Google took the wraps off a refresh of its Android smartphone platform Thursday at the company’s I/O developer conference in San Francisco. Code-named Froyo, short for Frozen Yogurt, the company’s latest software refresh will integrate several new features such as portable hot-spot functionality and support for Adobe Flash in the Android browser.
Google’s addition of Flash capabilities to Android 2.2 comes on the heels of a heated exchange between Apple CEO Steve Jobs and Adobe Systems over Apple’s ban on Flash on its iPhone, iPod touch and iPad. Jeffrey Hammond, a principal analyst at Forrester Research who has been testing a Froyo-based Nexus One for the past week, thinks the Froyo-Nexus combo is fast and called the device’s multitasking performance “excellent.”
Hammond noted that apps relying on Adobe’s Flash technology can clearly deliver an engaging mobile experience. “I have not noticed a significant difference in battery life when I view Flash-enabled content,” Hammond wrote in a blog. “Even with hardware acceleration turned off in the beta, video and audio work just fine for me on sites like the BBC.”
Faster, More Powerful Browsing
Consumers will benefit from the new Android 2.2 platform by gaining the ability to transform their handsets into portable hot spots offering connections for up to eight other wireless devices — a feature that Sprint Nexus has already promised for its forthcoming Android-based HTC EVO 4G handset. Moreover, an update to the Android platform’s native music app will enable Android smartphone users to directly access their favorite music tracks.
Even better, Android 2.2 features a new browser with an Adobe 10.1 Flash plug-in that Google says will be even faster and more powerful. “We have brought the V8 JavaScript engine to the Android browser as part of 2.2,” wrote Android SDK Tech Lead Xavier Ducrohet in a blog. “This has resulted in…