It will likely be a few months before Samsung, HTC, Motorola and other handset makers release official software updates with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich for existing phones. But independent developers have been grabbing the Android 4.0 source code and modifying it to run on older phones — even phones that Google had said were “too old” to run Android 4.0.

The Google Nexus One was released a little under two years ago, and for a while it was Google’s flagship phone for developers and customers alike. It was first in line to get Android 2.3 Gingerbread and most minor software updates — but Google has decided not to release Android 4.0 for the phone at all, instead focusing on the newer Samsung Galaxy Nexus and Nexus S smartphones.

But xda-developers forum member has already started working on a custom ROM for the Nexus One which brings Ice Cream Sandwich to the phone. The software is still rough around the edges, with 3G, GPS, and even the home button not working properly yet. But it’s a start.

We’ve also already started to see builds of Android 4.0 for phones including the Samsung Galaxy S II, LG Optimus 3D, and more phones such as the HTC Desire, HTC Droid Eris, and HTC Hero.

These builds are all based on the Android Open Source Project code which was released earlier this week. They include all of Android 4.0′s new features including a redesigned user interface, improved voice input, a new People app, and system-wide spell-checking. They’re pretty much all still works in progress, but at this rate I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw stable third party builds of Android 4.0 for these phones before we see official releases.

Of course, installing a custom ROM on your phone is taking your warranty into your own hands. If something goes horribly wrong, don’t expect to get sympathy from your phone company or device manufacturer.

Android 4.0 ported to Google Nexus One, Samsung Galaxy S II, other phones is a post from: mobiputing

Google Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich will ship soon on the Samsung Galaxy Nexus smartphone — but Google is also preparing to release a software update that will bring Android 4.0 to the Samsung Nexus S phone which was launched earlier this year.

Unfortunately Google’s original developer phone — 2010′s Google Nexus One, will apparently not be getting an official Ice Cream Sandwich update. Android Product Management Director Hugo Barra tells The Telegraph that the phone is too old.

That probably comes as news to the hackers already working to port Google’s new operating system to the aging smartphone. As you can see in the video below, right now ICS is pretty slow on the Nexus One, but we’re looking at an early build based on the Android 4.0 emulator image.

Once Google releases the source code for Ice Cream Sandwich, I suspect the developers behind CyanogenMod and other custom ROMs for the Nexus One and other phones will probably bring Android 4.0 to older devices such as the Nexus One.

Still, it’s a shame to see that Google won’t be offering the update to a smartphone that’s less than two years old — especially since the Nexus line of phones are the only phones Google has complete control over when it comes to software updates.

There are also tools for users stuck with Android 2.3 that want to make their phones look like they’re running Android 4.0. For a rather thorough visual transformation, you’ll probably need to root your device and install a custom ROM.

But there’s also a free app called ICS Launcher which runs on most Android devices, and it will give you a home screen and app launcher that looks like the Android 4.0 default.

Google won’t release Android 4.0 for the Nexus One (but someone else probably will) is a post from: mobiputing

Netflix has launched an Android app which lets subscribers stream movies and TV shows to an Android device, manage your queue, and search for new “watch instantly” movies. You can even resume watching videos on your phone where you left off on a computer, or vice versa.

The app is available as a free download from the Android Market. There’s just one catch: not all Android devices are supported.

Right now, you need an HTC Evo 4G, Incredible, G2, or Nexus One running Android 2.2 and up or a Samsung Nexus S running Android 2.3.

The company promises it will add support for additional devices soon, but because not all Android phones feature the same video playback capabilities, Netflix has to test each device individually. Interestingly, in the official blog post announcing the availability of the app, Netflix doesn’t make any mention of Android tablets.

I took the app for a spin on my Nexus one, and video playback looks great over a WiFi connection. Video quality isn’t as consistent when using 3G, and it takes a while for videos to buffer over a 3G connection.

