What to Expect from Android 2.1 Update

Posted by Renee in Android Apps, Tips & Tricks on Apr 1st, 2010 | no responses

If you got here from the “Android 2.1 Update causing some DROID/Milestone phones to explode” tweet – APRIL FOOLS! 🙂

So, what happens when your phone receives the long-awaited OTA (over-the-air) 2.1 update, or you manually update? There are so many sites out there that have covered the upgraded features, I’ll just give you a quick rundown, then some links.

Here are the new features 2.1 is supposed to enable on the DROID:

Pinch-to-zoom is now supported so many applications will start to use it, including the built-in browser and photo viewer.
You don’t have to download speech-to-text applications to type by talking anymore – it’s an included feature in 2.1.
Live Wallpapers are enabled (which I’ll be sure to review when I get it installed and set up since I’ve been looking forward to this feature)
Yahoo Email is now included (but doesn’t connect over Wi-Fi yet)
New weather & news widget
New phones will come pre-loaded with the Google Goggles app
The Gallery will have a new layout and can be configured to load photos from your Picasa account, too.
Access to 2.1-only apps like Google Earth
Night Mode in Google Maps
Battery management improvements
Some new 3D graphics capabilities

Here are some sites with info on the upgrades:

Do you have the update yet? Let us know when you get it or what your experience was manually installing it! Have you discovered any unexpected new features? Tell us in the comments!