Retro Camera
Chrome to Phone
Wordfeud
Doodle Jump
Moto DROID 2
HTC Aria
Taylor WimberlyFounder
Clark WimberlyFounder
Angie StricklandDesigner
Justin ShapcottAndroid Guru
Chris CaddellEditor
Anthony DomanicoEditor
Nick GrayContributor
Sean RileyContributor
Eric WeissContributor
Chris ChavezContributor
Considering over 80% of our readers with Android phones are running an outdated version of the operating system, I think most of you will find this interesting.
There has been some confusion over which phones would receive an Android 2.1 update and I am partially to blame. I authored a post way back in August that called into question the G1′s ability to receive future updates. Google eventually found a way to make Donut (Android 1.6) fit on the G1 and I was proven wrong. Since that time, I have maintained that the full version Eclair (Android 2.x) may not be possible on the T-Mobile G1.
After talking with several inside sources familiar with the matter, I would like to report that every Android phone currently released in the United States will be receiving an upgrade to Android 2.1.
Some phones could be missing features of Android 2.1 (live wallpapers), but they will all have an Android 2.1 firmware.
Now let me cut to the bad news. Select Android phones will require a wipe when they are upgraded to Android 2.1. I actually only know of phones that will require a wipe, so it could include all of them (minus the Droid which is already on Android 2.0.1).
Select Android phones will also require a PC-based install for upgrading to Android 2.1. HTC currently does this overseas with some phones and Samsung did it for the last Sprint Moment update.
The carriers are still working with the handset makers to determine if their updates will be over the air or through a tethered PC client. However, I believe most will be PC-based because this would allow the update application to make a proper backup, flash the SPL (if needed), and achieve a higher rate of successful installs (CLIQs to BRIQs anyone?).
Finally, most (if not all) Android 2.1 updates are still on schedule for Q2 2010. Sprint said their two phones were getting upgraded in early Q2, but I’ve heard the G1 and myTouch 3G will be the initial 1st gen devices to receive the update.
Comment RSS118 Comments
I think I might cry..this is great news
I’m right there with you man =,] tears of joy
Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
This is very good news.. Here I thought first gens were getting left hanging. I was proven wrong. Lets see how everything goes =0)
Just when i was going to sleep i found this great news wow im so happy !
That’s excellent news! I just bought a G1 from a friend literally 2 days ago. Already rooted and got a Hero rom on there. Still a lot I need to figure out in tweaking settings and stuff but it’s been a blast so far.
This is my first comment here and I’d also like to say I really love the design of this site. Really slick.
I am sick right now and when I was about to sleep, I stumbled to this in twidroid and now I’m jumping out of joy. So g1 will get 2.1? I might misinterpret the article. The only thing I can think of right now is the company that gave free upgrade to mtytouch3g for their beloved htc dream owners because they won’t get the update.
So will my HTC hero get an upgrade in the UK?
The UK is never mentioned on this site, I’m not sure why I bother any more…
HTC have said that they will be making a 2.1 update for Hero handsets available some time this month. This will most likely be a PC client update but should be available directly from the HTC website.
I have the newer mytouch with 3.5mm jack and upgraded ram and am loving this news. Although I heard only nexus ones and high end droid devices will get flash on 2.1 but none the less still good news.
Sounds promising for Android phone users in the US. Any news for the UK, I myself have a T-Mobile G2 Touch ( HTC HERO) and would love to know if and when I can get an update for it.
Can’t we upgrade the firmware manually somehow?!
http://support.t-mobile.co.uk/discussions/index?page=forums&topic=80103861d207bd0127051f583f0064ff
Cool. Being a mac user I am used to PC flashing firmware. The OEM guys are PC so I; cough, mumble, k’nap a PC while in-law is not looking. Wonder if that shiny Windows 7 netbook in spouse’s bag will run the app? Probably will. Adobe is still screwing G1 so I will need to have a talk with T-Mobile about plans someday. All that said I am happy the update is on the way.
Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
T-Mobile netherlands published an official statement in their forums a few weeks ago.