Netflix won’t keep playing in the background if you switch to another app. Instead, when you switch back to Netflix while playing a video, you’ll return to the information page for that movie or TV show. But tap the play button and Netflix should pick up where you left off. Overall, the Netflix app for Android is exactly what you’d expect — especially if you’ve used the company’s mobile apps for other platforms. The user interface looks almost exactly like the Netflix app for iOS. Incidentally, Netflix just added support for subtitles to its iOS app — something that’s not yet available for Android.

The Netflix Android app took up a good 22MB of space on my Nexus One when first installed, but now that I’ve moved the app to my SD card, it takes up less than 1MB of my phone’s primary storage space.

Update: Although it’s not an officially supported device, the folks at Droid Life report that the Netflix app works on a Droid X running Gingerbread.

Netflix app now available for some Android phones is a post from: mobiputing

Google has begun pushing out an over the air update for Nexus One smartphone users bringing Android 2.3.4 to the company’s older flagship phone. The latest version of Android started showing up for Google Nexus S users last week.

If you don’t feel like waiting until a notification pops up on your phone letting you know your download is ready, you can go ahead and install Android 2.3.4 manually. Here’s how:

1. Download the update file directly from Google’s servers and save the file to your desktop.
2. Change the file name to “update.zip.”
3. Copy the file to the root directory of your microSD card.
4. Turn off your Nexus One.
5. Hold the trackball and press the power button to turn on the phone.
6. When you see a white screen with three Androids on skateboards use the volume buttons to move up and down. Choose “bootloader” and then press the power button.
7. On the next screen choose “recovery.”
8. The phone should reboot and show you an exclamation point inside a triangle.
9. Press the power button and volume up button at the same time.
10. Use the trackball to select “Apply sdcard:update.zip.”
11. Once the update has been applied, choose “reboot system now.”

That should do the trick.

Note that while Google Android 2.3.4 for the Nexus One should fix some bugs, it won’t bring voice and video chat to the Google Talk messenger. That feature is currently only available for the Google Nexus S… or for anyone who installs the latest version of Google Talk manually on a rooted phone. You’ll need to disable signature verification for this to work, which means installing ClockworkMod Recovery if you haven’t already. You can find good instructions for doing that at Jaxov.

The nice thing about this update is that you don’t need to root your phone to apply it — but if you already have a rooted phone you may want to try using the modified version of the update.zip file posted by xda-developers forum member netzpirat which should let you update without losing root access.

How to install Google Android 2.3.4 for the Nexus One is a post from: mobiputing

A few days ago a new utility was release which makes it possible to root devices running Google Android 2.3.3 Gingerbread without modifying your bootloader. I decided to wait a few days for the kinks to be worked out before trying the new GingerBreak tool, but when I noticed that the developer of SuperOneClick had incorporated the exploit into the latest version of his popular one-click rooting tool I figured I’d take it for a spin.

As it turns out, the kinks aren’t all worked out. SuperOneClick froze on me every time I tried it. But after a bit of trial and error, I did find another way to root my Google Nexus One phone running the stock version of Android 2.3.3 Gingerbread today. Here’s how I did it:

1. Make sure there’s an SD card inserted in your phone that you’re prepared to erase completely. If you only have one SD card, make sure to backup all your data to a PC before starting. If you have a spare SD card, you might want to insert it now.
2. Open your phone’s settings and scroll down to Storage.
3. Click the Erase SD card button to format your SD card and follow the prompts.




4. Download the latest version of Chainfire’s GingerBreak APK file from xda-developers or rootzwiki. I used v1.1.
5. Install the GingerBreak app on your phone. If you downloaded it directly to your phone, just tap the installer from the downloads menu. If you downloaded it on a computer there are several ways to do this, but the simplest is to plug your phone into your PC, mount the SD card as a USB storage device, copy and paste the APK, and then use ES File Explorer, Astro File Manager, or another file manager to locate the file on your device and click on it.
6. Once installed, run the GingerBreak app.
7. The app will try to extract some files and when it’s done you can click on the Root button to attempt to root your device.

