If you have a Motorola handset running Google Android 1.6 and you’ve been wondering when you’re slated to receive a software update, the wait is over… well, the wait for a schedule is over anyway. The actual updates are just starting to roll out, with the phased rollout of Android 2.2 Froyo for the Motorola Droid in the US.

Motorola has released a schedule explaining which phones will be updated in what parts of the globe. There’s also a rough timeframe, with some updates coming in the summer, others scheduled for Q3 or Q4 of 2010, and others simply described as “under evaluation. Unfortunately, not every phone will get upgraded all the way to Android 2.2 Froyo — some stop at Android 2.1 Eclair. And tt looks like some phones will be updated in one market, but not another.

For instance, the Motorola Backflip should get Android 2.1 in Q3 2010 in the US. But it won’t receive the update at all in Europe or Latin America, and Motorola says the update is “under evaluation” in the Canadian and Asia-Pacific regions. Of course, there’s an active hacker community that will likely release unofficial updates for phones like this, bringing Android 2.1 and maybe even Android 2.2 goodness — but you’ll probably end up voiding your warranty if you install unofficial firmware.

In the US market, the Cliq and Cliq XT will also receive Android 2.1 later this year, and the Droid X should be upgraded to Android 2.2 later this summer. The Motorola Devour doesn’t get get any operating system upgrades at all.

You can find more details about Motorola upgrade plans fro Canada, Europe, Asia, and Latin America at the Motorola Support Forums.

via MobileCrunch

Google has officially unveiled the next generation of its Android operating system for mobile devices today at the Google I/O developer conference. The SDK is available for developers today, and Google says Android 2.2 Froyo will be available to OEMs in the next few weeks.

There are a ton of changes in Froyo, but here are some of the most exciting new features:

Tethering and WiFi hot spot

As expected, you’ll be able to tether your Android phone to a computer or other device, allowing you to share a 3G wireless connection without paying separate bills for your phone and laptop connection — assuming your carrier lets you do that.

Users will have the choice of turning your phone into a portable Wifi hot spot or sharing your connection over a USB connection.

Faster app performance

Google has added a new just-in-time Javascript compiler, which increases the speed of 3rd party apps by 200% to 500%. This is also something we’d heard about previously, but Google showed off a few demos making it clear just how much faster apps will run.

Support for Adobe Flash and AIR

There’s not much more to say about this one. We knew it was coming, and it looks like Flash and AIR will both be supported under Android 2.2, making this one of the biggest things separating the Android platform from Apple’s iPhone platform.

Install apps on the SD card

Google says that people are regularly installing more than 40 apps on a device. Google has made it easier to install apps on an SD card, expanding the phone’s memory. Froyo will also automatically install apps to the SD card if it determines that would be helpful. But users will also be able to manually move apps from the main memory to an SD card.

Google has also made it easier to find apps by creating an App search tool. Developers can also plug into the search API so that you can put a widget on the home screen that lets you search within an app. For instance, if you use Mint for your personal finances, you can search your Mint data on the home screen.

You can find more new features, a ton of photos, and the official Google video introducing Android 2.2 after the break.

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It was just a few weeks ago that we first saw Google’s Android operating system running on an iPhone. But that particular hack was limited to a first generation iPhone 2G. Well now developer David Wang is back, and this time he’s managed to squeeze Google’s mobile operating system onto an iPhone 3G.

Audio isn’t working at the moment, but almost everything else is. Multiotuch works, and the iPhone can run Android apps, surf the web over WiFi or 3G, and do almost everything else you’d expect an Android smartphone to do. It can even make calls, but since audio doesn’t work, nobody will hear what you’re saying. But you can send text messages.

Wang’s Android port lets you dual boot the iPhone OS and Android on the same device. It takes a while to switch operating systems, as you can see in the video below. But once Android is up and running, you can quickly suspend the phone just by tapping the power button.

The installer file should be available for download soon. Bear in mind, this particular version of Android is designed for the iPhone 3G, not the iPhone 3Gs.

You can check out a video after the break.

via Engadget

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The Archos 5 Internet Tablet is the first Google Android powered tablet from Archos, a company best known for making MP3 players and portable media players. And at it’s core, the Archos 5 Internet tablet is a pretty good media player. It offers all the features you would expect including excellent audio and video playback capabilities and access to online media and files stored on your home network. It even has a built in FM radio tuner.

But what makes the Archos 5 Internet Tablet special is the underlying operating system which allows you to run thousands of Android applications. Out of the box, the tablet has a few Android apps installed including the Android web browser and the eBuddy instant message client. A few hundred more are available from the AppsLib app store. But with a little tweaking you can install the full Android Market, granting you access to many of the 16,000+ applications available for Google Android smartphones.

All this without the need to sign up for a contract with a mobile broadband provider. The lack of a service plan alone would make the Archos 5 one of the cheapest devices to run Google Android, since most Android Smartphones will end up costing you thousands of dollars over a 2 year contract. But with prices ranging between $250 and $500, this Android powered WiFi slate is truly one of the most affordable internet tablets around.

The folks at Archos were kind enough to lend me an internet tablet to review. The demo unit I received has 32GB of storage, an 800MHz ARM Cortex-A8 CPU, 256MB of RAM, 802/11b/g/n WiFi, a USB port, and runs Android 1.6 plus some custom Archos software.

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