YouTube lovers, Google pushed out an update today that brings some little things to the already awesome application for Android. For Froyo (who’s still on Froyo?) and Gingerbread users, you can now experience the new UI which ICS and Jelly Bean users have been digging for a bit now. On top of that, you can also add videos to your YouTube TV queue and there are more channels to pick from in the Channel Store. 

Also, I have noticed there is a new “Recommended by YouTube” video at the top of my subscription list on the homepage. I do not care for this, but whatever. I’m guessing it’s YouTube’s way of trying to push their partners.

What’s in this version:

* New UI and Preloading now available on Froyo and Gingerbread devices
* New Watch experience
* Add videos to your YouTube TV queue
* More channels to pick from on the Channel Store

Play Link

Cheers Elwin!

YouTube for Android Updated, New UI Arrives for Froyo and Gingerbread Users is a post from: Droid Life

It’s the first week of the month, and what does that mean? Android OS distribution numbers are released for all of the “fragmentation” arguers to have a field day with! This month we get to see the debut of Jelly Bean (Android 4.1) on the chart at 0.8%, something that I’m sure Apple will use in a big bold slide during their iPhone 5 announcement. Then again, their adoption rate is always flawed since they update their devices and hack out all of the newly announced features that apparently can’t run on older hardware, but I digress.

So what do we have here? Ice Cream Sandwich is up to 15.9%, a solid 5% jump in a month’s time. You can probably attribute the increase to devices like the DROID RAZR and XOOM receiving the update over the last month. Now that the Rezound, EVO 3D, and others are in the process of receiving it as well, that number will only jump even higher over the next few weeks. Numbers for Froyo and Gingerbread are all decreasing.

There you have it, the August 2012 Android OS distribution numbers. Which percentage are you included in?

Via:  Android

Android OS Distribution Numbers Updated – Jelly Bean Debuts, Ice Cream Sandwich Starts to Take Over is a post from: Droid Life

When Droid Life first started, we began with the Motorola “OG” DROID. It came running Google’s Android 2.1 “Eclair” operating system. That was fine, but what had thousands of people rabid was the talk of an update to Android 2.2 “Froyo.” It had live wallpapers, Adobe’s Flash support, and also introduced the development community to the JIT compiler which allowed for better performance, richer graphics, and higher battery life.

Next in line was Android 2.3 “Gingerbread.” With a complete Android UI overhaul, it turned Android into a dark and sexier OS that also brought various improvements and features to devices. Highlights of Gingerbread was support for NFC chips, a much improved and smarter keyboard, and additional power management upgrades that would help our devices last longer. Gingerbread is currently the most used Android operating version in the world. 

Since Honeycomb is seen merely as a transitional period for Android, we’ll jump right into 4.0 “Ice Cream Sandwich.” What ICS has done is merge the tablet OS and UI (Honeycomb) and phone OS, bringing them into one single operating system. One that would look great on larger 10.1″ displays as well as the more compact 4.0″ devices. ICS also brought another, more elegant user interface update. There was the new Roboto font that everyone fell in love with, multi-tasking was made simpler and more accessible, improved voice input, Android Beam, and the list goes on. If anything, ICS does have the most extensive changelog of any Android release to date.

Lastly, we have Android 4.1 “Jelly Bean.” The easiest way to describe Jelly Bean is to say it’s Ice Cream Sandwich on steroids. Google introduced “Project Butter,” which improved system performance and brought the interface speeds up to 60FPS throughout. Other popular features are the new expandable notifications, Google Now, improved Voice Search, and customization through re-sizable widgets.

Taking all of this into account, which do you think has been the most important step for Android as a whole? Which version brought Android to its highest peak so far? Voice your opinions down below and feel free to shout out which version has been your overall favorite in this long journey.

Thursday Poll: Which Android Update Has Been Most Important to the OS? is a post from: Droid Life

I almost can’t even type this post with a straight face. And yes, this is actually happening. The Samsung Continuum is set to receive Android 2.2 some time in the very near future. As in, Froyo. No, not Gingerbread. Froyo.