That’s pretty much it. If all goes according to plan, your phone will reboot in a few moments and you’ll notice a new app called SuperUser in the app drawer.

Your results may vary. I had no luck with SuperOneClick or Chainfire’s GingerBreak.apk utility until I inserted a new SD card and erased it. Formatting it first on my Windows machine wasn’t good enough. When I was done, I put my usual SD card back in the phone and everything works the way it did before I rooted the phone. The difference is that now I can run apps that require root access, such as ShootMe for taking screengrabs, Titanium Backup for backing up all your apps and settings, or Hot Rebot for quickly restarting the Android graphical shell.

Update: According to at least one reader you’ll want to make sure disable any screen locking before you start.

How to root a Google Nexus One running Android 2.3.3 with GingerBreak is a post from: mobiputing

Update: Google Android engineer Romain Guy says that the reports are wrong,  and that Android 2.3.3 will only allow system apps will be able to take screenshots. That may mean that Google will release a screenshot app that could work without root, but it’s unlikely that third party screenshot apps will work.

Update 2: Having installed Android 2.3.3 on my Nexus One running Stock Android, I can confirm that ShootMe and other screenshot apps do not currently work without root access.

Google began rolling out Android 2.3.3 over the air updates for Nexus One and Nexus S smartphone users last week. The update brings Gingerbread’s key features including a tweaked user interface, improved keyboard, and better power management to the Nexus One, while removing Facebook sync from the Nexus S. But it looks like there are also a few hidden gems (and bugs) in the software update.

The good news is that users are reporting the Android 2.3.3 finally allows users to take screenshots of their device without first rooting their phones or installing the SDK. While iPhone users have always been able to snap a picture of their screen by pressing the Home and Power buttons simultaneously, Android users either had to connect their device to computer with a USB cable, install the Android SDK kit, and run a desktop app — or root their Android device and install a third party app such as ShootMe.

It’s always seemed a little crazy that you had to either install developer tools or hack your phone to take screenshots. Android Central reports that a change in the SurfaceFlinger display driver seems to be responsible for the change.

But it looks like Android 2.3.3 isn’t all hugs and puppies. Engadget reports that after applying the update, Google Voice may stop working. Right now it looks like you can install an older version of the Google Voice app to get around the problem, but you wouldn’t really expect a Google OS update to break support for a Google app, would you?

Another problem some users are running into is that it’s difficult to root the Nexus One after updating to Android 2.3.3 since SuperOneClick, Universal Androot, and other easy-to-use software doesn’t seem to work at the moment. I have no doubt someone will come up with a new method soon, but to be honest half the reason I rooted my phone in the first place was to make it easier to take screenshots. If I can do that without rooting Gingerbread, I may not bother pulling my hair out looking for new root tools.

If you don’t feel like waiting for Google to push the Gingerbread update to your phone, you can download and install the update manually as well.

Google Android 2.3.3 adds native screenshot support, may break Google Voice is a post from: mobiputing

As I mentioned yesterday, Google is rolling out an over-the-air Android 2.3.3 update for the Nexus One and Nexus S smartphones. But it’s a phased rollout, which means you may have to wait a few days or weeks before a message pops up on your phone letting you know an update is available. Fortunately for the impatient, members of the xda-developers community have tracked down the URL for the installer files.

You can find download links for the Nexus One and Nexus S at the xda-developers forum.

Once you’ve downloaded the file, you should rename it to update.zip and copy the file to the root directory of your microSD card.

If you have a Nexus One, the next steps are:

1. Turn off your phone.
2. Hold down the trackball while pressing the power button.
3. Select Bootloader from the menu, using the volume keys to navigate.
4. From the next menu, choose Recovery
5. Your phone will reboot and show you a triangle with an exclamation point inside
6. Hold the volume up button while pressing the power button.
7. Use the trackball to scroll down to “Apply sdcard:update.zip” and in a few minutes your phone should reboot into the updated operating system.

