If you are having trouble getting your computer to see your Samsung Moment when you plug it in, then you will need to follow the guide below to get your Moment to be recognized again. This issue extends to almost all Samsung Moments running any kernel, ROM, or version of Android.

Installing USB and ADB Drivers for Samsung Moment

1. First, you will need to uninstall any Samsung-related program that you have installed during the process of trying to get your computer to recognize your phone. You may need to restart your computer after uninstalling, so make sure you bookmark this page so you can get back to it easily when you reboot.
2. Put the Moment into USB Debugging mode. Go to Settings -> Applications -> Development -> Check USB Debugging mode.
3. Download this file: Samsung.Moment.USB.Drivers.Windows.zip
4. Once you download the file, extract it to your desktop.
5. Plug your Moment into your computer using your USB cable. You should see a pop up saying that drivers were NOT successfully installed. That’s what we are looking for!
6. Now, open up your Device Manager. In Windows 7, just click the Start Menu button, type Device Manager into the search box, and select the first result.
7. You will see a device under the tree ‘Other Devices’ with a yellow exclamation point next to it named SAMSUNG_Android.
8. Right click SAMSUNG_Android. Select Update driver software.
9. Select Browse my computer for driver software.
10. Select Let me pick from a list of device drivers.
11. Make sure All Devices is selected. Press Next.
12. Select Have Disk.
13. Browse to your Desktop folder where you extracted the previously downloaded ZIP file. Once you select the folder Samsung.Moment.USB.Drivers.Windows, open it and locate ssadadb2, and double-click it. Then, press the OK button.
14. The next screen will say SAMSUNG Android USB Composite Device, and it should be highlighted. Press Next.
15. You will see a progress window, then a success message saying your driver has been installed.
16. We need to do this again with the S3C6410 Android ADB device which will be found in the ‘Other Devices’ tree with a yellow exclamation point next to it.
17. Right-click the S3C6410 Android ADB device, and select Update driver software.
18. Select Browse my computer for driver software.
19. Select Let me pick from a list of device drivers.
20. Make sure All Devices is selected. Press Next.
21. Select Have Disk.
22. Browse to your Desktop folder where you extracted the previously downloaded ZIP file. Once you select the folder Samsung.Moment.USB.Drivers.Windows, open it and locate ssadadb2, and double-click it. Then, press the OK button.
23. The next screen will say SAMSUNG Android Composite ADB Interface, and it should be highlighted. Press Next.
24. You will see a progress window, then a success message saying your driver has been installed.
25. We need to do this again with the CDC Abstract Control Module (ACM) device which will be found in the ‘Other Devices’ tree with a yellow exclamation point next to it.
26. Right-Click the CDC Abstract Control Module (ACM) device, and select Update driver software.
27. Select Browse my computer for driver software.
28. Select Let me pick from a list of device drivers.
29. Make sure All Devices is selected. Press Next.
30. Select Have Disk.
31. Browse to your Desktop folder where you extracted the previously downloaded ZIP file. Once you select the folder Samsung.Moment.USB.Drivers.Windows, open it and locate ssadadb2, and double-click it. Then, press the OK button.
32. The next screen will say SAMSUNG Android USB Modem, and it should be highlighted. Press Next.
33. You will see a progress window, then a success message saying your driver has been installed.
34. Once finished, close the Device Manager window and the Control Panel window.
35. Go to your phone. Unlock it, and drag down the notification bar. You should now see a notification that says “USB connected. Select to copy files to/from your computer.” Tap it.
36. On the pop-up window that appears, select Mount (or Turn on USB storage). Next, select OK. This will mount your SD card to your computer so you can add, edit, or delete files from the SD card on your phone, through you computer!

If the mount is successful and Windows notifies you that you have connected a drive to you computer, then you’re in great shape! Close the Windows pop-up. Then go to Start, then Computer. Select the Removable Disk that should now appear. When it opens, you are able to add, edit, and remove contents on your SD card right form your computer! Always be sure to Unmount, or Turn off USB storage, before you remove your phone from your computer. This will ensure that you don’t corrupt your SD card contents. Enjoy!!!

