14 DAY TRIAL // Motorola DROID, the hottest Android based mobile phone available on the market now, seems set to soon enhance the experience it can deliver to its users through a software update to the Android 2.1 operating system. We already knew that the solution was set to become available before the end of the month, and now a release date for it is available. The Android 2.1 update for Motorola DROID is expected to start rolling out tomorrow, March 18, and comes as software version AP: ESE53/BP: C_01.3E.03P, as a recently published document from Verizon shows.
There are a wide range of new features set to become available for Motorola DROID when the software solution arrives, including: - Pinch-to-zoom is now available when using the browser, Gallery, and Google Maps. - New Weather and News application plus widget. − The Weather and News app pulls the information you want from the Web and brings it to your fingertips. You get weekly and hourly weather forecasts based on your location, and news headlines. - New support for voice-to-text entry. – Whenever a text-entry box appears, simply tap the microphone icon on the virtual keyboard and speak. - New Gallery application with 3D layout. View and share photos taken with your phone and images from your online Picasa Web albums. - Live Wallpapers offer richer animated, interactive backgrounds on the home screen. Access them with a long press anywhere on the home screen. Tap Wallpapers, then Live Wallpapers.
At the same time, Verizon also notes that there will be a series of improvements that will arrive on DROID, including support for free Yahoo! Mail, enabling users to simply sign in with their Yahoo! email address and password, or updated Google Maps. Moreover, users will also benefit from improved pattern-lock functionality and handset audio when disconnecting a wired headset, and it seems that users won't have to re-enter their email account after a software update.
The Android 2.1 update for the Motorola DROID was initially announced to be on its way to Verizon's users in mid-February, yet it seems that the wireless carrier and Motorola have pushed it back a whooping four weeks or so. The software update will be rolled-out in batches of 250,000, and the first series of users will receive it tomorrow. More info on the matter can be found on Verizon's website here.