The Samsung Galaxy S Froyo update isn’t rolling out just yet, but it’s not far off: test builds have already leaked out onto the web, where one kind gentleman-tinkerer has filmed an in-depth walkthrough of Android 2.2 on the super smartphone. Want to know what the headline new features are? Read on and we’ll break them down for you.
Native Android 2.2 Froyo additions
The above Samsung Galaxy S Froyo video shows you all the improvements Google has added in Android 2.2. An incremental update it may sound like, but 2.2/Froyo brings some incredibly useful features, and they’re shown in action here. There’s smooth Flash 10.1 support (You can see a Flash game in action towards the end), advanced voice input, and mobile WiFi hotspot support built in. Of course, Samsung already added this into its take on Android 2.1, but the version you see here is native to Froyo and made by Google.
But Samsung’s taken the time to add a few things of its own once more. Here they are
Pinch to zoom home screens
One feature of HTC Sense on Android 2.1 and 2.2 is the ability to zoom out and see small thumbnails of all your homescreens in one go, just by pinching on the screen. It’s called Leap, and well, Samsung appears to have lifted it completely in the new Samsung Galaxy S Froyo build. But hey, we’re not complaining about intellectual property when we can jump around our widgets and folders faster than before,
Read our Samsung Galaxy S review now
Auto rotate screen lock
If iOS can have a screen lock built right into the multitasking bar, well, Samsung can stick one in the notification tray. We loved Samsung’s tweaks to the pull down tray in Android 2.1 on the Samsung Galaxy S (Wi-Fi toggles, music controls), but the option to lock your screen in portrait or landscape straight from it as well makes it even more helpful, particularly if you prefer to browse the web in a certain orientation (No, not like that).
Keyboard
The Samsung Galaxy S keyboard on Eclair/Android 2.1 is already one of the best Android onscreen QWERTYs out there, but the Samsung Galaxy S Froyo update appears to better it, by throwing in the option to pull up numbers and accented characters with a long press of a key, instead of having to toggle the numeric keypad. There’s no sign in this Samsung Galaxy S Froyo walkthrough of Swype in action, but we’d be surprised if Sammy chose to remove it entirely.
Contacts
A small but useful addition for Gmail power users: Gmail Groups now pop up in your contacts. Hooray!
Speed
This one’s difficult to call objectively, but the host for the Samsung Galaxy S Froyo update video says the build is noticeably faster than before, and “much improved”. We knew that Google’s back end changes meant Android 2.2 is much nippier, and it appears some of that speed has made it through to Samsung’s skin. Double hooray!