Does anyone remember when Samsung actually held a special press conference to introduce this phone back in 2010? The kind of event that is usually reserved for big devices like the RAZR or Galaxy SII. The invites had a stock market ticker on them in reference to its “ticker” second screen. It was going to change the world of notifications as we knew it. Dual-screens, go!

And then the phone came out with the exact same specs as the Fascinate and completely disappeared from anyone’s radar. We won’t go as far as calling this the flop of the last couple of years, but damn is it up there. So to see it receive Froyo after almost a year and a half, we can’t help but giggle and point fingers.

More info.

Cheers Trailblazer101!

Samsung Continuum Set to Receive Massive Froyo Update…Wait What? is a post from: Droid Life

Back in January, Android 4.0 made up for all of 0.6% of the world Android market share. As of February 2, it has jumped up to a full 1% as a handful of tablets received updates from Honeycomb. Gingerbread as expected, remained king, growing another few percentage points thanks to updates on a number of phones.

Overall though, the pie looks almost identical to that of the previous month. While manufacturers work hard on updating their phones to ICS in the coming months, it likely won’t change much for a while.

Via:  Android Developers

February’s Android Distribution Chart is Out – Gingerbread and Ice Cream Sandwich Shares Grow Slightly is a post from: Droid Life

Each month, the Android team publishes the distribution numbers for each version of Android.  It doesn’t do much other than give us a chance to laugh at the idea that some people are still running phones with Cupcake and Eclair on them.  Well, it also gives us a look at which OS is on the rise – this month it’s Gingerbread thanks to Motorola who upgraded their entire portfolio.

And then next month or in December, we should see a new entry as Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich). Fun, fun.

Via:  Android Developers

Android Team Releases New OS Distribution Numbers, Gingerbread Blows Up is a post from: Droid Life

A few days ago I went on a hunt for a retro feel for my Nexus S. I stumbled on some pictures of good ‘ol Froyo, and thought to myself how that might look. I started searching the Market for a Froyo CM7 theme, but with no avail. I went to Twitter and asked my followers if they knew where to find one. Huge props to M1ghtySauc3 for finding this for me.

If you want to remember how Froyo looked (but not felt), then definitely check this ‘theme’ out. Sometimes, you have to relive the past to appreciate the present. “Bubble icons FTW.”

Download: RetroDroid.apk

Via: XDA

Custom Theme Friday: Retro Droid For CM7 Theme Chooser is a post from: Droid Life

Head on over to the Market, and update your Google Videos application. Besides a couple bug fixes, the new main feature is support for Froyo, and Gingerbread handsets. We will stick by our opinion that $2.99+ to rent a movie for 24 hours is completely ridiculous, but to each his own.

Speaking of which, we have a few people over on our Twitter, claiming that their Thunderbolts are getting the new Market pushed to them? Anyone else getting it on their devices?

Market Link

Cheers ___! 

Google Videos Updated, Now Supports Playback On Froyo And Gingerbread Devices is a post from: Droid Life

Cupcake. Donut. Eclair. Froyo. Gingerbread. Honeycomb. Ice Cream Sandwich.  J….

What could possibly be next?  We still have a few months to go before we even see ICS on a device, but you have to think that Google is already planning the version to follow it.  And since we’re all assuming it will start with a “J”, we wanted to ask that DL readers give some suggestions. Will it be Jawbreaker?  Jelly Bean?  Jolly Rancher?  Unlike the letter “I”, there are plenty of options to go with.  Let’s hear some!

Monday Poll: Suggestions for the Name of the Next Version of Android? is a post from: Droid Life

The folks at Tecca decided that we all needed to take a visual journey through the evolution of Android, from Donut (Android 1.6) all the way up to Honeycomb (Android 3.0).  Filled with tasty treats and a bunch of features and enhancements that iOS is still only capable of doing in beta software, we have the following infographic.  

