Android and Me » flan

New Sense UI and Android 2.1 on video

Taylor Wimberly — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 03:11:52 +0000

We are counting down the weeks (hopefully) to the launch of Android 2.1 on the Nexus One and HTC Sense phones. Google is putting the finishing touches on the latest Android upgrade and HTC is hard at work updating their Sense UI to work with the latest firmware. For an early look at both updates, we turn to YouTube for some hands on previews.

First we have our friend John from DroidDog with a quick video of the HTC HD2. Even though this is a Windows Mobile phone, it still gives us good look of what we can expect from Sense UI. Also check out that 4.3 in. display (drool) and the impressive Snapdragon performance. I can’t wait to see these features on future HTC Android phones.

Next we have YouTuber Brandon Scott who uploaded a video of a leaked Android 2.1 build running on his Motorola Droid. This is the version of Android we are expecting to see on the Nexus One. The latest firmware offers improved performance and enhanced UI animations. Everything is super smooth and it increases my crave for the Nexus One.

Android 2.1 spotted in the wild

Taylor Wimberly — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 16:58:52 +0000

The paint is still wet on Android 2.0 and Google has already begun work on Android 2.1. I routinely check the Google Analytics operating system reports for our site and I just spotted Android 2.1 for the first time. The initial visit was on October 28, 2009 and there have been 23 visits since then. We have no idea what features are included with Android 2.1, but if you are one of the lucky few with early access you can hit up our tip line. Could this be the Android build known as Flan?

Update: Android 2.1 is reported to be a minor update that will be released towards the end of 2009. It will focus on bug fixes for Android 2.0.

Breakdown of different Android visitors to our site.

Donut code drop reveals new Android features

Taylor Wimberly — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 04:36:29 +0000

Jean-Baptiste Queru, Android engineer, did a code drop to the Android Open Source Project which updated the Donut tree. Android hacker Cyanogen had some issues with all the new API changes but still compiled it to run on a G1. I downloaded the rom and flashed it to bring you screenshots of Donut.

The following is a list of changes I have found.

Gesture controls
CDMA support
Search system wide
WPA2 enterprise
VPN support
Updated camera
Updated UI and animations
Compatibility Mode
Credential storage
Accessibility option
Speech synthesizer controls
New power control and text widgets

Seeing as the build is highly broken, I would not suggest flashing it. I installed it just to look for changes and see what is coming next. As we previously reported, the biggest new additions are gesture controls and a system wide search. The text-to-speech is also getting an update and has controls to change how the voice sounds and its pace.

CDMA settings also appear in the phone’s menu. We knew this was coming, but it is nice to finally see it in a build. Sprint confirmed they will have an Android phone this year and we are still waiting on Verizon.

Please keep in mind that Donut is just a branch of the Android development and these features may not appear in an upcoming build. There are also branches for Eclair and Flan, but those have not been made public. The current code available in the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) is normally about two months behind what Android engineers are actually working on.

Given the way previous branches have been merged and then packaged by the carriers, it could be months before some of these updates officially reach your phone. I predicted a November time frame for Donut, but there is really no way to tell since Donut is just a branch of development and not an actual upgrade package.

Mark Murphy has a pretty good take on the whole “Donut is not Android 2.0″ which has been throw around by more and more Android engineers.