Tuesday, July 6, 2010

LG releases Android Froyo based phones

Korean manufacter LG Electronics is releasing a series of phones that it says will run on "a number operating systems as well as Android." Practically this means that while HTC Droid, Incredible and EVO 4G owners wait for an official Froyo update, LG is belting out a new range of smartphones with the latest Android goodness. The LG Optimus Series of 10 smartphones will start appearing in the second half of this year. The Optimus One and Optimus Chic will both ship first with Android 2.2 onboard. LG says that the Optimus One is your bog standard Android smartphone, but the Optimus Chic is designed for fashion aficionados with its "tasteful design incorporating soft and smooth lines." LG will also be introducing its first tablet device later this year. The company claims its tablet running the Android OS will "manage vastly superior performance" than other similar devices while being thinner and lighter.

Saturday, July 3, 2010

HTC upgrades its Hero smartphone

Users of HTC Hero smartphones, who have been waiting for ages for an update to Android 2.1, are finally starting to download it like a mad thing.
The Taiwanese mobile phone maker has started an over the air rollout of the update that will bring the phone out of an Android dark ages into a 2.1 renaissance.
HTC confirmed that it started rolling out the Android 2.1 OS yesterday and that the update is available for Hero phones in Europe. However users should back up their data as this second part of the update will wipe their handsets. The updates first part started rolling out weeks ago.
For now only unlocked handsets are able to get the update. Network operators in the UK that offer the handset, T-Mobile, which calls it the G2 Touch, and Orange that doesn't, expect to offer the update in the near future.
Pictures of an update availability notification message screen circulating on the interweb shows that a download file for the Android 2.1 update is 80MB big. HTC has recommended that users use a WiFi connection to download the updates for 2.1 because of their size.
If you don't want to wait for UK networks to bother to offer the upgrade then there is always the option of getting an O2 contract for the Desire that comes with 2.1.
So far we have not had any word from readers as to how they like the HTC Hero update, so we are hoping that some of you will post below.
UPDATE: The 3 network has told The INQUIRER that its over the air update for its HTC Hero users to upgrade to the Android 2.1 OS is planned for July.