Android 2.0 screenshot walkthrough
We hope you Android lovers out there are sitting down, because we’re about to knock your socks off. Android 2.0 hasn’t been released, announced, or even pictured. Until now. And we’re doing it like we’re doing it for TV — major screenshots and major information right here, just for you, our beloved readers.
Android 2.0 looks to be a major improvement in Google’s mobile OS and we couldn’t be more excited about it. From native Exchange support to native Facebook support (it will sync with your contacts), browser improvements, a completely updated Maps application, unified email Inbox — there’s much, much more — and a brand new UI makeover, version 2.0 starts to make Android a really viable (and interesting) platform. Bounce over the jump for all the screenshots and our walkthrough!
Please note: this isn’t the final build of Android 2.0 and the follow reporting is based on the version we have running. Things can and will change prior to release.
Microsoft Exchange compatibility looks to be built-in to the OS now, and the new unified Inbox is perfect for keeping up with your personal and corporate email. You can star (flag for the corporate world) emails, mark multiple as read or unread, delete, forward — whatever you want basically. Emails load effortlessly. Unfortunately (or not so unfortunately) the unified Inbox won’t work with your Gmail account as that uses the specific Google-made Gmail email application in Android.
Maps has been updated to include Layers. We’d imagine this will grow over time but now you can overlay search queries, Wikipedia entries, Latitude buddies, traffic, transit lines, and even load remote My Maps where you can share and receive directions with others. Android 2.0 seems to have some multi-touch gestures built-in like two-finger tapping in Maps, that will zoom in, however, there’s no gesture to zoom out and pinching doesn’t work. © Apple.
The browser has a nice little UI makeover with a redone URL entry bar which includes a Favicon. In terms of performance, no this version we have doesn’t have Flash 10, Google keeps making strides in the browser space. It’s worlds better than anything we’ve used previously on a stock Android OS, and jumps one notch higher than HTC’s customized browser. There is not multi-touch in here as of now, but, you can double tap to zoom in and zoom out which is really all we’ve been asking for since Android 1.0. Oh and did we mention this thing flies? We’re talking ridiculously close to iPhone 3GS web page speeds.
There’s now a YouTube widget you can place directly on your homescreen and that allows for literally two-click YouTube video uploads. You hit record, the video recording app launches, you type in a title and description for your newly-recorded video, and it’s up and away.
While the settings area is roughly the same overall, there’s a lot of interesting additions in 2.0. For starters, there’s haptic feedback built-in and a brand new Accessibility option. There’s also a new option for Text-to-speech and generally with Android 2.0, you’re given more control over the settings of your phone and more opportunities to customize it based on your liking. Something completely bewildering is the fact that if you set a lock code for the phone (seriously give people a choice to use numbers or letters as the passcode), there’s no lock interval option, so each time your phone turns off (about every 30 seconds when not in use), you’re forced to enter the password again on arrival. Lame.
Car Home. What? You don’t know what that is? Ok, it’s a new application that’s meant to be used, uh, in your car. Seriously it’s actually quite nice. It’s a consolidated list of icons that help you perform things (presumably using voice commands if you’re driving). Things like doing a voice search across the internet, getting driving directions, viewing a location on a map, selecting a contact, searching through your phone, etc. It’s very cool that you can say, “map of gas stations” and that will open Google Maps and show you on the map where all the gas stations are closest to you. Not exactly new technology, but hey, we didn’t say it was. We said this was all about pushing Android forward, and it is.
The Amazon MP3 application seems to work over 3G instead of just Wi-Fi now, but whether that is something done because of Android 2.0 or just because of the carrier it’s running on, we’re not positively sure.
Contacts seem to be much more roomy and there’s some great functionality built right in. Instead of hitting the contact and then diving through it to find the contact information you need, just tap the contact’s photo. Up will spring a clean and tidy sub-menu with the pertinent information which can be clicked on. Send someone an email instantly, open up their Facebook profile, or even call them! Very cool and all great things that we love seeing.
Things like the music application and gallery application don’t look to have changed too much, if at all. There also looks to be some more flexibility when defining homescreen shortcuts and things of that nature.
That’s all we have for you today, guys. What do you think of Android 2.0 in its not-final version? We’re loving it. And it could help that it’s running on a pretty bad ass piece of machinery, but hey, that’s for another day.
BGR – Can you tell us how many home screens (if multiple) the Droid will have? HTC Hero has 7, which may or may not be too many. I am just curios, based on the Hero and its available widgets, if Droid will have more than one.. All of the current pics I have seen so far do not show multiple screens. Thanks!!
“October 28th can not get here fast enough”
No memo needed. Everyone says that because it’s true and obvious to the most casual observer. We can explain what we mean, but really don’t need to. It looks like it’s a winmo or Palm from a couple years ago. It’s just fugly. Hopefully, it’s customizable, but why they chose that look to demo it then, I can’t figure out.
The Palm Pre and new WinMo phones look way better than this. Maybe it works great, but from an aesthetics point of view, it needs work.
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more than half the posts Ive just read in here, either don’t make any sense at all, or aren’t written in understandable English.
Also, there is no mention of a GPS application with turn by turn voice navigation, OR battery life.
i-phone bashing by an android is just a marketing strategy (get people to jump on your bandwagon). but when humans do it its normal, that’s where racism and homophobia comes from (out of thin air for no particular reason).
