14 DAY TRIAL // Just as promised a few days ago, wireless carrier Sprint has made available for download the long-awaited Android 2.2 Froyo software update for users of a Samsung Epic 4G on its airwaves. The software brings to the handset a new OS version, Froyo, as well as a wide range of enhancements and new features. Performance improvements are also available for those who will download and install the update.
Last week, Sprint announced the availability of this OS upgrade for Monday, and the software already started to arrive on handsets.
One thing that should be noted here is that, although Sprint said that the update will be released only Over-the-Air, the software is also available for manual download from Samsung, a recent post on XDA-Developers (via Engadget) notes.
In other words, those interested in installing it on their devices won't have to wait for Sprint to push it to their phones too, but can head over to Samsung's website to download it.
The update is available as software version EB13, and can be downloaded and installed both via Windows-based computers, as well as via Macs. It would weigh in at 200.73 MB for Windows, and at 91.14 for Mac.
As for the enhancements that this software update hits Epic 4G (SPH-d700) devices with, we can count a new Home screen tips widget, dedicated shortcuts on the Home screen for Phone, applications launcher, contacts and messaging, Improved security, or Remote wipe.
The update also brings Flash Player 10.1 support into the mix, a new lock screen mode, the possibility to store and run apps from the microSD card, new media framework (Stagefright), and more.
The release notes also include:
- Performance of the browser has been enhanced using the V8 engine, which enables faster loading of JavaScript-heavy pages. - Dalvik Performance Boost: 2x-5x performance speedup for CPU-heavy code over Android 2.1 with Dalvik JIT. - The graph to the right shows the performance speedup from Android 2.1 to Android 2.2 using various benchmark tests. For example, LinPack is now more than 5 times faster. - Kernel Memory Management Boost: Improved memory reclaim by up to 20x, which results in faster app switching and smoother performance on memory-constrained devices. - Apps can participate in data backup and restore, to ensure that users maintain their data after performing a factory reset or when switching devices.
With Sprint promising the update for all users within four days, things are finally looking better for Epic 4G owners out there.