Yesterday, we told you that HTC and Sprint had managed to get everything squared away with the Android 2.2 update, and sure enough, it looks like everything is still going well. Why do we say that? Because you can actually go download the official update right now, courtesy of Sprint’s support site. That’s right — you don’t have to wait for the OTA update that’s set to kick off on August 3rd. Find out after the break if the list of features is good enough for you to jump the gun and start your download early, or if you’ll be able to hold off and wait.
Below, you’ll find the official list from Sprint, giving you a quick run down of all the cool new features that the Froyo update is bringing your 4G device. So, without some more rambling, here you go:
This update offers:
- Ability to share applications
- Display events and birthdays from Facebook on Calendar
- Use camera LED as flashlight
- New user interface for the FM radio
- Add unknown users in Facebook as friends in Friend Stream
- Photo Gallery supports Facebook comments function
- Send contact as vCard using SMS
- Addition of MMS slideshow editor
- New pre-loaded widgets including Calculator, FM radio, Message list view, Profile settings and Ringtone settings
- Camcorder can use camera flash so video can be shot at night or in low light
- Flash 10.1 support
- Numeric PIN and alpha-numeric passwords to unlock screen
- Search widget and search bar able to switch to search in different types (web, specific application, or all)
- Adjustable alarm volume
- Android Market widget allows installation of applications on SD card
As you can see, it looks like HTC managed to throw just about everything, plus the trunk, into this update. Which makes sense, considering that everyone who’s bought the EVO since it came out has been aching to get their fingers on this version of Android. Some stand out features are that Market widget that will let you install applications from the SD card, and the new pre-loaded widgets like the calculator. Using your calculator without having to go into the menu, or into the application itself is pretty cool, if you ask us. Plus, don’t forget that new user interface for the FM radio. How cool is that?
Let us know in the comments if you’ve downloaded it from Sprint’s site, or if you are waiting for the OTA update. And, if you’re deciding to wait, let us know why — you’ve got to have a good reason to be holding yourself back from all these goodies, right?
UPDATE: HTC yanked the download not too long after, but if you look around we’re pretty sure there’s a copy floating around.
We here at Engadget Mobile tend to spend a lot of way too much time poring over the latest FCC filings, be it on the net or directly on the ol’ Federal Communications Commission’s site. Since we couldn’t possibly (want to) cover all the stuff that goes down there, we’ve gathered up all the raw info you may want (but probably don’t need). Enjoy!
Our own Myriam Joire was in the thick of things for Canada’s iPhone 4 launch today out in lovely Vancouver, and as you might expect, hysteria was reaching… well, iPhone 4 levels. Lines formed early and stayed strong through much of the day, and generally, camaraderie seemed high — always a good thing when you’re standing a foot away from the same handful of people in summer heat for hours on end. As you might expect, the wait for subsidized phones was longer than for the considerably pricier unlocked ones. Weren’t able to make it yourself? Aren’t Canadian? Want to pretend for a few sweet moments that you are? Follow the break for our video!
The pool of choices for WiMAX hotspots continues to expand, and thanks to the FCC, we now know of another up-and-comer. The Rover Puck — trademarked by Clearwire and previously unheard of — joins the ranks Sprint’s Overdrive and its variousrebrandings by providing pocketable 4G WiFi service. Unlike its predecessors, however, we finally have a new, more aerodynamic form factor. There isn’t much to the glean from the user manual at this point, and the oft-referenced Rover website still isn’t live — a WHOIS lookup reveals it was last updated via GoDaddy on July 2008 with no other details disclosed. So, until we get some word from the official news pipelines, a plethora of external / internal photos and user manual screenshots are only a mouseclick away.
SHANGHAI, China (AVING Special Report on ‘Children Baby Maternity Expo 2010′) — Brevi introduced its babypen “Soft Play”—a babypen made with highly flexible material for increased safety at the 2010 Children Baby Maternity Exposition (CBME) held in Shanghai, China from July 22nd to 24th .
From plush floor mat to the walls, the product uses mesh material to increase safety for the child using the product. It also allows for easy storage as it folds flat after use.
SHANGHAI, China (AVING Special Report on ‘Children Baby Maternity Expo 2010′) — TEAMTEX revealed its official licensed product, the Ferrari Baby Carrier, at the 2010 Children Baby Maternity Exposition (CBME) held in Shanghai, China from July 22nd to 24th .
As a backpack-style baby carrier, the product enhances safety and comfort for parents to carry their child on their backs, especially during outdoor activities. The seat-lining cushion and sun-shield are one of its functions emphasizing convenience.
SHANGHAI, China (AVING Special Report on ‘Children Baby Maternity Expo 2010′) — A German baby car seat brand, Kiddy, announced its user-friendly and safety-enhanced baby car seat through China’s CCTV, and is receiving high attention in the industry.
Recently, CCTV’s consumer-report program held a special section to showcase and inform about baby car seats and their importance.
The main point of this program was to explain the safe and proper ways to use a baby car seat, and Kiddy was chosen to serve as the representing brand.
The Chinese government also sees an outlook that there will be new laws regarding car seat use, which facilitates for a highly active baby car seat market.
SHANGHAI, China (AVING Special Report on ‘Children Baby Maternity Expo 2010′) — Asia’s biggest baby product exposition, the 2010 Children Baby Maternity Exposition (CBME) held in Shanghai, China from July 22nd to 24th, came to a successful close.
The festival was hosted by China’s Fashion Baby Magazine, a popular and informational baby magazine in China, and was held for 3 days until the 24th.
CEO Celia Gu thanked AVING for its enthusiastic interest and attentive reports and claimed, “this year’s CBME is the biggest ever with an exhibition hall size of 69,000m2 and 1,430 enterprise brands using 32,000 booths. Compared to last year, it grew 20,000 m2 in size, and had an additional 400 domestic and foreign brands participating for the …
SHANGHAI, China (AVING Special Report on ‘Children Baby Maternity Expo 2010′) — Every June, the Pusan International “Baby & Edu Fair”‘s hosting company, Dream Korea, the hosting company of the Pusan International “Baby & Edu Fair” that happens every June, attended the 2010 Children Baby Maternity Exposition (CBME) held in Shanghai, China from July 22nd to 24th to promote their festival.
As another highly acclaimed Baby Product exposition in Korea, Baby & Edu Fair and CBME signed a contract that will initiate a booth exchange promotion between the two expositions. Last June, CBME had collaborated with Baby & Edu Fair’s exposition to help the launching of Korea’s outstanding Baby product brands into the China market.
Like we said, you don’t have to wait until August 3rd to get your Android 2.2 Froyo update for the EVO 4G. You can grab the update file right now from HTC’s servers (via source link). All you gotta do then is move the file to the root directory of your SD card, boot the phone into recovery mode (hold the “up” button while the phone is turning on), and select apply update from the associated .zip file — you might also have to rename the file “update.zip” and expect a few other variations in the instructions, user depending. Too much thought process for Friday evening? Feel free to take a crack at it tomorrow, or simply wait for Sprint to give your phone the head’s up next week.
Update: HTC just shot us a message to clarify that this is not the final ROM version and that the company is strongly recommending not to install this. Additionally, a request has been put in to remove the file from the server, so if you still want to try at your own risk, better download now while it’s still available.
Update 2: … and now it’s gone. We’re sure crafty internet users can still find the file lingering elsewhere, but you won’t be getting it from HTC’s servers this weekend. You know the old saying, ye who snoozes, something something, tough luck.
