A few months ago when Google introduced Android 2.2 Froyo, the company promised one of the upcoming features would be the ability to push content from a web browser directly to your phone. Want to finish reading that article you have open on your desktop on your phone? Just click a button and the page will automatically open on your Android handset. This can also come in handy for long URLs that you just don’t feel like typing on your mobile device.

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Today Google officially launched Chrome to Phone. The app comes in two parts. You need to install an extension for the Google Chrome web browser on your computer, and install the Chrome to Phone app from the Android Market on your phone.

You can configure Chrome to Phone to automatically open links on your mobile device without any user interaction required. Or you can adjust the settings so that you have to manually approve links before they open.

Eventually this technology will tie into a web-based version of the Android Market that will let you install apps on your mobile device by clicking a link on a web site. But for now, it’s just a way to send links to web pages, YouTube videos, and other web content. It can also send phone numbers and some other types of content. For instance, if you send a map from Google Maps, it will open the mobile version of Google Maps which you can use to open driving directions or navigation.

Of course if you’re tired of waiting for Google to improve the Android Market experience, you can always check out AppBrain — which already offers a utility that lets you click an install button in your desktop web browser to send apps to your phone.

Chrome to Phone is currently only available for phones running Android 2.2.

You can check out a demo video after the break.

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Folks who own an HTC Evo 4G phone are starting to report that they’re receiving over the air updates bringing Google Android 2.2 Froyo to their mobile phones. The update was expected to start rolling out tomorrow, but I guess HTC is on… I don’t know, European time or something.

Anyway, this makes the Evo 4G one of the first phones to receive an official Android 2.2 update — and it’s definitely the first sporting HTC’s Sense user interface. It shouldn’t be long before we start to see other phones from HTC and other device makers receive updates.

An earlier build of Froyo for the Evo 4G had leaked last week, but HTC pulled that file. The company is working on a way to allow users who installed that early version of the system ROM to update to the official build of Android 2.2 for the Evo 4G.

Google Android 2.2 Froyo’s improvements included a new Java compiler that should let 3rd party apps run faster, support for installing apps to the SD card, new search widgets, and an improved camera application.

The HTC Evo 4G update also brings a flashlight app.

via Engadget and Android Central

Yet another build of Google Android 2.2 Froyo for the Nexus One phone has started rolling out. The difference is that some users are reporting that they’ve been getting the latest build as an over the air update — leading some people to concluded that this is the final build of Android 2.2 for the Nexus One. The fact that the Froyo source code was released yesterday lends some credence to that idea.

For those keeping count, this is the third version of Android 2.2 Froyo for the Google Nexus One. The first was FRF50, followed by FRF72. The new version is FRF83.

If you haven’t received an over the air update yet, there are two different installers you can use. One lets you updated from FRF50, while the other updates from FRF72. If you’re not already running a prior version of Android 2.2, you may have to wait a little longer… or download a hacked custom ROM developed around the latest Froyo build.

The instructions for installing the update are pretty much the same as usual. Download the appropriate file, rename it to update.zip and copy it to your SD card and then follow the same steps as last time.

• Download this file to update from FRF50
• Download this file to update from FRF72

If you’re wondering what’s new in the latest build, you’re not alone. While I’m sure there are a number of bug fixes, there’s one major change that I”m aware of: Support for protected apps. That means many paid apps and some free apps like the New York Times reader app which were missing from the Android Market if you were using earlier versions of Android 2.2 are now back.

via xda-developers

Google just made two rather significant announcements. The first is that 160,000 new Android handsets are activated every day — which is about 60,000 more than just a month ago.

The second is that Google Android 2.2 is now open source, meaning it’s likely to start showing up on phones that aren’t the Google Nexus One pretty soon.

Opening up the source code also makes it a lot easier for developers to examine the inner workings of the operating system and code their apps accordingly. It also means that anyone, developer or otherwise, can take a look at a detailed list of features available in the Software Development Kit.

It certainly doesn’t take long for hackers to figure out how to cram unofficial software updates onto Android hardware, does it?

The Dell Streak Android tablet started shipping in the UK yesterday. Today we have the first report of a user gaining root access, which essentially means he can run officially unsupported code and even install custom firmware.

In other news, the first unofficial firmware for the Motorola Droid with Android 2.2 Froyo is now available for download. Motorola plans to officially release a Froyo update soon, so if you don’t feel like rooting your device and voiding your warranty, you might want to hold out a little while longer. But if you’re the cavalier type, you can download it today.

Now how long do you think it will be before we start to see Froyo ported to the Dell Streak?

A few weeks ago it looked like Google had started pushing out Android 2.2 Froyo to Nexus One users. But it turns out that what was really happening was that Google was giving some testers (including a handful of tech bloggers with demo phones) a pre-release build of Froyo. An official update should be on its way soon.

