Time to get ready Android fans, the latest version of Google’s mobile platform is heading our way and from the looks of it, the new Froyo will be bringing plenty of new additions to the already impressive open source mobile platform.
Of course, the biggest addition to the new OS is the inclusion of native support for Adobe Flash and AIR formats. The feature has long been asked for and has finally arrived –but mostly due to the fact that Apple made quite a show of their intent to never support the Flash format. Apple’s stubborn decision has left them only able to support HTML5 and H.264, while Google will have those and Flash available for its users. That means that Android users are going to get a serious leg up over their iPhone counterparts.
Naturally, the big question that is being asked right now is: can the Android really run Flash? Actually, yes, and from the initial videos, even Flash content that is heavily animated can be run on the latest Android handsets. Since most smart phones are running on CPUs clocked at 600MHz and above, some units are expected to have a bit of slowdown, but nothing significantly game-breaking.
Aside from Flash and AIR, it appears that 2.2 will also allow tethering for many devices. This means that the Android smart phone can now be hooked up to your laptop or computer to be used as a USB WiFi dongle.
The new OS version is expected to be released later this June, and handsets such as the Milestone, Hero, Desire, Galaxy S and others are expected to receive updates within the week of release. Sadly, Sony Ericsson’s XPERIA X10 will not be getting an update until much later in September, as the handset is currently stuck with the older 1.6 Donut OS.
Posts Tagged ‘Adobe-Flash’
What’s New with Android 2.2?
Monday, May 17th, 2010Apple Feeding on Adobe’s Little Mishap
Wednesday, May 12th, 2010
We all know the issue, during a presentation by Ryan Stewart of Flash on the Google Nexus One Android smart phone, the device failed to load the Flash heavy Eco Zoo website.
Seriously, what was he thinking? Even some netbooks have problems running that site. He could have had a better shot at demonstrating the power of Flash by loading some impressive animations or games from Newgrounds or other Flash content websites. It also did not help that somebody requested that Hulu be tried. The suggestion was a trap, since Hulu, by default, does not support access (an issue completely unrelated to Flash). Ryan’s reply to the request was a somber “Hulu is not supported” but failed to explain that the issue was not with Flash.
So, the question still remains, was the presentation a failure? Considering that Flash Evangelist Ryan was out to woo the crowds then it would be just proper to say that it did not turn out quite how it was supposed to be. But if this was simply a matter of proving that Flash works well on the Android operating system, then we can also say that it has been a resounding success.
The Nexus One is one of the best phones available today. It has 1GHz Snapdragon processor which means that even Flash should be loading fast. Still, there are some sites that are clearly meant to be accessed with more powerful desktop computers.
The bad thing is that many Apple fans are having a field day with the presentation. Many are claiming that Steve Jobs was right all along about Flash being unstable which would apply if only the demonstration was constantly crashing due to Flash on all websites instead of just one.
Any software issue can be worked on and fixed, something that Google and Adobe are certainly working on –and this could have been a situation that Apple could have enjoyed with Adobe if they only chose to be more cooperative.