Dutch first, then my translation into English:
In tegenstelling tot de eerdere berichtgeving over een update van de G1, zal T-Mobile geen update uitbrengen voor de G1. Dit heeft de volgende reden:
Google stelt hoge eisen aan de hardware voor Éclair. De G1 voldoet hier niet aan vanwege een tekort aan geheugen. Dit brengt een slechte klantervaring met zich mee. Dit is de officiele statement van Google.
T-Mobile is het hiermee eens omdat wij het erg belangrijk vinden dat de klantervaring verbeterd kwa handset performance door een software update en juist niet verslechterd
T-Mobile verwacht in het begin van kwartaal 2 de update naar versie 2.1 voor de G2 aan te gaan bieden.
Mijn excuses voor het ongemak!
=====
In contrast to an earlier statement about an update to the G1, T-Mobile will not bring any update to the G1. This has the following reasons:
Google has given high hardware requirements for Eclair. The G1 doesn’t fulfill these since it has too little memory, and would create a bad customer experience. This is the official statement from Google.
T-Mobile is in agreement with this, because we find that the customer experience ( read: handset performance ) should be improved via an update and not made worse.
T-Mobile is expecting to start the update to version 2.1 for the G2 in the second quarter of this year.
Sorry for the confusion!
Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
This is a great news, but this will be happened just in US or in other countries?
Great news!
But what are theese “several inside sources familiar with the metter”?
And also… do Italian heroes sold in Russia get the updates?
That’s the first bit of GOOD news that I’ve heard for 1st gen. phones. It’s still too bad that they won’t get Adobe Flash, but at least something good is happening for them.
excellent
Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
You would be surprised how many people Taylor and the gang know. If its a rumour he tells you its a rumour when he posts something like this you know its something to look forward to.
Thats being rude man, they try their best to share info with us.
This article looks to be founded on about as much speculation as your one which stated the G1 would not receive eclair.
G1 owners should remain unaware as to if we will or will not receive eclair yet.
I find great news articles here in almost every aspect of the android community and its products. Except when it comes to these updates. No offense taylor but I wish you would jist stop posting stories about them. G1 is getting eclair one day and the next it isn’t but the following week it is… man just stop the madness already.
did I read ‘higher rate of successful’ upgrades? oh my, that’s not good. Still glad I bought my Nexus.
Hmmm….. As a G1 user I’m torn on this…. As much as I like the idea of 2.1 goodness on my phone, even with some features removed, I can’t believe my pokey G1 will handle it well.
I would be willing to “unroot” and see what happens… or just wait for a ROM from one of the dev-gods at XDA…
Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
Well, I’m waiting for the new Cliq XT, wack or not anything will be better than my Dash 3G right about now. So I’m counting down the days till March 10th, but since it’s new will I get this update too?
As a G1 owner, having bought my barely a month after it was released, I am not getting my hopes up on the G1 getting the 2.1 update. Not to be a downer or anything but even if it does fit on the G1, it’ll be pretty stripped down just so it could function half way decently.
On top of that, even with 2.1 installed, the G1 won’t be able to run the newer games out that require 2.1 API’s and other features simply because the G1′s hardware can’t handle it. It almost seems like a bit of a waste of an update if it actually does happen.
Of course, I’d loved to be proved wrong =D
Not to be the wet blanket…. but I’ll believe it when I get it
Droid owner on Verizon, here
I’ll believe it when I see it. Sure, it’s great that Google is developing the update and making it available, but no amount of shouting that from the hilltops changes the fact that it comes down to when the *mobile providers agree to release/distribute the updates*.
After months of hearing “It’s almost here, guys!”, “Just a couple more days/weeks!”, “Coming out in Q1…no, wait…Q2…no, wait…” messages, you can probably understand why I’m skeptical…
Not sure this clears up the confusion,
Do the statements about which phones will support Flash 10.1 still stand – i.e. Droid _ Nexxus One only?
I have a G1 and I’m running the OpenEclair 1.2.1 rom and it demos the capability to run much of Eclair on the G1. The live wallpapers do work if a bit laggy. Can google do a better job? Possibly.
