[ad_1]
Finally, the Sprint Evo 4G is getting Android 2.2 – nicknamed Froyo. It’s the second US phone to get it – behind the Google Nexus One – and the update will launch during the first week or so of August, or you can try the manual installation by downloading the file from HTC here, and visit the forums to get installation assistance.
We got our hands on an official build, even if it’s not quite the final build, and put it to the test. The overall experience remains the same. HTC’s Sense UI stays on top of Android and is faster than ever. There are new widgets and apps. Lots of new features. And of course, two biggies that ship with Froyo: the Just-in-Time compiler and Adobe Flash.
Buy some of the best Black Friday deals from around the web NOW!
So join us after the break as we dive into the Android 2.2 update for Sprint Evo 4G.
What’s new in Android 2.2?
First things first: we are using software version 3.25.651.1. This is slightly different than what Sprint said will come with the over-the-air download, which is version 3.25.651.3. As far as we know, however, all major features are intact.
The Evo feels faster than ever. This is partly due to, well, because Android 2.2 is simply faster. It uses what is called a just-in-time (or JIT) compiler, which gives a hell of a boost to core processing power.
Overall, however, your overall experience won’t change much. The Sense UI looks the same, although we do have some new apps and widgets to play with.
Let’s take a quick tour of the new build, shall we?
OK, really, what’s new then?
If you haven’t already, check out our monstrous Froyo Features series, in which we’ve covered some of the major improvements in the latest version of Android. What about Froyo’s news on the Evo 4G? Here is the official Sprint list:
- Ability to share applications
- View events and birthdays from Facebook on the calendar
- Use the camera LED as a flashlight
- New user interface for FM radio
- Add unknown Facebook users as friends in Friend Stream
- Photo Gallery supports Facebook comments feature
- Send contact as a vCard via SMS
- Added MMS Presentation Editor
- New preloaded widgets including calculator, FM radio, message list view, profile settings and ringtone settings
- The camcorder can use the camera flash so that the video can be shot at night or in low light conditions
- Flash 10.1 support
- Numeric PIN and alphanumeric password to unlock the screen
- Search widget and search bar capable of switching to search in different types (web, specific application or all)
- Adjustable alarm volume
- The Android Market widget allows the installation of applications on the SD card
Let’s take another look at some of these features, shall we?
Sharing applications
You will be able to share free apps in Froyo on Evo 4G. Note that we said free.
Facebook birthdays in the calendar
If you are logged in to Facebook, all your friends’ birthdays will appear in your Evo 4G calendar. No more excuses to forget.
Camera flash as a flight light (without root!)
No problem here. There is a good flashlight app included in the Android 2.2 update for Evo 4G. You have three intensity levels, a blinking “auto flash” and even SOS mode, where it goes off in Morse code.
New user interface, widgets for FM radio
FM radio has had a few UI tweaks and there are a couple of widgets you can use on a home screen.
Send contact as vCard in SMS
Do you want to send contact information – yours or someone else’s – in a text message? Just do it. They are attached as a vCard.
New widgets for the message list
You have a couple of message widgets available.
Ringtone and profile widget
They are just basic buttons, but they are nice additions.
New unlocking methods
You can now use a base PIN or alphanumeric password to unlock your phone, in addition to the unlock pattern.
Widget and search bar
The widget and search bar will now search for “all”, “web” or “app”.
Adjustable alarm volume
Isn’t that kind of a scam?
Adobe Flash 10.1
And of course, the full version of Adobe Flash 10.1.
[ad_2]
Source link