We have become aware of an issue with the Samsung Moment GPS after it is flashed to Android 2.2 following our guide titled How to Root the Samsung Moment – Volume 3. This GPS issue makes the GPS unable to acquire satellite connections to determine your location. The good news is that we have a fix for you, and it shouldn’t take very long at all. Simply follow the instructions below and your GPS will be working again!

How to Fix GPS On Samsung Moment Running Android 2.2

What this fix will do is it will flash modified secgps and GPS config files to the phone to correctly operate the GPS in your Samsung Moment. It also deletes an extra binary file that is created after rebooting and installs and app called GPS Status.

1. Plug your phone into the computer via USB, and mount the SD card (turn on USB storage from the phone) so you can place a file onto it. If you have trouble connecting your phone to the computer via USB, follow this guide titled Installing USB and ADB Drivers for Samsung Moment, then return here when you are done.
2. Download the file titled Moment-2.2-GPS-Fix.zip from our Files page.
3. When the file is downloaded, please put it onto your SD card. Do not unzip the file or anything, just drag and drop it onto the SD card. Then turn off USB storage and disconnect the phone from the USB cord.
4. Reboot your phone into Recovery. You can do this by turning the phone completely off then press and hold the following buttons: Volume-Down, Talk, and End at the same time until the green and black Recovery menu appears. Or, if you have Android 2.2 installed on your phone from our guide mentioned above, just long press your End button and select Recovery from the popup list.
5. Using the Volume button to scroll up and down, and the Menu touch-button to select, scroll down to Apply ZIP from SD Card. Select the file you placed onto the SD card named Moment-2.2-GPS-Fix.zip. Press the Home touch-button to confirm your selection.
6. Once the flash is finished, press back until you get to the Recovery main menu, and select Reboot Options. Select Reboot to System.
7. Once your phone reboots, create a shortcut using LauncherPro. If you don’t have LauncherPro, you may need to download and install it. Once done, or if you already have LauncherPro, follow these instructions:
• Long press on home screen.
• Select Shortcut.
• Select Activities.
• Select LbsTestMode.
• Select com.sec.android.app.lbstestmode.LbsTestMode .
• Press OK, leaving LbsTestMode in the name box.
8. Now, tap on that shortcut you just made. It will open an app with a bunch of different settings. Tap the Application Settings button. Then find the dropdown menu named Operation Mode and select it, then select MS Based. Now, press back until you exit the app.
9. Reboot your phone. Once the phone is rebooted, use the GPS Status app under a clear sky or as close to a window as possible, and wait until you get a lock on a couple satellites. The bottom of the screen will pop up with a bunch of data when you do obtain a lock. This will confirm that you have fixed your GPS!

This guide is the most recent guide to root the Samsung Moment. With this process that you are about to begin, you will be updating your Samsung Moment to Android 2.2.2 codename Froyo. With this version of Android, you’ll be able to stand right next to your friend who just spent $500 on his or her phone and brag that you have the latest software and didn’t have to pay a penny! Anyways, let’s jump right into the guide and get this party started!

How to Root the Samsung Moment

We will be using a few different files that you need to download. These files are:

• SamsungMoment_Update.exe
• SPH-M900_MR4_DJ07_REL.tar
• recovery3_1_1.tar
• M900-EB28-v1.1.zip
• CrapKernel v2.2