My only requirement for a G1 Eclair rom is that it have multi-google accounts. I don’t need live wallpapers, or Flash.
Before I’d jump to a N1 for full Eclair, I’m more likely get the MyTouch Slider if it ever shows up. I really don’t want a phone w/o a KB.
Eclair will be short lived, great phones are just around the corner. Get a look at the Qualcomm prototype. http://www.droiddog.com/android-blog/2010/02/qualcomm-7×30-the-next-generation-of-androids/
Very good news for android and people w android phones.
i cant contain the smile on my face right now… im so psych
Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
Sometimes sources wish to remain anonymous and I respect that.
As a reporter you need to respect your sources decision to remain anonymous. Like I said though these guys dont make anything up, they have legit sources and if its a rumor they let you know it’s a rumor .
Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
Well you are right about respecting your sources, it’s just kinda frustrating when you read articles like this and you don’t know if it’s factual or made up, I do apologize for my comment.
Well you are right about respecting your sources, it’s just kinda frustrating when you read articles like this and you don’t know if it’s factual or made up, I do apologize for my comment.
i’ve got the mt3g fender. so now i’m sporting wood in my pocket doubley so!
if it is to be upgraded by pc what will the mac users do?
Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
so if i have my G1 rooted i wont get the 2.1 update?
CLIQs to BRIQs.. comedy gold!
Comment
I guess since they didn’t name there sources on the article on the dangers of rooting your phone, you didn’t believe them when they said rooted phones will not get any official updates..=0P
Rooted phones don’t get official updates–why would you want to? You’ll just have to re-root.
If/When there’s an official Eclair build for the G1, the fine folks at XDA will prepare a rooted Eclair (many already have, but there are still missing drivers so it doesn’t work perfectly)
How about the General Mobile DSTL1 / Sciphone N21 / Haleron G5? All made by YuhuaTel as the X2.
Is this included in your prediction for Androids currently released in the U.S.?
The DSTL1 is released by General Mobile a company in NY, so this should apply.
hope Android 2.1 is availabe in asia soon
Maybe I’m spoiled, but I don’t find 2.0.1 on the Droid that compelling and I’d love to know if/when 2.1 might come for Droid. Waiting to see. Thanks for staying on it.
I think this was something google had to do. The android install base was getting horribly fragmented.
Well, that awesome news to hear, and so now we all have to wait for it.
Hey!
I have a HERO with 1.6 droid .. can’t i upgrade it manually to 2.1 ? if so, can anyone provide a link?
Thanks!
Select Android phones will also require a PC-based install for upgrading to Android 2.1.
Does PC here mean personal computer or Windows computer? In other words, will it require the power of a personal computer or some kind of special Windows-only software that will be annoying to Mac and Linux users?
You must be a Mac….. lol joking…
I believe the updates will be through the carriers website for the of based installs
Oh my G1!
Google always be mild and good in nature.
mm now its just a matter of WHEN we get the updates :l
I would really like to know where this information is coming from and if it’s more than a rumor.
I could see some of the newer phones getting the 2.1 update, but the G1 is a dinosaur… I haven’t tried one of these 2.1 builds on my phone but my phone is crawling with a 1.6 build using Cyanogen’s 4.2.14.1 ROM just using a couple of apps.
And I’m sure there will be problems for app developers (remember when we had pre-Cupcake and Cupcake versions for apps?).
Hopefully if everything is upgraded to 2.1, we won’t have the fragmentation that we have now again somewhere down the road.
Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
Lol, I’m a fool because my phone is running slower than I think it should be…obviously I’ve not spent as much time as coder-x looking into how to overclock, apply ram hack and dalvik hack my g1. I’m sure your phone is lightning fast. That makes me a fool because i’m not as much as enthusiast as you are. good argument, douchebag.
yea dude you coulda reworded that and helped him out a little … maybe redirect him to a tutorial or something.
