Sprint has announced that its HTC Evo 4G will be getting upgraded to Google Android 2.2 (codename FroYo) starting August 3, 2010. Through its Twitter account, the company pointed out that it “is the first wireless carrier to bring Android 2.2 to customers”. FroYo adds some fantastic performance improvements and interesting features, which I covered in my Google I/O keynote live blog. Here are the features Sprint is highlighting:
- Voice Dialing Over Bluetooth.
- Application Storage on External Memory, giving users more storage room for all their apps.
- Camera 4-way rotation allows the camera icons to rotate with the camera.
- Improved Browser Performance including a faster JavaScript engine and Flash 10x Support improving the user’s ability to view videos and available content associated with web pages.
Sprint is having a very interesting year. It was the first American carrier to launch a 4G phone. During its quarterly earnings announcement, it gained subscribers for the first time in three years. Leading the way with FroYo is another sign that the company is, perhaps, transforming from the loser I left in 2009 to a progressive and aggressive carrier.
I’ll download FroYo on my Evo as soon as possible and give you guys the skinny. Stay tuned!
Tmo needs to get on the Froyo bandwagon.
@BB
Will your phone be able to run Froyo?
@ SG
I hope it does but I plan on getting a new phone in a few months and it would be sweet if Tmo implemented FroYo. By then though Android should be 3.0.
Well this tears it. I have 3 lines on my AT&T account. My dad's "wife" just used my number to upgrade her account (she sat on the LG Vu I gave her) and get a new phone. Hers and his contracts are up Aug. 15th. I am strongly considering going over to a different carrier. AT&T has the most craptastic line-up of phones ever. I considered the Samsung Captivate, but it is just an iPhone knock-off with their TouchWiz 3.0 interface and AT&T took away sideloading of apps, also the lack of camera features sucks. I refuse to go back to an iPhone also. So that leaves me with squat at AT&T.
Oh and AT&T updating their phones HA. Not once have I ever had a phone on AT&T that they updated when something new was released. I am still waiting on them to release their 5.0 BlackBerry update, they claim they have never received the update from RIM. When I call tech support about bad service they aren't very happy when I tell them my software version and that it is Bell Mobility's release. But I would have to do that crap if they cared at all about their customers.
@slicky
really??? i think at&t has the best phone line up out there. Sprint has nothing besides the Evo for me. Verizon maybe the Droid. TMo nothing anymore unless i want get the Nexus straight up. At&t has 3 phones i would get besides the iphone if i were phone shopping for a carrier that is.
@BB
I meant specifically the Mytouch. TMo will allow Froyo, it's whether the device can run it. The Droid won't run 3.0 when it drops
@Tokz
What phones? I have been trying to find something I like for forever with them. I was happy with my Bold, but now it seems to be an antique.
@slicky
palm pre, the captivate, and the aria.
I don't like the keyboard on the pre and the screen is a bit small. The Aria is just too small all around. And the Captivate might as well call itself an iPhone.
@slicky
Captivate is a nice piece of hardware. Try to hold off until it gets rooted.
@ SG
I hope it does, but I have this app that gives it the Nexus UI. Its fake FroYo yo lol.
@smartguy Yes, @Big_Blak's phone will be getting FroYo. T-Mobile promised it pre-launch.
@tokz_21 You don't want a Pre anymore. It's 2010. Sprint has the Evo 4G and Epic 4G. Verizon has the Incredible, Droid X, and Droid 2. T-Mobile has the Vibrant plus two HSPA+ Android phones coming in September and November.
@Smartguy
It is technically nice. The screen looks amazing. The touch screen is very responsive and I like the speed of it. The problem again comes in the form of lack of camera functions, since I rely solely on my cell phones for as my cameras. The other issue is the 3 main function buttons at the bottom. When I went to the store to try it out and it takes 2-3 touches to get them to respond sometimes.
I heard the other day that there is a new BB coming out on AT&T next Tuesday but I know nothing else about it.
@rpad
oh i know i don't want those phones. I'm not ready to leave my jb iphone yet. If i was just looking for a phone and carrier those would be the ones attracting me to at&t right now. if i were you @slicky i would just wait a little longer and see which of the new phones rpad mentioned you would like before jumping ship. just take your service month to month.
@SlickyFats AT&T and RIM are announcing the 9800 next week. This should be the official debut of BB OS6.
@Ray
Do you think RIM has any hope of competing with everyone at this point? The OS update is long overdue and a touch screen phone on AT&T for them is too. I do hope RIM comes out of the gate with something that can trump all of the other high end devices, but I am sure it will be a mid range device.
@SlickyFats In the corporate space, it will still dominate. In the consumer space, it will continue to slide sharply. OS 6 doesn't appear to offer enough of anything to convert anyone, but it might be enough to stop people from jumping ship.
@ Rpad
You made my day :-)
@Rpad and @Slicky
I think RIM's detriment will be their App store. It is too expensive. There is no question that their hardware is solid. The BB World is just mediocre.
@slicky
Did they have something wrapped around the phone? TMo had a cable tie on theirs and it made the touch screen response poor. After I removed it for them the thing was very snappy. Perhaps the ATT software tweaks are slowing the functionality. Who knows. I know you like a large handset, so if VZ is good in your area, go grab a Droid X. I wish it were on another carrier.
@smartguy It's actually getting better. Beta version 2 of BB World has several improvements. It's still kind of a joke though, in terms of offerings.
@Smartguy
No they didn’t. A lot of the reviews online comment on how unresponsive the those 4 (had it wrong with 3) buttons can be. Needless to say after further diving into reviews and videos I think I am going to go ahead with the Captivate. Also the source code was released today so it is just a matter of time before the hacking community fully embraces it.