Now that Android 2.2 has been launched to open source, the most eagerly awaited news is what existing smartphones will receive the Froyo version of the operating system and when.
Brighthand cited an unconfirmed report from Verizon Wireless that the company will begin upgrading its first Motorola Droid to the new OS by July 13. The blog said, “Unofficial but stable versions of this ROM have already appeared on the Web.”
Verizon and Motorola launched that smartphone, which features a slide-out keyboard, with Android 2.0 last holiday season. The Droid was finally upgraded to Android 2.1 in March. A Droid 2 with a slide-out keyboard is forthcoming.
Meanwhile, Droidforums.net said the Motorola Droid X, slated for a July 15 launch for $199 with a $100 rebate, will receive Android 2.2 over the air in August. eWEEK gives the Droid X the rundown here.
Android 2.2 features significant speed improvements over Android 2.1, as well as new enterprise capabilities for Microsoft Exchange and Gmail, WiFi hot-spot enablement and tethering, and a cloud-to-device messaging API.
Google began rolling out Android 2.2 to the Nexus One June 28. Sprint has promised to target its HTC Evo 4G with the Android 2.2 upgrade.
It is unclear when and if Android 2.2 will come to the HTC Droid Incredible, though it would make sense that it would get the upgrade because it is a high-end smartphone. Why the original Droid would get the over-the-air boost before the Incredible is a mystery.
DroidLife said the Incredible will receive over-the-air upgrades for 720p video, the increasingly common mobile hot-spot feature and Droid’s red-eye boot graphics, which look great on the Droid X.
In one last bit of futuristic Android news, Google Music will allegedly launch with Android 3.0, slated for an October release. Android 3.0, or Gingerbread, is optimized for tablet resolution.