The process for the Nexus S is similar, but since there’s no trackball, you’ll need to hold the power button and volume up button at the same time.

If you’ve rooted your phone you might want to hold off on applying the update for a little while, since it will remove your root privileges. You may be able to use an existing tool such as SuperOneClick to re-root the device, but I’m still waiting to hear which rooting methods work with Android 2.3.3 on the Nexus One and Nexus S.

Update: It looks like the update breaks SuperOneClick. If you absolutely must have Gingerbread on your Nexus One right away, but you still need root privilege you might want to look at installing a custom ROM based on Android 2.3 instead of the over-the-air update.

How to manually update your Google Nexus One, Nexus S to Android 2.3.3 is a post from: mobiputing

Google has started rolling out Android 2.3.3 in an over the air update for the Google Nexus One and Samsung Nexus S phones. The Nexus S already shipped with Android 2.3 Gingerbread, but the update brings the latest version of the OS. This is the first official version of Gingerbread for the Nexus One.

For the most part, Gingerbread looks a lot like Android 2.2 Froyo, but the operating system includes a new keyboard layout, some user interface tweaks, better power management, and improved copy and paste functionality.

This update also brings support for Google’s WebM video format and Nexus S phones will receive advanced Near Field Communication functionality including the ability to modify rewritable NFC tags. The Nexus One doesn’t have the hardware to support NFC. There’s also API support for Bluetooth connections with nonsecure sockets.

On the other hand, the update also removes one key feature from the Nexus S: the ability to synchronize your contacts with Facebook. That’s because Facebook doesn’t actually allow the data to be downloaded to your phone. Instead, Android phones grabbed Facebook data from the cloud to display side by side with your local data. But since this doesn’t give users (or Google) complete control over your data including the ability to transfer it easily between devices, Google has decided to disable Facebook sync.

If you have a Google Nexus One which came with Facebook preloaded, you won’t be affected by this change. Google says it only affects the Nexus S and some future devices (probably the ones that fall under the Google Nexus brand).

Right now the update is only available as an over-the-air download which Google is slowly rolling out. In other words, you may not be prompted to update your device for a few days or weeks. But I suspect that it won’t be too long before someone at the xda-developers forum finds the download link and posts a file which you can use to manually update your phone.

It’s also worth noting that if you have a rooted phone, you’ll probably have to re-root it after applying the update. And if you’re running a custom ROM such as CyanogenMod-7, this update isn’t for you.

Google rolls out Android 2.3.3 to Nexus One, Nexus S smartphones is a post from: mobiputing

Google has yet to officially release Android 2.3 Gingerbread for the Google Nexus One smartphone, but some folks at the xda-developers forum have already managed to get Android 3.0 Honeycomb up and running on Google’s developer phone.

Actually, running might be a strong word for it, because while the basic operating system is working in this early release, phone calls, SMS, and other phone functionality isn’t yet available. 3D performance is also pretty sluggish.

The version of Honeycomb used comes from the emulator image released as part of Google’s software developer kit for Android 3.0. It’s still a bit rough around the edges and because the Honeycomb source code hasn’t been fully released yet, there’s still a lot of room for to grow. But xda-developers forum member bypass23 has pre-rooted the disk image, added busybox, a file manager, QuickBoot reboot options, and a terminal emulator.

You can find a download link and more information at the xda-developers forum.

Google Android 3.0 comes to the Nexus One (unofficially) is a post from: mobiputing

MeeGo is a light weight Linux environment designed to run on netbooks, smartphones, in-car computers, and other devices. The source code for the smartphone version of the OS was released a few months ago, but you still can’t actually walk into a store and buy a phone running MeeGo yet. A small group of hackers, on the other hand, are working on getting the OS to run on existing handsets including the Google Nexus One.

