omissions when it announced the update last week, but spokeswoman Brenda Raney has confirmed what Phonescoop first reported this morning. "The Droid by Motorola doesn't have a Wi-Fi transmitter so there is no hardware to support a mobile hotspot," Raney wrote in an e-mail to CNET. Indeed, the Droid can transmit and receive Wi-Fi from a hotspot, but it can't act as a hotpot by itself for other devices.

As for tethering, Raney said that there is no connection on the PC side that will support the feature. Verizon originally promised tethering for the Droid last November, but it never extended its Mobile Broadband Connect service to the Moto handset. Even so, some Droid owners have rooted their handsets or used apps to successfully tether their devices.

Indeed, tethering and Wi-Fi hot spot functionality are not listed in the official service advisory on Verizon's Web site. Here's the full list of additions (PDF) that you should expect.

… Read more

Jeff left CNET's New York office Friday as an ace tech reporter and returned Monday morning as TerrorByte, a hip-hop lyricist of his own creation who is dedicated to shutting down the haters--one awful tech metaphor at a time. We apologize for the sad attempts to parody Coolio's "Gangsta's Paradise" using the nerdiest of storage terms. It's a rather slow news day, give us a break!

There is actual tech news to report this morning; owners of Sprint's latest Android phone, the HTC Evo 4G, will be happy to learn that the Evo … Read more

Update: On Monday, August 2, Verizon Wireless confirmed that the Droid will not receive the tethering and Wi-Fi hotspot features that the update can include. For a full list of additions, see Verizon's site.

Less than 24 hours after Sprint announced that Froyo was coming to its HTC Evo, Verizon said Friday that the original Motorola Droid would also get the latest version of the Android operating system.

According to Verizon spokesman Albert Aydin, the carrier will start issuing Froyo the week of August 1. Aydin did not name a more specific time frame, but we suspect that Verizon … Read more