1. Install the SamsungMoment_Update.exe file to your computer. Try to make note of what directory the program installs to, because you may encounter a slight variation in path, if any, in a few minutes.
2. We now need to install Stock Android 2.1 to our phones in order to do this update. You need to place the SPH_M900_MR4_DJ07_REL.tar file that you downloaded into the following folder: (may vary) C:\Program Files (x86)\Samsung Electronics\SWUpgrade\Models\Binary . Do not extract this .tar file. Just copy and paste it into the Binary folder, making sure nothing else is in that folder.
3. Run the Samsung Updater tool. Do this by selecting the program: Click Start > All Programs > Phone Flash (or Samsung Electronics) > Samsung > SWUpgrade. Follow ALL instructions provided in the program. If you have trouble getting a connection, please disconnect the phone, close the SWUpgrade program, then restart SWUpgrade, and then plug phone into USB. I have had several occasions where I had to do this multiple times to get it to connect properly (I am on Windows 7 64-bit).
4. Once your phone is flashed to stock Android 2.1, we will need to install a recovery program so we can flash the kernel and the Froyo ROM! You need to go back to this folder: C:\Program Files (x86)\Samsung Electronics\SWUpgrade\Models\Binary and remove the SPH_M900_MR4_DJ07_REL.tar file and replace it with the recovery3_1_1.tar file that you downloaded. Nothign else should be in the folder except for the recovery .tar file. Do not extract this .tar file. Just copy and paste it into the Binary folder, making sure nothing else is in that folder.
5. Run the SWUpgrade program again.  Do this by selecting the program: Click Start > All Programs > Phone Flash (or Samsung Electronics) > Samsung > SWUpgrade. Follow ALL instructions provided in the program. When you are finished, reboot your phone. If you have trouble getting a connection, please disconnect the phone, close the SWUpgrade program, then restart SWUpgrade, and then plug phone into USB. I have had several occasions where I had to do this multiple times to get it to connect properly (I am on Windows 7 64-bit). 
6. Now we need to copy M900-EB28-v1.1.zip & crap22_led.zip to your SD card. Do this by plugging your phone into your USB port and selecting “Mount SD Card” (or similar option) when prompted. Most Windows computers will pop up a box asking you what you want to do with the drive you just inserted. Select ‘Open to View Files’ (or similar option). Create a folder called sdx in the root of the SD card, then enter the sdx folder and create a folder called zip. Paste the M900-EB28-v1.1.zip & crap22_led.zip files into that zip folder. Do not extract these files. Just copy and paste them into the sdx/zip/ folder.
7. Now, we need to boot into recovery mode. Turn your phone off. Make sure it’s not connected to USB. Press and hold the following three buttons until your recovery loads: Volume-Down, Talk, and End.
8. We are ready to flash the new ROM and kernel to the phone. Follow all these instructions, step by step, making sure not to skip any. From the recovery menu (black with green text):
   • Scrolling is done with the Volume-Up and Volume-Down buttons. Selecting an item is done by pressing the OK button (between Talk and End buttons). Confirming is done by using the HOME button. Going back is done by using the BACK button.
   • Scroll down to Advanced Options and select it.
   • Click Clear Dalvik Cache, and confirm.
   • Go back to main menu.
   • Scroll to Apply ZIP from SD Card. Select it.
   • Scroll to the M900-EB28-v1.1.zip file and select it, then confirm. This will install your Android 2.2.2 (Froyo) ROM.
   • Once your phone is done installing and its booted up regularly, turn it back off and go back into recovery using the steps outlined in Step 7 above.
   • In the recovery menu, select Apply ZIP from SD Card again, and this time select crap22_led.zip and confirm to install it. This will install the kernel that pretty much makes everything work smooth on your phone.
   • Once installed, go back to the main menu one final time. Go into the Advanced Options menu again, and this time select and confirm the option to Wipe/Factory Reset. This will wipe the phone of all data that it wrote to itself during these installs. Once this is done, in the main menu, select Reboot to System. This first boot can and will take a long time – anywhere from 3-10 minutes – because the phone has to rewrite a ton of files to make operation smooth.

Congratulations! Your phone is now rooted and running Android Froyo! You may want to boot your phone back into recovery and select the backup/restore option, and create a nandroid backup, just to be safe. Enjoy!

Added: It looks like you may also need to apply a GPS fix to your phone, so please follow the guide titled GPS Fix for Samsung Moment Running Android 2.2.

