One dude we didn't really expect to see at an
event touting the HTC-sourced
Nexus One was Motorola CEO Sanjay Jha, but sure enough, he showed up at the tail end of the show to take a few questions. The big news there might be his statement that he "thinks" his company will update the
Droid to use the Nexus One's build -- Android 2.1 -- meaning that there's a fighting chance we'll see first-party 3D accelerated apps, live wallpapers, and a replacement for that infernal app drawer on Verizon's flagship device. Interestingly, Jha and Andy Rubin have defended Android's fragmentation with different devices getting updated to new versions at vastly different paces by pointing out that 2.1's 3G support wouldn't have been possible if backward compatibility was a priority (in other words, first-gen devices without 3G chipsets don't stand much of a chance here). And hey, how are they going to get you to spill a few hundred bucks every year or two if the phones don't run significantly more awesome software?
posted January 5th 2010 2:44PM
My Moto Droid wouldn't mind having that 2.1. Feel free to update
What a crap response on Jha's part. He's got two sets of people to please: current Droid owners and prospective buyers who want Android with a keyboard. Both want to know that Moto isn't going to orphan the Droid after only a couple of months of sales. With a fast-moving target like Android, Moto needs to show that they're going to keep updating for the life of the phone.
He should have said "Hell, yes, and soon, and it makes the Droid faster, and the Droid is one of the few pieces of hardware you can buy today that has 3D capability with Android."
Those two really look like they're enjoying their joint appearance, btw.
As a prospective Android OS customer, I too am a little concerned about where Google wants to go. If I buy a Nexus One today, who says that my Nexus won't be outdated in 6 months by perhaps Nexus Two? With i Phone you know you'll atleast get system wide update even on gen 1. But if the shelf life of a "Google Phone" is only a year or so "see G1" this will not work with general public! At the very least a policy should be put in place that updates will be forthcoming and current through the life of ones contract!!
@(Unverified) :
As a "prospective Android customer" you should know that even if there isn't an official update for any of these phones, the hackers won't stand for that. We Droid owners are already running most of 2.1 + have a multitouch browser thanks to the guys over at www.sholes.info There are some complete 2.1 roms available, but I think the most stable has been a simple 2.0.1 rom with some 2.1 apps ported including a multitouch browser.
I'm not impressed with the Google Nexus One. I need a full keyboard. Sure a 1GHz processor is great, but if it's not being utilized and your browser isn't moving any faster it's not a big deal to me. The Droid is already fast.
I do however believe that Motorola and Verizon invested a TON of money in advertising for the Droid, I highly doubt they WOULDN'T update to the latest firmware until as long as the phone could handle.
I think the biggest disappointment of the Nexus One was we were expecting something game changing. That didn't happen. I think the idea here is for Google to be able to force other Android manufacturers to "keep up".
Now Moto or HTC or the next guy needs to use 1GHz processor as the baseline for a premium phone. Also the pattern I'm seeing is Google updates their firmware and allows one manufacturer to exploit that latest firmware on their hardware (i.e. Droid) for a while before releasing it to others. Now we'll watch Nexus One prance around with 2.1 while Droid owners wait (well the ones who haven't already got realized how to get it.
I see Google coming out with a new phone periodically maybe from different manufacturers annually to showcase their latest greatest Android release, and up the spec anty.
Anyway why am I talking about the Nexus One when this article was about Android 2.1 and the Droid? I guess Nexus One has been a hot topic lately. And we'll probably see Droid fanboys (me), iPhone fanboys (of course) and Nexus One fanboys (the people who said, I don't need a full keyboard).
@derrickONLINE Very well put derrickOnline.. Maybe Sprint and LG will announce something thats equal to the NexusOne @CES2010..
Is anyone else having trouble with bluetooth on 2.0.1? I can't seem to turn mine on. Wifi and GPS are both fine.
Who cares, how bout the Eris?
So will this life the 256mb/512mb storage limit?
Cant wait for this update!
What about the Milestone? We are yet to have 2.01 let alone 2.1!
Wait a minute.. did you mean to say 3D chipsets in the second to last sentence... not 3G.. cause that would insinuate that the g1 will get it but we know they dont have a 3d chipset...