Android 2.2: What's New?

Google's I/O event saw the official launch of the next version of its Android OS.  Codenamed Froyo for 'frozen yoghurt', Android 2.2 includes several new features.

In this new version, Google is emphasising the links that its OS has with the Internet: why plug your phone into your computer to download apps or synchronise your contacts when you have 'this wonderful thing called the Internet?' joked Vic Gundotra, Google's Vice-President for Engineering.

Sending apps and links from a computer

He showed off two examples.  The first involved browsing the Android Market on a computer.  Once you find the app you want, you just click 'Install' and your phone starts to download it automatically. 

To make sure this remote installation is secure, you need to log into the Market site using your Google account.  But once you've done that, you can send the same app to several phones at once, something that large companies will no doubt find useful.


The second example demonstrated sending a link to the phone: if you send a link to your phone from a web browser, it will automatically open its own browser and load the page.

The demo started by loading a custom itinerary on Google Maps on a computer.  Once the route has been planned, the user can click on 'Send' and it's sent directly to the phone and displayed there.  With Google's free Maps app already available on Android phones, it could be an interesting feature for planning your routes or getting friends out of a pickle.


Faster apps and browsing

The second set of improvements that Google was keen to push revolved around speed.  Google isn't being modest about this, and claims that the version of Chrome in Android 2.2 is the fastest mobile web browser in the world.  With the addition of the JavaScript V8 engine, pages are handled two to three times faster than with Android 2.1.  A demo showed two Nexus Ones, one running Android 2.1 and the other with version 2.2, alongside an iPad.  The Nexus One with Froyo largely beat its two rivals, with the Nexus One 2.1 and iPad coming in joint second place.


But it's not just the browser: the whole OS should be faster.  Google's figures claim that apps should run two to three times faster than they did on Android 2.1.  That should be most noticeable in games, but Android 2.2 will be a noticeable boost for anybody who owns a handset that will receive an upgrade.

Flash 10.1: Native Support

One feature that everybody has been waiting for is full support for Adobe Flash, which is available in Android 2.2.  It gave Vic Gundotra the chance to poke fun at Steve Jobs and Apple, saying 'people use Flash!'.  On the other hand, full support for Flash 10.1  won't, it seems, be coming to Android 2.1.


To be continued


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