My G1 was also sluggish on the Cyanogen ROM. I backed up everything, upgraded the recovery console, radio and SPL. Then I wiped it and installed the Htcclay Fasttest ROM. This thing is so much faster now. I can jump from app to app now without waiting for the G1 to respond. Don’t give up on your G1 just yet!
Does anybody know if this includes the Samsung Galaxy I7500?
Samsung didnt even manage to get 1.6 to work properly…
yeah, I’m a Galaxy owner and I’m really interested in this. Samsung 1.6 release should be out for march, but any other upgrade is unlike.
If this news is true it’s pure gold for me!
For Galaxy (i7500) the 1.6 firmware is out and working well.
However I would like to see 2.x on Galaxy soon.
Theres no official 1.6 update at the moment, though it was supposed to be released in february!
The community is still waiting…
Let’s see how accurate is your reporting this time …
Pretty disappointed in this article. As others have said, wait until you can mention the sources… this just seems like a desperate grab for some clicks from Engadget or Gizmodo.
Yeah, I understand some sources don’t want to be named. That’s understandable–but keep the word to yourself, or pass it around in the forums. An article that lacks citations isn’t front page-worthy. “We said it first!” isn’t quality news, and there’s plenty of crappy Android blogs that can take care of that kind of stuff.
Alright, I’ll get off my soapbox… I just want a Daring Fireball for Android, okay?
Anyway, I don’t know if I can wrap my head around this just yet. For an official software update, there are (at least) three parties that need to give it the go-ahead approval. In the case of my G1, that would be HTC, Google, and T-Mobile. So all three companies have given word on an official 2.1 release? I don’t doubt that you’ve got connections… I just hope they’re right.
What I’m afraid of is this: HTC and Google could work their butts off to get a stable build of 2.1 running on it, but T-Mobile could raise a red flag, not wanting to provide support for it. Thus, no 2.1. Blocked. End of story.
I want 2.1 to be available OTA, and I would think that all of these companies want it as well, as having a common platform would make things logistically easier. But there’s politics involved; things like driving sales to new devices and bleeding money on customer support. I’d say that 2.1 on the G1 mostly relies on T-Mobile.
I agree with your comment 100%. I would also wager that 99.999% of older android devices aren’t going to see an update to 2.1 simply because it doesn’t make sense resource wise for the manufacturers.
how does giving our phones firmware updates and keeping it alive for as long as they can not make sense? I may have read your comment wrong or something so please do explain
um… because if you have a nice shiny new OS with new features you won’t feel the need to buy a new phone. If on the other hand you see all your friends with new Android phones running OS v2+, then you’ll be itching to throw out your otherwise perfectly good handset and buy and upgrade.
The only company that would want an upgrade for old handsets is Google (pushing new versions of their software with new features/tracking, etc). HTC and T-Mobile have absolutely no incentive whatsoever to add 2.1 to a G1. There was an expectation for an upgrade to 1.1, 1.5, and for the most part to 1.6 (though some did think that would happen). There is no expectation and I don’t think G1 owners would cry “foul” if we didn’t get 2.1 on our “ancient” handsets. I’d love it, don’t get me wrong. I just wouldn’t expect it. HTC and T-mobile know this, and thus have no reason to invest the massive cost in developing and pushing the upgrade. In fact they have great incentive *not* to.
well the new MT3G’s already came with 1.6 and a memory boost… are they not going to want to push the updates on these too? They had already announced that there getting it along with the cliq
Carrier margin= package + extra services – phone subsidy-network costs-support costs-SG&A
Longer useful handset life=smaller subsidy = higher margin
I’m also quite skeptical about when we’ll be seeing all this largely in part because of the carrier. My HTC Hero through Sprint is still stuck using 1.5. Apparently, with no intent to upgrade to 1.6. Are they holding out for 2.0? I have no idea.
The 1.6 release for the Moment was available only through an in-store update. You had to go there and leave your phone for an hour while they installed 1.6. There is *now* a downloadable method, but the original release was in-corporate-store-only.
Will UK android users be able to get the update too? I want my Hero upgraded!
