If you have wondered why Steve Jobs shuns Adobe Flash in Apple’s gadgets, it might not be just because of his capricious nature. We have been waiting for a while for Froyo to bring the full Flash experience to Android devices, but the end results are far from impressive. Over at GigaOM they have made a video trying to run various things on a Nexus One with Froyo, and found mobile Flash still not ready for prime time.

Given the resource hog that desktop Flash is, the mobile version has proved to be a daunting task for Adobe to scale down, and port over to mobile devices. Video playback on a lot of popular news and video websites was hit-and-miss, and basically the moral of the story is that the videos still have to be specifically optimized for mobile viewing, which kind of misses the whole purpose.

In our own experience with Adobe Flash 10.1 on Froyo we noticed actual improvement displaying interactive charts, like those of Google Finance, for example, which before were not exactly “interactive”, but Google recently optimized the site for mobile, so that might be it.

What about your experiences, has the Flash superhero come to the rescue on your Froyo device, or you also have some “Flashback” stories to tell?
source: GigaOM

The all-popular CyanogenMod 6 is out of relese candidate status now, and ready to bring Froyo to your rooted oldie-but-goodie Android device. The comprehensive list of supported devices includes the HTC-made Aria, G1, Google Nexus One, Desire, Hero, EVO 4G, Slide and Incredible, as well as the venerable Motorola DROID, and the flagship Samsung Galaxy S.

If you have already rooted your device, and want to try the Froyo experience, head over to the forums from the link below. Apart from improved speeds and battery life, the mod brings some additional features compared to the stock Android 2.2. A cool one is the browser color invert (saves battery life on AMOLED screens, such as the one on the Incredible), and there are also some music player enhancements, bringing along support for the lossless audio format FLAC. The mod is not without bugs, though, some users report installation problems, which might brick your device, as well as problems with Google services, so use at your own discretion.

In a battle of the operating system versions, the folks over at PocketNow have pitted a Samsung EPIC 4G, running a stock Android 2.1, against a Nexus One running the latest CyanogenMod 6 Froyo build. The authors ran the Quadrant full benchmark test and examined Wi-Fi and 3G download speeds, but we won’t spoil the fascinating battle for you.
source: CyanogenMod & PocketNow

A battery life test run by the folks from Laptopmag has produced some predetermined results. They wrote an Android app to run a web browsing test in controlled environment (60 websites changed every 60 seconds), and turned off all but the cellular data connectivity options. The web browsing was left plain and simple, with Flash and other plug-ins off, and the screens remained on all the time with 40% brightness.

The results are not very surprising if you look at the official manufacturer’s numbers for the tested handsets, however it’s good to have them confirmed by a 3rd party as well. The worst performer was the HTC Droid Incredible, but the authors admit that the type of testing chosen takes the most toll on AMOLED screens. Their power consumption when showing white backgrounds, as found in most websites, is triple the one of regular LCD displays. In other circumstances like shades of gray or colors, they consume way less power, but white is a killer. If the testers had chosen continuous video play, for instance, the results of the Incredible probably would have been better. Not to mention that it has a 1300mAh battery, while most of the others tested are with 1500mAh ones.

Nevertheless, on top of the smartphone pack climbed the two latest DROIDs from Motorola. The DROID 2 lasted 7:07 hours, and the DROID X the whopping 7:42 hours. Considering these two handsets are with the power-sipping TI OMAP 3630 produced with the 45nm technology, those hours are quite explicable. We wonder if the Super AMOLED screens don’t have the same power consumption disadvantage to the LCDs when a white background is continuously displayed that the AMOLED ones have. That might explain the fact that Samsung’s Vibrant, Captivate and EPIC 4G fared worse than the DROIDs, regardless of the fact that their Hummingbird chipsets are produced with the 45nm process as well.

Of note here was the top-notch performance of the Dell Streak, which fitted right smack in the middle between the DROIDs with 7:35 hours of battery life as tested. And this is despite the large 5″ screen, and the 65nm Snapdragon inside. Looks like the Streak was born to browse.

Have a look at the full endurance chart below to see how everybody fared.
source: LaptopMag

When the Nexus One was no longer being offered through Google’s online store, it pretty much signaled the end to this favorite Android phone for everyone – forcing those interested in it to look elsewhere. However, Google decided to bring back the phone for one last time to Android developers for their opportunity to scope this highly prized handset. From the looks of it now, the demand for this developer friendly phone is pretty high since the initial stock of inventory quickly depleted in the course of a couple of weeks. Now we’re once again presented with the realization that the Nexus One is sold out, but luckily, it has been placed on back-order by HTC – so there are still some units coming down the road. At this point though, there is no indication as to the time frame of when we can expect to see inventory to come back – especially when there is a worldwide shortage of AMOLED panels.
source: Android Developers Blog

Owners of the unlocked version of the HTC Desire in Europe were treated earlier in the month to their dose of Froyo while carrier specific units were put on hold due to additional testing needed to get them in check. HTC Desire owners on Vodafone were probably taken back when an update rolled out a couple week ago, but it was revealed to only add Vodafone’s 360 services – something that can be considered as bloatware by users. Regardless of that, it looks like Vodafone is making good on bringing Froyo now that there is official confirmation regarding the roll out of the update. Starting on August 23rd, Vodafone will begin to send out notifications to handsets regarding the OTA update – with an eventual reach to all customers by September 5th. Not everyone will be receiving it at the same time since the operator will be executing it in stages – so at the very worse, you won’t get it until the last day. Nonetheless, we’d imagine that HTC Desire owners will be more than happy to get down and dirty with Froyo and all of its offerings.
source: Vodafone via Unwired View

The rumored HTC Desire HD handset has now appeared everywhere, but in an official announcement by its maker. We had the specs leak (4.3” screen and 8MP camera), the bootleg picture, and now the phone was spotted on an Amazon UK website.

