Android 1.6 ''Donut'' Is Here

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Oh happy day! It's been confirmed with an official blog post. Android 1.6 SDK, better known as donut, will be available for download today. The update will, in fact, be coming to G1 owners, as well as the myTouch 3G.

1.6 comes with a variety of new features. Different screen sizes have been added, CDMA support is in, gesture-based APIs are now possible, and a text-to-speech engine has been added. There's also a new quick search box and a bunch of bug fixes. Users should notice that their phones run faster and more smoothly with Donut installed.

Posted on Thu, 1 Oct 2009 13:45:53 CDT | by Robert Evans

Android Donut SDK Hits, Release in October

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How many of you Android users out there have spent the last few months sitting huddled in your nerd caves, drooling in anticipation for the Donut to finally hit? Wow, really? That many? Well then you'll all be glad to know that Donut will be with us all very shortly. The SDK (developer version) of Android 1.6 was sent out today.

When the developer copy comes out, it's only a matter of time before the update will be ready for users. Donut is expected to launch in full "as early as October". A video has been released by the Android team to showcase some of Donut's new features, which include a text-to-speech API capable of translations, a new app market, gesture based APIs, and CDMA network capability.

Posted on Wed, 16 Sep 2009 13:01:46 CDT | by Robert Evans

No Donut or Eclair for G1 Owners?

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Bad news, fellow G1 owners. Our handset's crippling lack of RAM is going to make it pretty much impossible for us to receive any future Android updates. Android and Me reported earlier on the fact that the cupcake update filled up the G1's system partition. This means that there is little-to-no room for the substantial amount of code that the donut and eclair updates are purported to involve.

While T-Mobile has denied that updates will be ceasing, they haven't promised that we'll see any new firmware updates hit for the G1. One of the Android engineers tweeted about the situation and did not seem optimistic about the update potential for the G1. His exact words were,

Posted on Sun, 16 Aug 2009 13:20:00 CDT | by Robert Evans

Android 'Donut' Code Drops

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It's finally happened. Google Android developer Jean-Baptiste Quero has done a code drop to the Android Open Source Project. The update still isn't ready to release, but if you really want to, you can download the ROM here.

Among the more surprising findings within Donut is the fact that it comes with CDMA support. This means that Android is definitely coming to Sprint this year, and it also makes it likely we'll see a Verizon Android phone hit soon.

Posted on Sun, 26 Jul 2009 11:10:00 CDT | by Robert Evans

Android Donut versus iPhone OS 3.0

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It's no secret that I'm a little bit of an Android fanatic. It's a fantastic, stable, easy-to-use operating system that works very well on the devices for which it is designed. Donut looks very promising and I am eager to try it out. That said, I also have a healthy respect for what Apple has accomplished with the iPhone, and the changes they're making with the 3.0 update. Recently I sat down with the feature lists for both firmware upgrades and did my best to give an unbiased comparison of the two.

Posted on Wed, 17 Jun 2009 10:55:00 CDT | by Robert Evans

Android “Donut” Features Revealed

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In the tech industry, nothing is more unforgivable than resting on your laurels. That's why the Android developer team has moved right on from Cupcake to Donut with nary a pause between the two. If you haven't heard yet, Donut is the code-name for the Android 2.0 update. Previously we brought you leaked info about the new widget utilities and UI changes on the dev version of Donut. Now, thanks to a demo from Google, we've got even more juicy Android gossip.

For one, the Android 2.0 update is bringing an expanded search utility to the open source OS. 'Android Search' will allow users to quickly search for items in your smartphone, or on the Internet. It comes with a text-to-speech API, which will allow people to use Google Voice Search in their apps and online. Another neat feature is the ability to draw letters on the touchscreen in order to search for items beginning with that letter.

Posted on Wed, 27 May 2009 05:05:00 CDT | by Robert Evans

New HTC Hero/Android 'Donut' Preview

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Yesterday we got news that an Android dev named Haykuro managed to get a hold of a ROM of the new version of Android for the HTC Hero. Now, thanks to another developer, we've got a video of the leaked build that shows us the widget functionality we can expect out of the upcoming Hero and probably G1.2 as well.

You can find the video here. It gives us a pretty good look at how the the latest version of Android will perform, at least on the Hero. I have to say, I am highly impressed. For one thing, the new widgets look great. They're all well-designed and you can tell at a glance exactly what information they have for you.

Posted on Tue, 19 May 2009 10:20:00 CDT | by Robert Evans

Move Over Cupcake: Donut for G1 Coming Soon

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One of the more exciting things about the upcoming HTC 'Hero' G2 smartphone is that it will come with a new, updated version of the lauded Android operating system. Well, today we've got some great news for you Android-loving G1 owners out there; the Hero has been cracked, and HTC's new version of Android is available for download on the G1.

Finding it might be a little difficult, however. Haykuro, the 17-year-old developer that leaked Cupcake ahead of its release date, has somehow found a ROM from the upcoming G2. He fiddled around with it and managed to get it to work on his G1. Haykuro's calling this new OS update “donut”, and he's posted a video of what it's capable of up here.

Posted on Mon, 18 May 2009 12:00:00 CDT | by Robert Evans