For the most part, Android 2.2 runs quite nicely on a Google Nexus One. But there’s one thing that many users who downloaded and installed the update unofficially have noticed: certain apps are now missing from the Android Market. That includes the New York Times and Epicurious apps, among others.

It turns out that the missing apps are those that use “copy protection” in the Android Market. They’re simply not recognized by this build of Android 2.2. Presumably Google will fix this issue before pushing out Froyo to the masses.

In the meantime, if you have a rooted Nexus One, you can try this hack to trick the Market into thinking you’re using Android 2.1 instead of Froyo and the apps should reappear.

via Android and Me and Android Tapp

Didn’t get around to manually downloading the update.zip file that would let you install Google Android 2.2 Froyo on your Google Nexus One phone this weekend? Looks like you might have to wait a little longer for Froyo then, because Google has removed the file that hackers were using to update their phones.

Google had been pushing out Froyo as an over-the-air update to some Google Nexus One users. But some folks figured out where the download location for the installer was, and for the past few days hundreds, if not thousands of people have been updating to Froyo — which is quite possibly a bit more than Google had expected.

It’s not clear if the company removed the download link because it’s mucking up Google’s rollout schedule, or if Android 2.2 simply wasn’t ready for prime time yet and needs a little more time in the oven.

After having used the new operating system for a few days, I have to say I do see the Force Close window a little more often than I used to — but I’m pretty sure this is simply because many of the third party apps I use haven’t been updated for Android 2.2 yet. It’s possible that Google simply wants to give developers a little more time to update their apps before making Froyo more widely available. But that’s just a guess.

via pocketnow

Yesterday I took a quick look at Android 2.2 Froyo and found that third party apps ran faster, flash Player 10.1 worked, but was a bit sluggish at times, and a few third party calendar apps stopped working. Today I wanted to take a more detailed look at some of the things that have changed in Android 2.2 Froyo.

You can find a video overview after the break, but here are some of the highlights:

User interface

1. There are phone and browser icons on every page of the home screen.
2. The Recent apps menu now shows 8 recent apps, and has no border around the edge.
3. You can press and hold the program launcher box to show previews of all 5 home screens.
4. Swipe up on the keyboard to bring up a numeric keypad (which disappears when you lift your finger).
5. You can rotate the display to the left or right to enable landscape mode.

Settings

1. There’s support for USB tethering and turning your phone into a WiFi hot spot.
2. Display and brightness settings have been moved closer to the top of the settings menu.
3. The Power widget for the home screen now lets you select auto-brightness.
4. The Running Services menu now lets you kill some services and apps.
5. Android 2.2 theoretically supports installing apps to the SD card, but developers need to enable this in their apps.
6. There’s an Update All option in the Android Market.
7. You can set apps to automatically install the latest updates on an app by app basis in the Android Market.
8. There’s an accessibility option to have the power button end phone calls.
9. The voice input settings let you specify your regional accent (US, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India, Generic).
10. Vibration can be set to always, never, only in silent mode, and only when not in silent mode.
11. There’s a warning when you enable USB storage mode than apps installed on the SD card won’t work.

Applications

1. Google Talk and Messaging have a new, lighter color scheme.
2. Google Messaging now shows icons for your contacts.
3. Gmail has forward and previous buttons to make navigating through messages easier.
4. There are new search widgets that let you search just apps, contacts, web, or all.
5. The Camera app makes it easier to adjust settings without swiping the side of the screen to bring up a menu.
6. In the video camera mode you can turn on the LED and leave it on (hello Flashlight!)
7. Voice input now recognizes swear words.
8. YouTube now supports HQ videos.
9. The Car Home user interface has been redesigned, making room for more apps.
10. Adobe Flash Player 10.1 is now available in the Android Market.

Some users have also found that the trackball can light up in different colors, but it’s up to app developers to take advantage of this feature. The gallery also apparently loads pictures faster, but I don’t have a lot of pictures so I haven’t spent a lot of time testing this.

As with any operating system upgrade, it’s inevitable that some third party apps are going to stop working. Yesterday I noticed that calendar widgets stopped displaying information. Today, the folks behind Calendar Pad issued an update to support Froyo. I suspect other calendar app makers will do the same soon.

I’ve also had problems streaming radio stations with Android Online Radio, but I’ve found that StreamFurious and AntPlayer both work. I still like the AOR interface better, so I’m hoping the developer issues an update soon.

One of the scariest app problems is that HelixLauncher apparently goes into a “Force Close loop,” which means you’ll need to do a factory restore in order to get your phone working again if you have HelixLauncher enabled when you upgrade from Android 2.1 to Froyo.

You can check out a hands-on video with more than 20 of these new features after the break.

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