The page has since been pulled down, but we can judge from the listed £415 (about $650) price that the high-end specs are spot on. Could this be nothing else but the GSM version of the EVO 4G? We can only guess, but it’s for a fact that we will have another great phone in the already stellar fall crop to choose from.
source: ElectricPig via MobileCrunch

Nexus One owners have now received the final build of Adobe Flash Player 10.1 to install on their device. Finally out of beta, the final version is officially 10.1.92.8 and can be downloaded for free from the Android Market. Or, if you already have one of the beta copies installed, you can upgrade your handset with the final build. Of course, you need to have already received your firmware upgrade to Android 2.2 before you can even think about installing Flash Player.

While Verizon has decided to split the Froyo upgrade for the Motorola DROID into two parts before the Flash Player can be downloaded, many owners of the Time Magazine 2009 Gadget of The Year have yet to receive the first part of the OTA upgrade, which is supposed to be completed by this Wednesday. As we reported,  Adobe had posted that the same date is to be the debut of Flash Player 10.1 in the Android Market for the first-gen DROID. Now it seems that this Wednesday will just be another day. A Big Red spokesman said, “The Android 2.2 (”Froyo”) upgrade continues to be rolled out in phases to DROID by Motorola users on the Verizon Wireless network. Later this summer users will be able to download Adobe Flash Player 10.1 from the Android Market.” The phrase “Later this summer…” sure seems to indicate that if owners of the first-gen DROID want to immediately start viewing embedded videos and animated ads in the browser, their best bet is to upgrade to the DROID 2 which was shipped with Android 2.2 and Flash Player 10.1 pre-installed on the phone.
source: AndroidCentral

Mark Frankel, VP of Qualcomm, has reaffirmed that the company has shipped its dual-core Snapdragon chipset to manufacturers, and the quickest of them could be bringing to market smartphones or tablets with it by Christmas, or even in Q4.

The majority of devices with the new system-on-a-chip that runs at clock speeds up to 1.5GHz, and allows for full 1080p HD video playback, however, should start flooding the retail space early next year. The 45nm QSD8672 Snapdragon has two cores – each can be utilized independently, and put to rest when not needed, thus improving battery life up to 30% compared to its single core brethren.

Qualcomm has traditionally strong ties with HTC, so whether Windows Phone 7 will try to differentiate itself from the competition with dual-core hardware, or it will be running on an Android handset, HTC will most likely be one of the first to out a phone with the new Snapdragon.
source: ComputerWorld via WMPoweruser

Sometimes you’ve got to root for the small guys, especially when they start out as a relatively small player and eventually develop to a powerhouse that’s able to muster up a following with their line of devices. For a period of time, the name HTC was hidden amongst the other names placed over their creations as they were commissioned to build devices for other manufacturers. However, the tide has changed now that we see the Taiwan based company become a prominent figure in the mobile industry thanks to their talented, ingenious, and dedicated staff.

HTC reached yet another milestone recently by making an appearance in the top ten list of the biggest cell phone makers. They’re actually ranked in eighth place thanks to the 139.1 percent increase in shipments they’ve seen versus the same time period last year. One of the major contributors to their appearance in eighth place has to be the strong sales received from their line of Android devices, and when you look at what they’ve unleashed in the past year, there is no arguing their quick ascent to prominence. However, their humble beginnings started off with a handful of Windows Mobile devices that reached a boiling point in the US when all four major carriers offered a variant of the HTC Touch Pro2.

When you look at their recent Android offerings, it perfectly showcases how Android has become such a huge part of their success – especially when they’ve created fantastic devices like the Nexus One, Legend, Desire, Droid Incredible, and the EVO 4G. Even though they are seeing some heavy competition from a variety of rivals, such as Motorola’s DROID devices and Samsung’s line of Galaxy S smartphones, there is no denying that they’ll still be able to combat them without worrying too much. Looking forward to the future, we can still expect to see strong development of Android smartphones from them, but we’ll hopefully see what they have in store with Windows Phone 7.
source: Gartner via Intomobile

Think of it what you will, but HTC is sending out invites en masse through the tech blogosphere for a mysterious event to be held September the 15th in London. Could it be the HTC Schubert/Mozart Windows Phone 7 device? The HTC Desire HD?

We hope it might also be the first official announcement of a dual-core Snapdragon smartphone from HTC. The last time they held an event in London, it was for the unveiling of the HTC Hero with Sense UI on Android, but we have the sneaking suspicion that in a month they will unveil something even more exciting. Any other guesses?
source: Pocket-Lint