Well, it’s here. \u00a0Sort of. \u00a0If you have a Nexus One, it looks like before very long at all you’ll be able to update to Android 2.2, and with it (chorus of angels) run Flash beta.<\/p>\n
Time to unpack this:<\/p>\n
1) IF YOU HAVE A NEXUS ONE. \u00a0Apparently, HTC is not going to be drawn on how long before other phones support Android 2.2 – though “if you bought a phone this year,” you should be OK. \u00a0Assuming your carrier supports the update. \u00a0And if you don’t have to wait for an upgrade to MotoBLUR or Sense.<\/p>\n
This is now the 5th version of Android in under 2 years. \u00a0The HTC G1, the first Android phone, was released in the United States in October of 2008. \u00a0If you bought one, you’re probably still under contract – and the odds that your phone will run the new hotness are practically nil. \u00a0More to the point, if you bought a MyTouch 3G or a Motorola CLIQ, you have the same hardware and it’s probably under a year old, so your upgrade path doesn’t look too hot either. \u00a0Sure, Apple is doing a partial cutoff at 2 years, it seems (and an absolute cutoff at 3) but that at least sort of dovetails with the typical contract period. \u00a0But to say that anything over six months old is not on the list – that’s a sign of engineer thinking instead of, you know, human logic.<\/p>\n
2) BEFORE VERY LONG. \u00a0Has to be said again, my Ninth Law: “you ain’t shit ’til you ship.” \u00a0(Which is why I’m not even commenting on Google TV, except to say that GOOG has done a great job of getting Apple-level attention for Microsoft-caliber vaporware. \u00a0How long for that Courier tablet? \u00a0Huh? \u00a0Never mind.) \u00a0See #1 – even if your hardware supports Froyo, I wouldn’t plan on running out and having this installed in time for your Memorial Day minibreak.<\/p>\n
3) FLASH BETA. \u00a0Yes, it exists, and so far the early returns, running it on Google’s flagship phone, are: it kind of sort of works, not very well, chews through battery at a ridiculous rate, and the phone runs hot as a New Orleans whorehouse on nickel night anytime you spend more than a few seconds running Flash.\u00a0I don’t know how often I have to repeat it, but I will: there is nothing about Flash as currently constituted that makes it suitable for mobile phone use.<\/p>\n
All in all, it still looks like Android 2.2 is still the best thing going if you don’t want to go the iPhone route, but until the rubber hits the road, let’s not go assuming that this is the thing that’s going to give Apple the beatdown once and for all. \u00a0For some reason, ever since the iPhone 4 leak, the Intarwebs have decided that Apple is the new Great Satan and somebody has to rise up and stop them – except when Facebook is the Great Satan and somebody has to stop them. \u00a0And I have actually heard Google Buzz pitched as the Facebook alternative – presumably by people with no short term memory whatsoever.<\/p>\n
There are no good guys out there, people. \u00a0You pick the level of intrusion you’re willing to live with. \u00a0And right now, I’m still willing to take “just works” at the expense of “I can’t make it run Duke Nukem Forever in a shell” – not to mention “cash on the freakin’ barrelhead” rather than “barter away information in exchange for free at point of use.” \u00a0Depending on what Apple is doing with MobileMe, though, all bets are off…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Well, it’s here. \u00a0Sort of. \u00a0If you have a Nexus One, it looks like before very long at all you’ll be able to update to Android 2.2, and with it (chorus of angels) run Flash beta. Time to unpack this: 1) IF YOU HAVE A NEXUS ONE. \u00a0Apparently, HTC is not going to be drawn … <\/p>\n