Android Police reports that a number of hackers have managed to get the OS to boot on the Nexus One, HTC Desire, and Dell Streak. The thing all of these systems have in common is the Qualcomm Snapdragon QSD8250 chipset. Unfortunately while that chip features 3D graphics acceleration capabilities, the drivers are closed-source, which has prevented third party hackers from figuring out how to add 3D graphics support. That means that while you can boot MeeGo on these phones, the OS is excruciatingly slow to actually use.

Eventually we may see handsets ship with MeeGo, and odds are they’ll run much more smoothly. But if the driver issues can get worked out, it’d be awfully cool to be able to dual boot MeeGo and Android on existing phones.

MeeGo Linux hacked to run on Google Nexus One, other Android phones is a post from: mobiputing

The folks at the xda-developers forum have discovered yet-another updated ROM for the Google Nexus One. While some folks had been hoping that the next build would bring Android 3.0 Gingerbread, this appears to be a minor update to Android 2.2 Froyo with some bug fixes and a new version of the radio. Some folks say the operating system also seems to run faster.

A member of the Modaco forums also posted some benchmark scores showing the device running a little faster after the update.

Paul O’Brien and Modaco has repackaged the ROM so that it can be easily installed on any Android phone. Bear in mind that the stock image will futz with the Android Market, since it won’t allow you to see or download signed apps. So if you’re thinking about updating your phone, you might want to grab one of Paul’s images that says “FRF91 fingerprint,” which tricks the Market into thinking you’re still using an older version of Android.

The new update has the build name of FRG33.

New Android 2.2 update for the Google Nexus One leaked is a post from: mobiputing

We’ve already seen that it’s possible to install Windows 3.1 on an Android phone by using aDOSBox. But if you’re looking for a slightly more modern alternative to Google’s Android operating system, Nexus One Hacks has a tutorial for installing Ubuntu Linux on a Google Nexus One Android smartphone.

Installing Ubuntu doesn’t require wiping Android off of your device. Instead, Ubuntu runs as a sub-system and you use a VNC client to access the operating system. This way you can still use your phone to make calls… and to run Ubuntu apps.

You’ll need a rooted Android phone to get Ubuntu up and running — and a bit of patience and Linux know-how (or at leas the ability to follow a very long and somewhat complicated set of instructions).

The 13 minute video below shows the entire install process, which really doesn’t take very long at all once you’ve downloaded all the necessary files.

via Android Community

How to install Ubuntu on a Google Nexus One is a post from: mobiputing

Image credit: Ars Technica

When Google introduced Android 2.2, the company announced that one of the biggest changes was a new Just In Time (JIT) compiler which dramatically sped up Javascript performance. That means that most third party apps run faster on Android 2.2 than Android 2.1, and many web sites with Javascript elements render more quickly.

But how does Google’s latest mobile operating system stack up against Apple’s? The folks at Ars Technica ran a set of benchmarks on a Google Nexus One running Android 2.2 Froyo and an iPhone 4 running iOS 4. The results? The Nexus One won… by a wide margin.

In fact, the Nexus One performed almost twice as well using the SunSpider benchmark, and more than 3 times better in the V8 test.

It’s worth keeping in mind that the differences aren’t just due to the software. While the Nexus One and iPhone 4 both have ARM-based processors, they each use very different chips, with the Nexus One powered by a 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon CPU and the iPhone 4 using an Apple A4 processor. And of course, Javascript isn’t the only performance measure that matters. But it looks like if you visit a lot of Javascript-heavy web sites in your mobile browser, Android 2.2 might be a better bet than iOS 4.

Update: Chippy at CarryPad ran the SunSpider test on an Aava prototype phone running MeeGo Linux. His socre came in at 4,215.2ms, trouncing both the Nexus One and the iPhone 4. Of course, the Aava also has a 1.5GHz dual core Atom processor. While Javascript doesn’t take advantage of multicore processors, it’s tough to say whether it was the fast CPU or the fact that the device was running MeeGo that gave the Aava prototype the edge.