Via:  Best Buy, AndroidGuys

[Infographic] Comparing the Different Android OS Versions: Donut All the Way Thru Honeycomb is a post from: Droid Life

Cincinnati Bell is releasing Froyo for their XT720 Motorola Milestone, and what else are they giving customers? Superuser Permissions. Doesn’t look like they have an actual OTA program going, so they’re having users follow some mildly complex PC instructions for them to update their devices to Froyo, then giving them one click root. If Verizon did this, we would all be in paradise.

From what the instructions are saying, they’re giving users root due to the fact they lose all their data in the process of updating, so after installing a different firmware, you root, save your data, then flash the update. The instructions are about 23 pages long, and the step by step video guide only runs about five and a half minutes.

If you’re interested in looking it over (it’s very interesting) head over to the Cincinnati Bell website. Can we now all shout, “Verizon take note!”

Update instructions here.

Cheers Syrenz32!

Cincinnati Bell Releases Froyo, And Needs You To Root Your Milestone is a post from: Droid Life

Do we have any time piece fanatics here? If you are one, then we’ll assume you have heard of TAG Heuer, a high end Swiss watch maker who’s pieces are quite extraordinary and pricey. TAG is now introducing the Link, which is a smartphone running Android 2.2, has a variety of skins such as alligator hide for an exterior, and even Gorilla Glass.

The phone has a listing of $5,000 US Dollars, and TAG mentions they do plan on updating the OS in the future to hopefully Android 2.3. Let us proceed to wipe the sweat from our brows, because the phone itself, has actually been built like a tank. It is waterproof, air sealed tight, and is completely shock resistant (Samsung take notes). 

TAG has spared absolutely no expense in making this thee phone that all the celebrities want, and have produced an amazing promo video for its release. If anyone was wondering what the boys here at Droid Life want for Christmas this year, it’s not this.

“Android OS is like hot sauce, they put that sh*t on everything!”

Click here to view the embedded video.

Via: A Blog To Read

TAG Heuer Releases The Worlds Most Unneeded Piece Of Android Technology is a post from: Droid Life

The DROID3 is looking more and more like the first real next-gen player of 2011 for Verizon, but if it ends up running Froyo at release, there better be a firm paddle to the rear of the person responsible for making that decision.  We’re almost positive this phone will run on TI’s new OMAP 4430 dual-core processor, sport a 4″ qHD screen, front-facing camera, 8MP rear camera, 5-row keyboard, and HDMI out.  So with all of this new technology tossed in, why go with last year’s OS?  The original DROIDX just received GB – let’s do the right thing here and release it with this phone as well.  OK, Big Red?

And of course we can also assume that this is just one bad type-o, except for the fact that we just saw the DROIDX2 hit the market running 2.2, so nothing would surprise us at this point.  No word yet on a release, but June is starting to get a lot of play behind the scenes.

Cheers ___!

DROID3 Pops Up in Verizon System, Only Running Froyo? is a post from: Droid Life

Any LG Ally owners still in the wild?  If so, you should be receiving an update to Android 2.2.2 any day now.  You may also be receiving a text like the one above from Verizon which is reminding you that before you can update, you’ll need to download a special app from the market.  We’re not exactly sure why LG and Big Red are requiring an app on your phone in order for this update to go through, but that’s what is needed.

The update looks to be an SMS and other random bug fixer.  Nothing major.  

Market link for app.  More info.

Cheers @nach220 and rocktoonz!

LG Ally Update to Android 2.2.2 is on the Way, Requires App from Market? is a post from: Droid Life

Samsung Fascinate owners, check your phones now.  The update to Android 2.2 is live.

To check to see if your phone can receive the update:

Menu>Settings>About Phone>System Updates>Check New

Cheers @xFenixKnightx, @ericwilborn, @7Android7, @IRONMatt14, Charles, Taylor, @CurtisR765, @lince90 and everyone else!  Did I show enough love there?

Verizon Samsung Fascinate Froyo Update is Go! is a post from: Droid Life