Motorola Droid Gets Android 2.2 Froyo (HTC EVO 4G Too)

It’s official, the Android 2.2 Froyo update for the Motorola Droid is rolling out. If you don’t have yours yet, don’t fear, the upgrade is expected to be completed by Friday.

If you’re impatient (I was) you can download the official update and do it yourself. It’s actually pretty easy and even if something did go wrong, you could go to the Verizon store and they’d fix it as this is the real Verizon and Motorola approved update so it’s covered under warranty.  Just remember this update is for non-rooted users (if you don’t know what that means, then you’re a non-rooted user).

Now that a significant number of people finally have Android 2.2 Froyo on their phones (Motorola Droid, HTC EVO 4G, Nexus One) I figured this would be a good time to review all the Froyo goodness that has come to your trusty old Droid and to talk about what didn’t make it to the phone.

The Froyo update has largely been hailed as the version of Android that finally feels complete and puts it on par with Apple’s iOS 4.  A lot has been done behind the scenes and while you can’t see a lot of what has changed, the biggest thing you’ll notice is how much faster and responsive your phone is.  Google claims a 2-5 times speed increase and if you’ve been using your Droid for any length of time, you’ll notice how much faster the phone responds.

Other new features:

• USB Tethering – There have been applications on the market that have allowed you to tether your phone via USB for a while now, but now it’s built in (Wireless tethering didn’t make it – more on that later).  To access, click settings, Wireless & Network Settings, Tethering, and if your USB cable is plugged in, check the box.
• You’ll notice a new application launcher and that phone and browser access are now available on all your app screens.
• 270 degree rotation.  To see it in action, start watching any Youtube video… now turn the phone upside down.
• 5 screens for your apps, up from the 3 that were previously available.
• Voice dialing for Bluetooth headsets!
• Adobe FLASH 10.1!  Finally something you can hold over the heads of all your iPhone carrying friends – you have all of the Internet available to you on your phone and can watch all the videos and play all the flash based games you like.   (Note:  My updated didn’t have flash support built in and getting it working took a little searching so let me save you the time – here’s the Adobe Flash 10.1 app for the Droid since the Android Market and Adobe’s site didn’t have it last I looked).
• Chrome to Phone – I did a post on this a few weeks ago, but wanted to bring it up again.  You’ll need to install the app for your phone and install the extension on Chrome, but once you do this, anytime you’re working on your computer, you can just click the little phone icon and send the link (including directions from Google Maps) directly to your phone.
• Improved video quality
• New camera interface – the notable enhancement here is that the zoom is easier to use
• Easier to keep you apps updated.  If you’re like me and have 100+ apps, it can be kind of tedious when you have 7-10 apps that all need to be updated when you have to do it one by one.  Now in Android 2.2 you can just press the “update all” button and Android will take care of the rest.
• Apps can now be stored on the SD card and you can move current apps (that support it) to the SD Card.

Wi-Fi Hotspot / Tethering

Of all the features I was most excited about getting with the new update, this was it and sadly wifi tethering didn’t make its way to the Droid with Verizon saying the Droid lacks the necessary hardware to function as a wifi hotspot.   That may be true, sort of (it actually has the proper hardware but the hardware is running the wrong firmware to do it properly), but rooted users have found a way to make wifi tethering a reality with a bit of an ad-hoc solution, but if you’re willing to root your phone (Cyanogenmod and Bugless Beast are two popular ones in the rooting community), you can get wifi tethering.   Disclaimer:  Rooted your Droid voids the warranty on your phone and there is a chance you could brick your phone in the process – we take no responsibility should you decide to try this.

What do you think of the new 2.2 update? Anything I left out that you think should be mentioned?  Let me know in the comments.

Related posts:

1. Motorola Droid X vs HTC Evo 4G
2. Motorola Droid 2 Review
3. Droid 2 Vs Original Motorola Droid – What’s The Difference
4. Motorola Droid X Review – Smartphone Nuclear Arms Race Continues – Droid Vs Droid X
5. HTC EVO 4G Video Review