One week after Verizon launched the Motorola Droid with Android 2.0, Google has released the source code for their latest update. I’ve been unplugged for several days so I was actually quite shocked when I heard the Eclair source code was now available in the AOSP (Android Open Source Project).
It looks like we have to thank one of our favorite (and most vocal) Android engineers, Mr. Jean-Baptiste M. “JBQ” Queru. He worked close to 100 hours the last 6 days to make this release possible.
Details of the Eclair drop were posted on the Android-platform mailing lists.
I’ve just created an eclair branch in AOSP, which contains the code
that many people have been waiting for.What’s in that branch? It’s basically a snapshot of part of Google’s
internal eclair tree, a little bit more recent than the build that was
used in Droid. It’s not the exact source for Droid and is not ready to
ship on a consumer device.Caveats:
-There’s no change history. Google is planning to eventually make the
change history available, but at the moment the history contains some
things that can’t be open-sourced, and making a snapshot was the
fastest way to deal with those.-It’s a partial tree. We’ll be open-sourcing more of eclair over time,
but we figured it would make more sense to open-source part of it now
instead of waiting until everything was in place.-It doesn’t build for ADP1 or ION/ADP2. We’re working with the various
companies involved to try to resolve this issue, but we preferred to
open-source the code in its current state instead of waiting for a
solution on the hardware side.-It’s not currently merged in the master tree. I’m working on it, but
I wanted to get something out before the week-end. Please be patient.
I’ll try to complete it as quickly as I can.-It doesn’t currently contain the AOSP-specific files (build
configurations, etc…). They’ll come back.-Calendar is broken. I have a fix that I will release along with the
master tree.
Many people might be wondering when Android 2.0 might appear on older phones now that the source code is available to the public. The most popular community dev Cyanogen will most likely begin backporting certain features from Android 2.0 over the next few days. However, a complete build of Android 2.0 will not be available on older devices (G1 and myTouch) until handset makers update their device drivers for the new Linux kernel that shipped with Eclair.
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Taylor Wimberly
Taylor is the founder of Android and Me. He loves playing with all kinds of gadgets, but most importantly cell phones. His other hobbies include cooking (BBQ hero!), politics, football, and watching every MMA event possible.
19 Comments
the only thing that i truly want from 2.0 is the lock screen, do you think that will be one of the things Cyanogen or anyone, will bring over to the G1 or MyTouch?
navi too…
I can’t believe we have to wait around for handset manufacturers to produce drives. They knew this OS release was coming and yet they don’t have things ready. (HOPEFULLY THEY”LL GET THERE ACT TOGETHER SOON) Glad to know all the Verizon customers get the full eclair goodness right now. On the contrary I’m sure Cyanogen will hold us over with bring us little bits of 2.0 stuff in the meantime.
how do we even go about updating our drives??
The drivers come with the full update, we (as users) don’t need to do a thing. HTC and others will have to provide them for custom builds to be made, though.
lets say the G1 is packed and cant hold the Eclair update . what if google can create there own custom firmware for G1 users and offer updates kinda like cyanogen but legit from android and google.. its just an idea so please no insults.
well htc …
So much for your Verizon exclusivity theory.
Haha, just messing with you.
I’m glad the source is out.
It still doesn’t bust my theory quite yet. I was speculating that no other handset makers or carriers would release Android 2.0 for several months after the Droid debut. We are still waiting to see what happens.
This is great news. Does this mean that we’ll be able to install custom OS builds on our Droid? Or is Verizon going to crap on their customers again?
Verizon can’t do much to prevent custom builds, because they aren’t authorized changes in the first place (with the exception of the ADP1 and Ion phones). So, what we need (once we have the full source) is an exploit that can lead us to apply unsigned updates to the device. The methods used on older phones were all patched by now, new flaws must be found.
Can wait to get contact integration going… been putting off doing manually for about six months… mainly when I heard that 2.0 can do it!
If you want navigation… put your hand in your pocket at get Co-Pilot! It uses the data connection to find POI and often your destination, plus if you loose signal you’re not screwed… a minor detail that most don’t seem to report when talking about navigation.
Clearly “can wait” – should be “Can’t wait”
Eclair, mmmm ! I love french pastry
so the question still remains, am I as a G1 Tmobile user gonna see and Android 2.0 update on my phone anytime soon? or am i gonna have to cut my two year contract tha im barely a year into short, and sign up with verizon to get the Droid? personally id rather stick with my G1 because i love HTC and full keyboard, id rather not get a MyTouch if thats the only tmobile phone that can handle the 2.0 update. please let me know of any rumors…
The awesome has nothing on Google Android. google maps navigator is fantastic
I love my G1, and I don’t want to quit my contract, but are there any hopes of getting the Android 2.0 update?
Well that sucks hard
I use a g1 too, and flash is a big part of my day to day browsing. Flash will require a-2.0 and since my phone doesn’t support it…