Today, Sony Ericsson announced via their blog that the official Android 2.1 (Eclair) update has started rolling out to Xperia X8 users and some additional X10 users. Many of us have had 2.1 since late 2009 and Android 2.2 since earlier this year. With that said, the only reasoning we see for the massive delay is on Sony Ericsson because of the complex nature of the Rachel UI.
Besides performance improvements and bug fixes, Android 2.1 on the Xperia X8 will bring among the standard Android 2.1 updates, media sharing via TV’s, as well as some pretty hefty upgrades to the MedisSpace and TimeSpace layers. Unfortunately, 720p video recording won’t be included (much like the X10 mini and mini pro models).
At first, it seemed like Dell’s ambitions with Android were lackluster at best. So far, what they’ve shown us was drawing nothing but yawns on my end. However, the tides changed quite drastically today with the unveiling leak of the Android-powered “Thunder”. A cousin of the Windows Phone 7 “Lightning”, the Thunder aims to usher in the next generation of Android on all new, classy looking hardware. And yes, the body the Thunder is rocking is helluva sexy.
But as much as we like them, looks aren’t everything. And that’s perfectly fine as far as the Thunder’s concerned…
I think I’ve finally figured out my favorite type of phone — slide-out qwerty + touchscreen. It’s the best of both worlds. You can be touchy or physical whenever the mode strikes you. I guess that’s why I love the form factor of the DROID. (Wish I could say the same about Motorola’s build quality though)
The phone you see above you is one of those “magical” concoctions that get’s me going. The only sad part is that there isn’t any current plans for a stateside release. Major bummer.
It would do well here too — 1GHz processor, 3.5″ WVGA display, 3G/WiFi/GPS, 5mp camera, DivX support, DMB tuner, and Android 2.1. Clearly it’s a winner on paper and at least in pictures, looks like it would sit well in my hand. For typing nuts, the keyboard looks nice and spacious with properly spaced keys featuring plenty of travel.
Ugh, I better stop now. Can’t miss what you’ve never had, huh? Somehow that just doesn’t seem too true right now…
The Samsung Moment is pretty much your only Android choice on Sprint if you’re the type who digs a full qwerty *physical* keyboard. Overall, it’s a pretty sweet phone (and I actually prefer it’s styling to the DROID’s I might add). Though, being stuck on Android 1.6 is certainly a party killer. Thankfully Android 2.1 is slated to make it’s way to the Moment in the near future.
That phone is barely 6-months old (debuting in September 2009) and already a leaked image of a new replacement — the Samsung Moment 2 — is fresh out of the blurry cam factory. For now, there isn’t really anything to go by spec-wise save for physical observations. In that case, the keyboard looks like it got a tick bigger which should make typing a tad more pleasant. Two things we do “know” however are that TouchWiz 3.0 will come as the standard skin atop Android and that the super sexy Super-AMOLED display won’t be coming to the Moment 2. A bit disheartening but not something I’d call a deal breaker myself.
If this is the type of thing that gets your inner geek all hot and bothered, best stick around as we’ll follow up this post once we get some more solid information on the core specs that every Android nut cares so deeply for.
Remember the big hubbub last time when upgrading from 2.0 –> 2.01? Everyone wanted it much faster than Verizon was rolling it out. This time with 2.1 it’s not any different. But that’s my job — to make your tech filled life easier. Verizon’s rollout schedule is nice as it is one final test of stability before a “mass” rollout like we’ll see within the next day or so. Even still, some just can’t wait *raises hand* and that’s ok. So without further adieu, the Moto DROID 2.1 update.
Instructions for install
**It’s pretty much dammed near impossible to brick your phone with a manual update.zip such as this unless the update package itself were somehow corrupt. Even the less experienced should be able to get this done relatively painlessly.
Download official ESE81 — Moto DROID 2.1 update from here (Official), here, or here.
**rename download to “update.zip” (without parenthesis)
Connect DROID to computer and enable mass storage mode.
Copy over update.zip to the root of your SD card (don’t move it inside any folders)
Restart phone holding the power button and “x” at the same time, not letting go until you see an /!\ symbol.
Select “apply sdcard:update.zip” by navigating with either the volume buttons on the side of the phone or the D-pad on the slide out keyboard. Use either the camera button or center D-pad button to select menu items.
reboot and enjoy!
**Forgot one thing (Thanks Carlos): If you get stuck at the /x\ screen, click the camera or volume up/down to jump into the screen with the option to install update.zip
See, it’s not really that difficult is it? The whole process (sans actual download) takes all of 30-60 seconds so it doesn’t really take that long. Let us know how the update goes for you!
Those crazy ninjas of the VZW underground…. Somehow BGR always gets the low down dirt. Today’s edition of ultra secret news could potentially hit Moto DROID users pretty hard. A new rumor now confirmed development has the Moto DROID 2.1 update that was scheduled to start rolling out day, delayed. According to the source, a last minute bug that wasn’t discovered until late last night/wee hours of the morning is the culprit. I’d be interested to know exactly what the cause for the hold up was. Though in the end, it doesn’t really matter.
Some interesting info can be gleaned when skimming through the comments on BGR however. One comment in particular by a Jason Grier puts the blame not on VZW or Google but on the company who owns the systems that actually “push” out the update. Call me crazy, but I thought VZW would handle something like that? Anyone care to shed some light?
Those waiting rather impatiently for the legit 2.1 upgrade may have another sleepless night or two in store.
Moto DROID owners who aren’t necessarily into the “underground” world of modding, hacking, and custom ROM’s were no doubt a bit disgruntled when finding out the 2.1 update would not be as nifty super cool as the Nexus One’s special flavor of Flan (2.1). Adding to the anger, Motorola missed the February-ish time frame that 2.1 for the DROID was supposed to drop. On the subject of Live Wallpapers, the general consensus was that the DROID simply lacked the needed muscle to get the job done smoothly. The hacking community disproved that however as Live Wallpapers have been running on the DROID in custom ROMs pretty much sense the N1 was released.
