Android 2.2
I recently installed Android 2.2 on my phone. Gotta thank the guys at cyanogenmod for the awesome ROM that they put out. Of all the ROMs I have tried they are by far the most polished and nice. Plus the ease of using ROMManager is a no brainer. So my thoughts on Android 2.2.
There are some great improvements. First, I thought that I would like having 360 degree screen rotation more. But the reality is that I move my phone two ways. After using everything for a bit I find the rotation to be more of a ‘see I can do this’ thing rather than a useful feature. But still, see I can do this!
More notable for me is the improvements in both the Gmail app, and the Calendar app. Two things in the Gmail app. The support for the color labels now. If you haven’t used this it does provide a great ‘at a glance’ showing of what is going on with your labels. Also the app UI is improved, with some buttons added for fast account switching for those of us with multiple gmail accounts, and more handy next and forward buttons. Also, just found the option now to ‘select text’. When selected you can highlight message text and when done it will auto copy to the clipboard.
The calendar app has a much needed improvement of being able to sync with multiple gmail accounts. I can’t even say how frustrating this was. I had so many people that signed up for a new gmail account, and when we added their work gmail account they couldn’t have the work calendar.
Other improvements seem to mostly be UI improvements with things like the Talk application. Changes in the ‘Car Home’ UI. Call log now has groupings so if you miss 80 calls from your boss in a row you just see one entry with a ‘(80)’ next to it. This will of course show all 80 once you expand them. Contacts now also has a quick dial button at the full list so that you can call directly rather than long pressing or going into the contact. The ‘Messaging’ app has added contacts pictures in the view messages pane and, has changed the font on the date and time stamp so you can actually read it without your microscope. Camera UI has also improved giving quick access to features such as flash, white balance, GPS location, etc. Also who can forget flash support with the betas from Adobe. Lastly, the market app has some cleaning up making it easier to leave feedback, and a dedicated tab to view comments.
Although I haven’t noticed any great speed changes all in all it is very worth the upgrade.
Some things I would still love to see in Android. Universal Copy and Paste. I mean, come on. I can copy a SMS text but not a talk chat? Why not just be able to highlight any text and copy it, paste it, etc. While the ‘select text’ option in gmail is a step in the right direction I don’t think it is enough. It would also be nice to see universal screen rotation. Some apps just won’t rotate unless I pull out the keyboard. Also, a native buzz app would be cool. Until then I will have to keep using Seesmic. Last but not least some improvements to the google voice app. Specifically ability to record calls that are initiated from the phone running the app, and multi-select for bulk actions on things like deleting and archiving.
Tags: Android, Application Review
July 15th, 2010 at 9:15 am
I’ve been waiting for the official verizon update for 2.2 come down the line. This is making me more tempted to mod my phone (motorola droid). I can’t wait for their cloud to phone stuff though. I think that’s one of the big features that I’m waiting for.
July 15th, 2010 at 8:54 pm
Rooting is definitely worth it. If it makes you feel any better the word is that it is impossible to brick a droid.
July 19th, 2010 at 7:44 am
I am with Stephen I am anxiously awaiting the 2.2 update. Although the cloud to the phone stuff … meh.
But doesn’t rooting your phone technically void your warranty?