I don’t see why Android 2.1 wouldn’t be available on the G1. The Moto Backflip runs the same processor so that should be a non issue. The only thing is the ROM/RAM. The ROM in the Moto is 512M vs. 256 in the G1 and 256M RAM vs. 192 in the G1. So with a little creative coding this could be a reality. Also note that once this does happen and Cyanogen gets a hold of this ROM and with a nifty little application to SD card install all of a sudden WHAMMO! A very viable 2.1 on G1 scenario.
So about what month will take place? I can’t wait
Customer Service for tmobile says android 2.1 is coming out in april…it about time, all of the copy protection bs involved with 1.6 has really been pissing me, and about 200,000 other non g1 tmobile customers off.
I find this hard to believe seeing how i just spent 2 hours on the phone with not only T-mobile tech support & samsung lvl 2 support with ABSOLUTELY NO MENTION THAT IT WOULD HAPPEN.
Level 2 support for samsung gave the excuse…
“we are in negotiations but have no “expected” date or “IF” it will go through”.
&
T-mobiles support gave the excuse…
“We have no information on this, it’s up to samsung to release the update”
—————–
I’m only 4 days into owning a new behold II only to find out that my phone is the equivalent of going to best buy and buying a new pc only to turn it on at home and find out it’s running windows 2000.
We’ll see how all this turns out…
Well I have a HTC Hero and am not interested in the update & hope that the download is done manually than forced upon Me.
If Google (or T-Mobile) would allow apps to SD card on carrier locked phones it would save a lot of us from Flashing our phones……..
I hope this happens soon! I recently bought a MyTouch version 1.2, there are almost no options to root this phone, I’m gonna wait on Cyanogenmod.
An upgrade from Donut to Eclair would stave off my hunger just a bit …
I’m exhausted! I just want a damn upgrade for samsung behold 2 already! It really is insane that its one of tmobiles newest phones yet its running on 1.5! I want 2.1 so bad its ridiculous! They better release it by the end of May or I am just going to give up believing any more news on when the update will be. I want the stupid side menu from the behold 2 gone and I want the cube button to do something cooler and I want YouTube Videos to run on High Quality by default instead of having to click High Quality in settings for every video I click on. I want multi touch and I want adobe flash and I want to be able to switch between the three home screens smoothly not the whole switching pages in a cube effect. I swear tmobile better have this 2.1 update out in the next few weeks or hell, how about today?!!!
will my g1 still get the update if it is rooted.
No, most G1 Roms have the update blocked to prevent a unroot update.
Man oh man, I can’t wait for this. If you’re lying I’m sure this site will get hacked by a few disgruntled hackers…
And its on youtube, 2.1 on the G1 I mean…. look it up, it seems to run fine! And I’ve ever read of a few people claiming it runs FASTER than the stock G1!!!
I have a droid from verizon and when i woke up one saterday i had the update software note. However after i did the update my phone reboted constantly. I called verizon and they tolled me i hat to whipe my phone. So he tolled me to remove my sd memory an to turn phone off. Then open the keypad hold power button and the x key for 45 sec. Then bam my phone was like going crazy and stuff. I think it was like some factory root secret thing. He tolled me to change a bunch of shit ant it worked ok after that. All my apps were reloaded and gmail had all my contacts. However now i have a ghost update icon for weather bug stuck in my status bar and i cant delete it.
Still waiting for 2.1 for my fender….
Android 2.1 on my G1 within the next century? I can wish!!
All I really want to know is if Android 2.2 will be delivered to handsets like the HTC Hero with Google, who can run AIR and become speed demons. I currently have 2.1 and am VERY pleased with the speed, but like it to be FULLY CUSTOMIZABLE, not just that weenie mobile with the typical Sense UI, but configurable, allowing for speed enhancements on the part of the user interface. This is what is going to set android phone companies apart from iPhone companies and will leave their systems in the dust. Oh and also avoid dropped calls on the ATT network. There’s going to be a huge wave of programs coming out that are so specific that it facilitates workflow.
OTA Froyo come on with it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Okay… it’s nearing the end of July. When is this going to happen?!?