One of the big benefits of rooting your Android handset is the ability to use something like Apps2SD to install applications onto your memory card instead of the handsets built-in storage. However, it appears that Google may be planning official support for this function. The Google Android Code page has seen the status of issue 1151, which deals with this feature, changed from ‘assigned’ to ‘future release’.

The engineer who made the change left the following note:

Apologies, but I’m not permitted to disclose scheduling information – suffice to say
it’s coming soon

Sorry for being vague, and thank you for your continued patience – I sincerely
appreciate it.

Happy friday

It’s unknown when we would expect this to appear, although Android 2.2 (Froyo) sounds like a sensible guess. If so, Froyo will be a packed release that also includes automatic application updates and Flash 10.1 support. Shame that by the time we get Android 2.1, a lot of people will be bemoaning the fact that we didn’t get Android 2.2 instead…

Via AndroidAndMe.

Everyone seems to have their own personal preferences when it comes to choosing an Android Twitter client. Twidroid and Seesmic are my current faves, but Twitter has now launched its own official app in the Android Market to shake things up.

However, HTC Hero owners shouldn’t get too excited, the app is currently only available on handsets running Android 2.1. Whilst that rules us out for now, at least we know an upgrade is coming at some point that means we won’t miss out altogether.

The app comes with a home screen widget to read your tweet timeline quickly, you’ll also be able to view a tweet location on a map. Like other clients, you’ll also be able to share photos too. Another cool feature is the ability to sync tweets with your phonebook contacts so that you can view your friends latest tweets straight from your phonebook.

Currently there isn’t multiple account support, but hopefully this will be included by the time we get Android 2.1. Google plans to open source the code for the new app so hopefully devs will create some exciting experiences using Twitter APIs in future apps. To see what you are missing, check out some hands on videos of the official Twitter app in action below.

Skyfire has launched v2.0 of its Android browser that brings with it a new “SkyBar” that gives you automatic Flash video streaming. The browser doesn’t actually play Flash natively, it goes through Skyfire’s servers which are then converted to formats that the mobile is happier to stream, such as HTML5.

So if you come across a video with a broken link, all you need to do is open the SkyBar, hit the video button and choose Skyfire’s version. The browser also includes tabbed browsing, multitouch gestures along with integration of social networking services such as Twitter and Facebook amongst others. Skyfire 2.0 is available on the market right now. You can check out a video of this in action after the cut.

Google has finally made available its turn-by-turn Google Maps Navigation (with voice directions) from today. Up until now it has only been available in the United States, so today’s release will hopefully see Google Maps Navigation release across other European regions shortly too.

Whilst initially only for Android 2.0+ devices, Google has also made Navigation available to those with Android 1.6 smartphones too. Not that it helps us HTC Hero owners stuck on Android 1.5. We’ll need to wait for the Android 2.1 update, but at least it’s another significant reason to wait.

Great news xda-developer fans, a dedicated Android app has been released that lets you view its forums, respond to posts, start new topics, check your PMs and subscribe to your favourite threads. This will be good to keep an eye on all of the good modding/root work going on with the HTC Hero.

The app is basically a skinned version of TapaTalk who have their own app that allows you to easily browse vbulletin/phpbb forums. You can find the xda-dev app by searching for ‘XDA’ in the Android Market. Check out a video of it in action after the break.

Whilst us HTC Hero owners await the move from Android 1.5 (Cupcake) to more contemporary times i.e. Android 2.1 (Éclair), one of the issues it has brought up is just how fragmented the whole Android ecosystem really is.

Apart from us on Android 1.5, new handsets such as the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 will launch with Android 1.6 (Donut), whilst others are on Android 2.0 (Motorola Droid) and 2.1 (Nexus One). It has been widely commented that Google needs to do something about this as you can end up waiting a long time before getting the juicy bits of a new firmware update.

Part of the problem is that Google has moved quicker than some operators in pushing up firmware updates, leaving the likes of HTC, amongst others, to take a long time getting their customised Android updates out to customers.

Google plans to tackle this problem by splitting Android over the next major two versions (Froyo and Gingerbread). The major features of the newer firmwares will be carved out so that you can download it from the Android market. The idea being that newer updates to certain apps (like Google Maps or Gmail) can be downloaded by all without having to install the newer firmware.

Seems like a very sensible idea to me, more like a modular OS approach and should cause less frustration to users like us HTC Hero owners stuck on Android 1.5 since the handset launched. Fingers crossed it will work.

Via Engadget.

The latest beta for Opera Mini 5 is now available to download via the Android Market on your HTC Hero handset. There are a number of big improvements including tabbed browsing, speed dial (straight from the desktop version), password manager and Opera Link that syncs bookmarks between mobile and handset.

I’m a big fan of Opera, it is my default browser of choice on the desktop and it is normally once of the first things I install on a new phone. The HTC Hero was different as frankly the last version Opera on Android was pretty rubbish. It crashed often and didn’t do what I wanted. However, the new version is better, although it doesn’t support multitouch which is a shame. It’s still worth giving a try, go find it in the Market now.

Update: Engadget has a video comparing Opera Mini 5 against the stock Android browser. To cut a long story short, Opera crushes the stock browser in terms of speed. Check out the video after the jump.

There’s not much that the HTC Hero can’t do and now you can strike ‘controlling robots’ off that list too! The guys over at ENEA in Sweden use a customized Android application on the HTC Hero that controls a Mindstorms robot using Bluetooth and the tilt sensor in the phone.

For those wondering if this was tricky given the Hero’s limited Bluetooth support (as we’re still on Android 1.5 – hurry up HTC!), the answer would be yes. They instead had to use the Wi-Fi abilities of the phone to send the information to a laptop with Ubuntu Linux with a TCP/IP to Bluetooth tunnel. Once we (eventually) get Android 2.1 then this convoluted step can be skipped as we’ll get full Bluetooth support. Until that hallowed day comes, you can check out the video after the break.

Via Gizmodo.

Those of you paranoid about security may be interested to know that WaveSecure, the mobile security application, is available to download free of charge on all Android handsets (as long as you register before the end of January). Once registered you get free lifetime membership. It supports other phones (Symbian and Windows Mobile) too where they charge €15 for the app.

WaveSecure helps you to secure and track down a lost or stolen phone. It tracks down your phone’s location and who is using it and even allows you to lock it down remotely! As well as this, you can backup or wipe all of your data remotely. The app can be downloaded from the Android Market, just search for WaveSecure. Check out a video demo of it in action after the break.

There’s been a lot of buzz today surrounding the official launch of the Google Nexus One smartphone. As most of you know the Nexus One will be arriving with Android 2.1 in tow, this brings with it a host of new features. This includes some nice new additions to the Gmail application,

As we know that HTC Hero owners will be getting Android 2.1, we can all look forward to this upgrade at some point down the line. The list of new Gmail additions in Android 2.0 and 2.1 are as follows:

• Quick contact badge: Press the contact status icon within Gmail, and a handy box shows all of the ways you can reply to a contact — including email, chat, SMS, and Facebook.
• Voice input: Swipe the keyboard, then just speak to select contacts or write an email, complete with punctuation.
• Multiple Gmail accounts: Sync multiple accounts to the same device and switch between them without leaving the app.
• Undo: A handy ‘undo’ link makes it easier to retrieve messages when you hit archive or delete by mistake.

Check out a video demonstrating these new features after the break.