froyo

A wallpaper app that steals your personal info, piracy controls coming to the Android Marketplace, and a look into the world of Android gaming. Plus, Jeff Bakalar shares an awesome tip on creating itineraries for Google Maps Navigation, and Jessica Dolcourt helps us pronounce the death of the Android phone that started it all.

Updated: The wallpaper app discussed in this episode has since been cleared of any wrong-doing by Google itself. More details on that here.

The new Droid X is released...with a kill switch, anyone can create apps for an Android device, and special guest Darren Kitchen of Hak5.org shows us how to root an Android phone. Plus, we cover how to packet-sniff with your rooted droid, and share a tip on how to make that stock touch-screen keyboard more useful!

The Motorola Droid X could brick itself if tampered with

Motorola spells out its reasons why...in February

...and it's all potentially a non-issue anyway… Read more

OpenFeint, the free social-networking layer that can be found on a large number of iOS games, is headed to Google's Android platform.

According to the company, Android developers will be getting the same version of the OpenFeint SDK that's available for iOS developers. The Android release will also include the game discovery tools, and a micropayments system that was introduced as part of OpenFeint X platform back in February.

iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad users who have ventured onto the App Store in the past year have undoubtedly noticed OpenFeint's presence, as the service has been built … Read more

Adobe's Anup Murarka talks with us about mobile Flash, Android 2.2 begins rolling out to select phones, and the Kindle Android app is finally released. Plus, we review the cloud music service MSpot and share a timely tip on speeding up Flash sites on Froyo. Josh Lowensohn guest hosts.

InterviewAnup Murarka, director of technology strategy for the flash platform.

News stories

Google issues Android 2.2 to Nexus One phones

Google has started sending out Android 2.2, aka Froyo, to those with its Nexus One phone.

"Starting today, Nexus One users will begin to receive the Android 2.2 (codenamed Froyo) over-the-air software update on their phones," according to a Monday blog post about the Froyo update. "This update will be rolled out gradually to phones--and most users will receive the notification by the end of the week."

Froyo adds better performance; the ability to turn the phone into a mobile Wi-Fi hotspot other computers can use to access the Internet; better support for Microsoft'… Read more

Editors' note: This post was last updated June 25 at 10:42 a.m. PT.

Sprint might have dragged its heels on updating its devices to Android 2.1, but it's wasting no time on Android 2.2. Sprint spokeswoman Michelle Leff Mermelstein told CNET in an e-mail that the carrier is finalizing work on the software and expects to release an update in the "near future."

This helping of Froyo will bring such features as Flash 10 support, improved Exchange ActiveSync support, voice dialing over Bluetooth, the ability to save apps on external memory, and an … Read more

The Silicon Valley Mercury News recently spent some time speaking with Android founder and Google VP, Andy Rubin where naturally, the subject of "fragmentation" and the rapid succession of Android releases came up. Rubin acknowledged the quick growth of the platform and the problems developers face with such speedy innovation, but said Google is slowing development over the next few months. After eight releases in the first 18 months of the OS, Google is now pushing out roughly two updates a year. And down the road Rubin says releases will slow to one per year, much like Apple … Read more

We already know that the Nexus One and other HTC phones will get a Froyo update, but what about other phones? Well, Motorola Droid owners wondering if their beloved handset will be getting Android 2.2 need not worry.

The handset-maker already plans to make Froyo available via an update before too long. Slashgear reached out to Motorola over the weekend in hopes of getting it to open up about the latest version of the platform. Not surprisingly, the company was somewhat vague in its response.

Something strange happened last week at Google I/O, Google's big developer event. Google may have attained cult status. There was an energy in the halls normally reserved for Apple events like WWDC, as 5,000 attendees chattered about Google TV, Android, WebM, and more.

Google is ascendant, and it may take the fanboys with it.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs may believe there's "not a chance" that Google is leapfrogging Apple, and assures the faithful that "[they] won't be disappointed" at WWDC, but worrisome signs abound for the iconic technology company.

The media, … Read more