HTC EVO 4G - Android 2.2
Today was the release for the new Android 2.2 to the HTC EVO 4G on the Sprint network. In this new version come many new features and I have been very anxious to upgrade. I ran the upgrade which was easy and went smoothly.
Upon first boot, there were no noticeable differences but that was to be expected since the EVO has the Sense UI for the GUI. Since Android 2.2 had been out for a while, most of the major new features have been well known and can be easily found on many sites but I went through to test most of them anyways.
Everyone know about the key new features:
What is less known are all the little changes that really add to the experience. After doing a quick overlook of the key new features it was now time to find all the little enhancements that aren't as known or popular.
The first major thing I noticed was that the home screens swapped very smooth. Now, the EVO compared to other phones was faster, but 2.2 now makes it even more so.
The second major enhancement I noticed was with the Wifi. I noticed that the reception has greatly improved. After some research it appears this is due to Android 2.2 have support for Wireless-N which the HTC EVO has.
The camcorder has also received improvements. Since the EVO has LEDs for flash, you are now able to enable the LEDs when recording. I had come across a couple instances where this would have been useful so it is nice to see it added into Android 2.2. I quickly tested it and it works well.
Another small feature I have noticed is that the labels in the Gmail app now display the label colors if you set them up in Gmail Webmail. This makes it much easier to distinguish your tabs. Especially if you have a lot of them like me.
One of the new features that I am really happy to see is better support for multiple Gmail accounts. First off, there is now faster switching between the accounts and easy selection to switch who outgoing mail is to be sent as. There is also now the ability to sync more than one calendar. So if you have a Gmail account for personal use and a Google Apps account for business use, you can sync both calendars to your phone. This was not possible before.
Other nice features are now the ability to turn the phone to either side for landscape viewing. The marketplace has also been revamped with a separate tab for viewing comments. This cleans up the apps pages quite nicely. You can also now choose to have applications auto update. No need to go to the marketplace anymore to see if there are updates for your favorite apps.
I am pleased with the update. It was anything specular but it is a nice improvement over Android 2.1. There are no issues that make me want to revert back to the prior version. Everything works the same there are just now some key enhancements to make many tasks simpler or faster.
This update corrects the few issues I had plus gives me tons of new features. Google is working on the next Android already which is slated to be 3.0 (Gingerbread). As of right now though, I am content with all that Android 2.2 has to offer.
Upon first boot, there were no noticeable differences but that was to be expected since the EVO has the Sense UI for the GUI. Since Android 2.2 had been out for a while, most of the major new features have been well known and can be easily found on many sites but I went through to test most of them anyways.
Everyone know about the key new features:
- Flash 10.1
- Faster Browser
- USB & Wifi Tethering
What is less known are all the little changes that really add to the experience. After doing a quick overlook of the key new features it was now time to find all the little enhancements that aren't as known or popular.
The first major thing I noticed was that the home screens swapped very smooth. Now, the EVO compared to other phones was faster, but 2.2 now makes it even more so.
The second major enhancement I noticed was with the Wifi. I noticed that the reception has greatly improved. After some research it appears this is due to Android 2.2 have support for Wireless-N which the HTC EVO has.
The camcorder has also received improvements. Since the EVO has LEDs for flash, you are now able to enable the LEDs when recording. I had come across a couple instances where this would have been useful so it is nice to see it added into Android 2.2. I quickly tested it and it works well.
Another small feature I have noticed is that the labels in the Gmail app now display the label colors if you set them up in Gmail Webmail. This makes it much easier to distinguish your tabs. Especially if you have a lot of them like me.
One of the new features that I am really happy to see is better support for multiple Gmail accounts. First off, there is now faster switching between the accounts and easy selection to switch who outgoing mail is to be sent as. There is also now the ability to sync more than one calendar. So if you have a Gmail account for personal use and a Google Apps account for business use, you can sync both calendars to your phone. This was not possible before.
Other nice features are now the ability to turn the phone to either side for landscape viewing. The marketplace has also been revamped with a separate tab for viewing comments. This cleans up the apps pages quite nicely. You can also now choose to have applications auto update. No need to go to the marketplace anymore to see if there are updates for your favorite apps.
I am pleased with the update. It was anything specular but it is a nice improvement over Android 2.1. There are no issues that make me want to revert back to the prior version. Everything works the same there are just now some key enhancements to make many tasks simpler or faster.
This update corrects the few issues I had plus gives me tons of new features. Google is working on the next Android already which is slated to be 3.0 (Gingerbread). As of right now though, I am content with all that Android 2.2 has to offer.
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