Oh, and just for kicks, I ran SunSpider on my 2nd generation iPod touch running iOS. It scored 30,708 — almost three times slower than the iPhone 4. Clearly the CPU is at least as important as the operating system.

Android 2.2 crushes iOS 4 in Javascript benchmarks is a post from: mobiputing

Google has been pushing out test builds of Android 2.2 Froyo to a small group of users with Google Nexus One phones for the past month or so. But as we’ve repeatedly been told, those early builds weren’t the official release that would be made available to the general public — so if you somehow managed to find and download the updates through some link you found on the web, you weren’t necessarily running the final version of Froyo on your Nexus One.

Starting today, that all changes. Google has announced that it has begun rolling out Android 2.2 for Nexus One handsets. Some users have already received notifications that the update is available, and Google promises that most users should get the update by the end of the week. I guess that means the build that leaked last night really was the final build — and if you’re the impatient sort, you can probably download it now by following one of the links from the xda-developers forum.

The Google Nexus One is the first phone to receive the Android 2.2 update because it’s the phone Google has the closest connection to. Up until recently the company had been selling the phone directly to consumers through its web site. But now that Froyo is available for one phone, I suspect it won’t be too long before we start to see other phone makers and wireless carriers start to offer updates for other devices.

Some of the new features in Android 2.2 Froyo include a major speed boost — particularly for third party applications, support for Adobe Flash Player 10.1, USB tethering and WiFi hotspot capabilities, and a new Home Screen design featuring phone and web browser buttons that show up at the bottom of all five home screens.

Google Nexus One is the first Android phone to officially receive Froyo update is a post from: mobiputing

Another Android 2.2 Froyo build for the Nexus One (FRF85B) is a post from: mobiputing

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

New (final?) Google Android 2.2 Froyo build for Nexus One is a post from: mobiputing

The Google Nexus One ships with a headset that you can use to listen to music or make phone calls. It also has a few hardware buttons that you can control music playback. But all you get is a play/pause button and forward and back buttons for skipping tracks.

If you want to fast forward, rewind, or control the volume, you’ll need to pull your phone out of your pocket, turn on the screen, and use the touchscreen controls. Or you can install RemoteVol, a new app that lets you control the volume using the headset.

Once installed, all you have to do is long-press on the previous track button go increase the volume and long-press the next track button to lower the volume.

The app works with the stock Android music player, but the developer plans to add support for HTC Sense.

Of course, you’ll need to use the default Google Nexus One headset for this app to work. Third party headphones need not apply.

Use the Nexus One headset to adjust music volume is a post from: mobiputing

The Google Nexus One smartphone has a 5MP camera, which lets you take high resolution photos. But when it comes to shooting video, the phone is stuck in the pre-HD era, topping out at VGA resolutions. Or at least that was the case yesterday. Today there’s a hack that will let you record 720p HD video on a Nexus One.

In order to get things working, you’ll need to root your phone and replace the stock firmware with a custom ROM. In other words, you’ll void your warranty. But hey, HD video recording!

You can check out a short demo video recorded on a Nexus One after the break.

via Android Central

Google Nexus One hack adds 720 HD video recording is a post from: mobiputing

The whole point of a smartphone is that you don’t need a ton of peripherals to use it. But if you’ve ever wanted to plug a USB keyboard, webcam, or external monitor into your phone, it looks like there’s hope. And no, I’m not talking about Bluetooth accessories made for phones. I’m talking about full fledged computer peripherals.