While we DROID owners have been through quite a bit the last few weeks, hope is on the way. The latest “official” DROID ROM that’s been leaked and spread like wildfire features the code name: ESE53. It is this (from Moto) build that is even faster than the previous leaked DROID 2.1 ROM and has Live Wallpapers to boot. Yes folks, Live Wallpapers are going to be included in the final DROID 2.1 ROM.
As far as the delay goes, retooling Live Wallpapers to make the most of the DROID’s lesser hardware was obviously needed (and adding a few challenges I might add). So all is well in DROID land again, huh? Of course, you can always root and enjoy this and plenty more long before anyone else…
The oft forgotten about Droid Eris may be the slightly less pretty (read: ugly as sin), fat ugly step sister, but that doesn’t mean someone out there doesn’t have some love for it. (Everyone needs some lovin’, right?) While the bigger and more powerful DROID sucks up most of the attention with it’s egotistic male machismo-like attitude, any and all good news about the “lesser” CDMA Android device for VZW goes to deaf ears. Well folks, if you happen to contain one of those red headed step children in the palm of your hand, today is your day.
Some of the ever talented folks at XDA got there mitts on a unofficial official Android 2.1 firmware for the Eris. Mind you, it isn’t perfect and is lacking a few things — namely Live Wallpapers — that other 2.1 builds contain. But really, it’s not worth getting all upset about — it’s XDA for crying out loud. Just about anything you could ever want done with the coded word has been done by these people before. With that said, all you want is that precious Eris 2.1 firmware, am I right?
**Update: If you’ve installed the files outlined below and are having trouble with permissions and SU pop-ups, stop back by the 2.0.1 Live Wallpaper thread on Alldroid and download the new 1.1.rom.tgz file.
Like many DROID owners out there, I was pretty bummed when I saw the official release specs for Android 2.1 on the Moto DROID. Two of the biggest visual changes — Live Wallpapers & the new 3D app drawer — were cut from the list. Performance issues and “exclusivity” have been two of the more prominent theories as to the decision. As far as performance goes however, if you’re here, reading on how to install unofficial features on your DROID, chances are you at least know your way around a rooted DROID and what to do with .apk’s, custom ROMs, and all kinds of other “underground” goodness.
For well over a month now, DROID users running custom 2.1-based ROMs have installed Live Wallpapers and had generally acceptable performance with only the occasional bug or FC cropping up. However, for those wanting to stay on a more stable (and quicker) 2.0.1 ROM, Live Wallpapers were a no go. But, the tide has finally turned thanks to many talented developers who have spent the last several months ripping the Android OS apart, resulting in greatly improved functionality and versatility. With that said, it is now possible to install Live Wallpapers on OS 2.0.1. Want to know how? Continue on…
To start, why exactly haven’t Live Wallpapers been working so well on 2.0.1? Well, to keep it rather basic, Live Wallpapers rely on Launcher 2.1 and a few other 2.1 specific frameworks to fully work (ie: to display and interact, you have to have the 2.1 launcher installed). A few ROMs such as Pete’s “Bugless Beast 2.1″ in particular have done a rather good job of bringing Live Wallpapers to the DROID platform — albeit on Android 2.1. Even still, the bugginess of the 2.1 Launcher on 2.0.1 in the rest of the custom ROMs has rendered Live Wallpapers as “look but don’t touch”.
A new solution has cropped up however that is allowing easy installation of Live Wallpapers on 2.0.1. via a .rom.tgz method. Make note however that these are still a look-only approach. Of course, if you install the 2.1 Launcher, you can always make use of the touchy feely nature of LWP’s. Still interested?
**This solution is for deodexed 2.0.1 phones only!!!
For those wanting LWP’s on their DROID running 2.0.1, you’ll need one, maybe two things depending on if you want the LWP’s to be interactive or not. First:
Again, you need to be running a deodexed/rooted ROM/phone to install!!. To install, copy the Live-Wallpaper.rom.tgz file in the link above to the root of your SD card. Boot into recovery mode and select the “Install” option, navigating to the .rom.tgz method of installation. Select the Live-Wallpapers.rom.tgz and let it do it’s thing. Once it’s done, reboot and enjoy! Simple stuff, see.
Now, if you only have the older 2.0.1 style launcher with the pull tab for a drawer, you’ll need to install the 2.1 Launcher to get the fully interactive wallpapers. (**The LWP’s will still move and stuff without the 2.1 Launcher, they just won’t respond to finger inputs without said resource**). For those wanting the 2.1 Launcher:
Put the second file above somewhere on your SD card. Remount the card and browse to wherever you stored the 2.1 Launcher.apk file, select it, and hit “install”. Now when you hit the home button, you’ll be prompted to use either the older 2.0.1 “Home” homescreen or the newer 2.1 “Launcher” homescreen. Either way, you’ll now have at least moving wallpapers. Pretty sweet, huh?
For even more, and unique LiveWallpapers, search “Live Wallpapers” in the market. My personal favorite so far is “Starfield” — a sort of Star Wars-like “lightspeed” effect that looks pretty much like the image below (except of course, the little stars are moving). Awesome stuff! Go ahead and give it a shot and let me know how it goes.
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Today, Sony Ericsson announced via their blog that the official Android 2.1 (Eclair) update has started rolling out to Xperia X8 users and some additional X10 users. Many of us have had 2.1 since late 2009 and Android 2.2 since earlier this year. With that said, the only reasoning we see for the massive delay is on Sony Ericsson because of the complex nature of the Rachel UI.