Ive used blackberrys, i-phones, and various other mobile smart phones, and it all really depends on what the carrier allows you to do with it. they’re all great but with some pros and some cons.
I will be trying the DROID when its released.
I have the same question as Rob — What about calendar sync? I want the Droid but I must be able to sync with work — email is a good start, but I need the calendar, too. Anybody know the answer?
Android syncs with google calendar obviously (or I should say it is live with google calendar), but if you use the touchdown pro app (paid) it works fantastically with exchange server.
Sync`s fine with pop or/and exchange!
Well, it seems that a lot of people have no desire to see what the future has for technological advances, outside of what the major phone manufaturer’s “say” they need to have in a phone. The advances in mobile technology through Android have opened up way more windows of opportunities for outside the box thinkers to collaborate and have a voice in the world.
Well, being the most popular/most used doesn’t mean it’s the most ‘insecure.’ That argument is constantly used to defend Windows but when used against other software packages in other areas it falls flat, the biggest exampled being Apache vs. IIS where for many years Apache controlled large portions of the web server market from small to big deployments but most security issues from exploits to virus’ were primarily directed towards IIS because not of it’s market share but it’s easily exploitable design flaws.
I am excited about Android 2.0 but will hold judgement until it gets out into the wild and average users get their sticky little hands on it.
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nice 1, i guess people don’t understand your point
lol
WinMo/Symbian/BB UIs look mucho better. Not even comparing with iPhone
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You don’t think you can change the background wallpaper? Do you need big bright icons ala seseme street so you can mash an app open?
Are you 12?
i’m currently holding a dummy model in my hand and looking at my beloved surve in the other saying it’s been a nice run but it’s time to move on! i’ll wait for them to get all the kinks out then i’m hoppin over to Google…
Thank you so much…
I need a new phone by December and just just made up my mind for me…
Storm2 < Droid
I was on the phone today with a T-Mobile G1 techie (my phone’s having some issues) and he said 2.0 would offer ability to store apps on SD card. Who knows.
Dude…seriously? With a name like Vormund von Himmel…you’ll forwever be recognized.
Some Guy, I mean WOW that’s ingenious I wish I had thought up that, because obviously nobody has th;ought that up at all. And I actually want to be Forwever recognized. Dang dude…seriously I live in Germany and I type better English than you..hahahahahahahaha dude im just screwing with you..its Ok if you cant type all that good, or maybe its just a typo.
Und Ja, ich eigentlich Deutscher bin.
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I swear they need to hire a good graphic designer that Android looks souless like it was designed by a tech programmer.
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not sure why this get’s modded down. first, i’m fully on-board with android, i develop for it and am holding my outdated and overworked g1 right now.
however, i have to agree about the android UI. the default theme is gray text on black background, suspiciously like the console screen of an x86 box. just having something a little brighter would have helped a lot.
i’ve wondered if this is a battery saving measure … as white regions on a screen use more electrons that black.
so wack…i want it now…
Thank God! Death to the Evil I-Phone Empire!
Seems like a lot of improvements but HTC’s Sense still blows this away. This is BOOOOOOOOORING *yawn*. Vanilla UI, not much customization. I will pass
Well it will probably be skinnable. Well no I doubt it because of Verizon.
Does anyone know if the Droid will support Verizon Wireless Sync?
It appears to have a great GPS nav app but Verizon has a penchant for locking the GPS for all applications except those that they lease to users for additional revenue, i.e., VZNavigator for $10/month.
I also want to know about syncing files, calendar, contacts, notes, journal, as well as email. Can I do it wirelessly? What about apps that convert Word, Excel and Powerpoint docs?
I would trade the color and cuteness for anything with all the power of CE 6.1 or 6.5 without the sluggishnes and awkwardness.
Not having much experience in playing with Android, I am curious as to how hard it is to get to Bluetooth and wifi settings. Also, can you make a shortcut on the desktop to these to quickly toggle them on or off? I am gonna get one of the Motorola Droid phones for my wife and potentially one for myself – I say potentially because I have a free phone through work so it’s hard to take on another bill but I sure would like to have Google Voice natively again (F-U very much Apple and AT&T)
first of all the phone looking stunning, and for all of you that are saying the interface is boring then u must be mental. the great thing about android on any phone is that you can Taylor it 2 your needs, such as such various home apps from the market. unlike the iphone… like OMG you cant even change the background image on the iphone, all you get is icons about thumb size on a black and boring screen. yea of course the phone works well and fast even but the point is imagine how bored u will get with having to see the same interface everytym you look at that iphone. i got a g1 and i couldnt ask for a better phone, the OS is great and if i want to change fings within the OS, there are apps on the market that will allow me 2 do so. sure the iphone has multitouch and so much apps on thier app store buh most of thjose apps have the same function e.g social networking, well android has that and more. iphone has has the same design since the 1st Gen was out, it looks outdated. Android in a few yars tym will be the most used OS ever as there are soo many carriers and handset makers who are willing to make phones fit for android. Android will win, unless Apple will bring iphones OS onto more handsets end of
Srsly?
BGR WTF?
are you claiming that they removed the screen timeout setting under display settings? or were you just too dumb/busy to find it and decided that it wasn’t there?
This looks like is has a very real chance at being a real rival to the iPhone, as long as it does not bog down. Could be a huge win for Verizon.