As Droid owners count the seconds until their update arrives we have a little more to go on in the form of a chart which Motorola has published with what we can expect to see when Android 2.1 lands later this week. Unfortunately they still haven’t mentioned anything more specific regarding the timing of the release and for better and worse they confirm most of what we heard yesterday.
- Voice recognition (for text entry in any text box)
- Improved virtual keyboard
- 3D Gallery
- Pinch-to-zoom (browser, gallery, and maps)
- News and Weather widgets
- Enhanced music app
- Google Goggles
- Battery improvements
I’ve copied the full chart below and you will notice that there is still no mention of either the 3D app drawer or live wallpapers. Considering “Yahoo email new accounts setup optimizations” made the chart I would say this doesn’t bode well for us seeing those features in the official release.
Hopefully an answer from Motorola or Google as to why these features ended up on the cutting room floor will be forthcoming once the update hits.
After downloading and installing Android 2.1 software release, you will notice:
| Voice Recognition for Virtual Keyboard | Voice Recognition: You can now speak in plain English instead of typing, whenever a text-entry box appears on your Android device. Simply swipe your finger across the virtual keyboard and dictate your phrase.
Virtual Keyboard Enhancements: The fully integrated, enlarged virtual keyboard allows for easier and more accurate manual entries as well. Also included are auto-complete/correct. |
| 3D Gallery | 3D Gallery offers a whole new way to enjoy your phone’s multimedia features. With 3D gallery, all of your photos, videos, album art and images from your Picasa Web albums account online are displayed in three-dimensional stacks that gently move as the phone is tilted. Scrolling through and choosing media has never been easier. With 3D gallery simply use your finger to scroll through thumbnail versions of all your photos, videos and albums – and when you find one you want – simply tap the image to select it for viewing or playback. You can share pics individually or in bulk (by long-pressing a photo) on Facebook, Email, or MMS. |
| Pinch-to-Zoom | Enjoy pinch-to-zoom functionality for web browsing, plus the Gallery and Maps applications |
| News and Weather App and Widget | The News and Weather app pulls information from the web and brings it to your fingertips. Weekly and hourly weather forecast for your area based on your location and it pulls news headlines on the topics you care about most. |
| Google Maps Updates | Sync with desktop: synchronizes starred items between Google Maps on your Android device and maps.google.com.
Personalized suggestions: Google Maps on your Android device suggests (autocompletes) locations based on your personal search history on maps.google.com. Night mode: automatically changes your screen at night for easier viewing and driving NOTE: Sync feature requires user to be logged in to myGoogle account while on maps.google.com |
| Enhanced Music Application | New tabs at the top of your music player for easier access and navigation to your favorite artist, songs, albums and playlists. |
| Google Goggles App | Google Goggles App allows you to snap a picture to start a Google search. It can also ”read” photos of business cards and add them to your contacts. Even cooler is its built-in augmented reality feature that displays information about things, like stores and restaurants, around you. |
| Other Enhancements | Security: Prevents unauthorized pattern lock bypass
Yahoo email: Yahoo email new accounts setup optimizations Battery life: ongoing battery life optimization |