Sven Killig figured out how to add USB host support to a Google Nexus One smartphone, although I imagine it should be possible with other Android handsets as well. In the video below, you can see what happens when he plugs in a USB keyboard, webcam, and monitor (using DisplayLink technology). At the risk of spoiling the surprise, they work.

via Engadget

Google Nexus One hack adds USB host for keyboards, webcams, more is a post from: mobiputing

I’ve been playing around with Google Android 2.2 Froyo on my Nexus One for the last hour or so. While Google is slowly rolling out the over the air update to Nexus One users, there’s a way to download the update and install it manually if you’re the impatient type.

Overall, I like Froyo so far. Third party apps definitely feel a little faster. Fennec is actually pretty usable now, even though the mobile version of Firefox is still pre-Alpha software. And the ability to turn my phone into a portable WiFi hotspot is absolutely awesome — or it would be if I weren’t getting inconsistent 3G service today.

But if you were hoping Froyo would turn the Nexus One into a superphone, it won’t. The overall user interface isn’t any faster than it was with Android 2.1. Sure,the phone is still pretty zippy when flipping between home screens and opening the program launcher. But switching from one app to another isn’t any faster than it used to be. And every now and again you’ll find yourself waiting for the home screen to reappear for several seconds after you hit the home button.

Some of the changes are merely cosmetic. For instance, Google has removed the border that appears when you press and hold the home button to see the list of recently run apps. And when you enable debugging, the icon that appears in the notification area looks like an Android-bug instead of an exclamation point.

Other features just aren’t really widely available yet. When you open the Applications menu in the system settings, you’ll see an SD card option, because eventually you’ll be able to install apps to the SD card or move apps that are already installed on your phone’s main storage to the SD card. But we’re going to have to wait for developers to update their apps to support this feature before we can actually put apps on our SD cards.

The new web-based Android Market, which will allow you to install apps directly to your phone simply by clicking a button on your desktop web browser isn’t active yet.

But there are still some nice touches. The mobile version of the Android Market now has an “update all” button, which makes it much easier to keep all of your third party apps up to date. And there are now browser and phone buttons that hang out in a persistent dock that shows up at the bottom of every home screen — freeing up space for you to install widgets, shortcuts, and other icons on your home screen.

Support for Adobe Flash is a mixed bag. On the one hand, you can play some Flash video in the Android browser using Adobe Flash Player 10.1. And some Flash-based games, like Bookworm work as well. But for the most part, playback is a bit choppy and I found that some videos seemed to have audio issues — while I was watching choppy video of The Daily Show, it sounded like Jon Stewart was saying everything twice.

It’s very possible these Flash issues will be resolved in the future. Adobe Flash Player 10.1 for Android is still in beta, and the software doesn’t support hardware graphics acceleration yet — but future versions will.

You can check out my hands-on video with Google Android 2.2 Froyo on the Nexus One, and some screengrabs after the break.

Update: OK, I’m starting to notice a few problems with the new build — or at least with the way it interacts with third party apps. Google must have changed the way the Google Calendar app works, because I’ve noticed that several home screen calendar widgets I’ve used in the past no longer work properly . Smooth Calendar and Calendar Pad simply don’t show any upcoming appointments anymore.

I’ve also noticed that some streaming audio apps are broken. While Pandora still works, Android Online Radio has trouble streaming most online radio stations, and the NPR News app can play individual stories, but not live streams from public radio stations.

Froyo also turns eMobile Task Manager into a glorified task switcher. It can no longer actually terminate apps or services.

Have you had any problems with Android 2.2 Froyo and third party apps? Let us know in the comments.

Update 2: I’ve put together a second video which looks at more than 20 new features in Android 2.2.

First look at Google Android 2.2 Froyo is a post from: mobiputing

Just a few days after unveiling Google Android 2.2 Froyo, it looks like Google is starting to roll out the software update to folks with Google Nexus One handsets.

TechCrunch blogger MG Siegler received the update on his phone last night, and a handful of other users have posted on Twitter that they have the update as well.

Google tends to do phased rollouts — which means that not everybody will get the update at the same time. I’ve checked for system updates on my phone about a dozen times this morning to no avail. But it’s likely that once a member of the xda-developers community gets their hands on the Froyo update.zip file, you’ll be able to download it from the forums.

Update: Don’t feel like waiting for Google to send the update to your phone? You don’t have to. You can download the updater directly from Google’s servers and follow 10 simple steps to install it on your Google Nexus One manually.

Google Android 2.2 Froyo now available for the Google Nexus One is a post from: mobiputing

We’ve seen hackers port the classic first person shooter Doom to run on all sorts of hardware over the years. It can run on an iPod, smartphones, and of course, video game consoles. But if Doom is a little too primitive for your tastes, how about a little Quake 3 action?

A few months ago Quake 3 was modified to run on Android devices such as the Motorola Droid with Google Android. Now there’s a new version out that’s optimized for the Google Nexus One.

There is a little problem: Quake kind of wants you to have a keyboard, while the Nexus One lacks a physical keyboard. So the developers wrote a version that can use the trackball and volume buttons to control the game. If you’re adventurous — and don’t mind carrying around a game controller that’s bigger than your phone — you can also try pairing a Nintendo Wiimote with your phone over Bluetooth.

In order to run the game on a Nexus One, you’re going to want to grab the kwaak3_test_v11c.apk file from the download page. It should support the phone’s hardware, and members of the xda-developers forum say that it runs smoothly on the Nexus One while earlier versions are sluggish. And keep in mind, you’ll need a Quake 3 CD in order to play, since you have to copy files from the CD to your SD card for the game to run.

You can check out a video of Quake 3 on the Nexus One after the break.

via Android Community

Quake 3 ported to the Google Nexus One is a post from: mobiputing

The Google Nexus One smartphone may be manufactured by HTC, but the software is 100% Google. It comes with the standard Google Android 2.1 program launcher, contact manager, and other software. It also comes with the standard Google Android 2.1 keyboard, which is usable, but not exactly the best software keyboard I’ve used.

Fortunately, Google lets you install third party keyboards on Android handsets. And one of the best of those keyboards is the one designed by HTC to go with the HTC Sense user interface for Android. HTC doesn’t officially make this keyboard available for download. But the folks at the XDA Developers forum have ported a version of the keyboard to run on devices that don’t use the HTC Sense user interface — including the Google Nexus One.

In order to install the HTC keyboard, all you have to do is download the latest version of the installer from the XDA Developers forum. Then unzip the package and copy the two .apk files to your device and install them. One of the easiest ways to do this is to install a file manager like ASTRO and navigate to the folder where you copied the HTC_IME.apk and Clicker.apk files. Just click on them and open them with the App Manager to install the packages. You can also install a program called Apps Installer from the Android Market. When you run it, Apps Installer will scan your SD card for any .apk files, which you can then click once to install.

Next, you need to go to open your phone’s settings dialog and select “Languages & Keyboard.” Select the “Touch Input” option, and you can configure your settings in the “Touch Input settings” area.

The last thing you need to do to switch from the default keyboard to the HTC keyboard is open any application that allows you to enter text. Select the text area to bring up the keyboard and press and hold the lower left button on the standard keyboard to bring up a dialog box that lets you switch keyboards. Once you select the Touch Input option, you’ll have the HTC keyboard.

The spacing between the keys is a little more comfortable than the standard Android keyboard, and I find I can type a little faster with the HTC keyboard.  On the downside, the Sense UI keyboard doesn’t really fit with the Android 2.1 color scheme all that well, so it looks a bit out of place. And I still find the iPhone/iPod Touch keyboard much easier to type on than either the standard Android or HTC Sense keyboards. Your results may vary.

If you don’t like the new keyboard, just go back to the “Language & keyboard” menu in the Android settings menu and unselect Touch Input. The stock Android keyboard will be restored.

via jkOnTheRun

How to install HTC’s Android keyboard on the Google Nexus One is a post from: mobiputing