Added: If you are having trouble getting your computer to recognize your Samsung Moment, please follow the guide titled Installing USB and ADB Drivers for Samsung Moment.

So, since the Optimus S for Sprint came out, we’ve had 2 over the air updates. If you’ve installed them, then all is fine and dandy. But today, we’re going to be rooting the very latest version of the Optimus’ software, LS670ZVC. Before you jump in, we ask that you read the whole guide thoroughly so you do not make a mistake. We don’t take responsibility for any error you make, so make sure you’re careful!

We’re going to do you a favor and help you get backups of your stuff before you update your phone, because it’s wiping everything! You’ll want to go to our article titled: Backing up Your Phone Before Root.

So, we’ve backed up our phones and we are ready to get the process under way to get rooted. Since we need to update our device to the version we want to root, we need to follow the guide to unroot our phone, located here.

Once you have unrooted and upgraded your phone all the way to the VC release, we will begin the root process, which will take a bit of time. You MUST have the Stock LG recovery installed or else you will brick your phone. If you followed our guide, you should already have it installed and need not worry.

We’re sure you’ll want a custom recovery program for your Optimus, so we’ve included instructions to install this as well. Please visit this link to get all the files you need for the root process of the VC release!

First, you need to unzip the Optimus Root folder to an easily accessible location, such as your C:\Android\tools folder. Then, take the 3b293d854446.LS670ZV8_V9_Inc file and unzip its contents directly to your SD card.

1) Open a command prompt. In that command prompt, enter the following commands, one per line:
cd C:\Android\tools
adb reboot recovery

2) In recovery, we want to scroll down to, and select, “apply sdcard:update.zip” which will fail, to trigger mounting the /system partition for the next steps.

3) Enter the following codes, one per line:
adb push rageagainstthecage-arm5.bin /sdcard/rageagainstthecage
adb push su /sdcard/su
adb push busybox /sdcard/busybox
adb shell
cd /sdcard
/system/bin/chmod 777 /sdcard/rageagainstthecage
./rageagainstthecage

3a) The last line of code should make your phone disconnect and reconnect twice. Wait about 2 minutes to make sure. If you know it did not do that, then enter this code (if that line worked, skip this line of code):
/sdcard/rageagainstthecage

4) Go into the shell again using the command below. The $ should turn into a #. If it does not, restart the process from step 1 above.
adb shell

If you got the # symbol, enter the following code:
/system/bin/mount -o remount,rw -t yaffs2 /system /system
cd /sdcard
./busybox cp su /system/bin
./busybox cp busybox /system/bin
cd /system/bin
/system/bin/chmod 4755 su
/system/bin/chmod 4755 busybox
exit
exit

Head over to the market and download the Superuser app by ChainsDD and install it!

Now we want to install the custom recovery you downloaded. Unzip flash_image.zip to your SD card. Also, unzip xionia_cwma_12518.4.zip to your SD card as well. Once those are in their proper place, we want to flash the recovery image now.

Enter the following codes, one per line:
adb shell
su (you will need to allow superuser permission on your phone. A screen will pop up.)
mount -o remount,rw -t yaffs2 /dev/block/mtdblock5 /system
cat /sdcard/flash_image > /system/bin/flash_image
chmod 755 /system/bin/flash_image
mv /system/etc/install-recovery.sh /system/etc/install-recovery.sh.bak
mount -o remount,ro -t yaffs2 /dev/block/mtdblock5 /system
flash_image recovery /sdcard/xionia_cwma_12518.4.img
reboot recovery

Note: if you get the following error — failed on ‘/system/etc/install-recovery.sh’ – No such file or directory — it is okay. It just means your recovery will not be erased by LG at any point in time.

To boot into recovery, when your phone is off, press and hold the following keys: Volume Down + Home + Power. Release the keys when the LG splash screen loads.

To navigate recovery, Volume Up and Down move your selection up and down respectively; Select is the Menu or Camera keys; Back is the back button.

Congratulations! That’s it!! You’ve now rooted the latest version of the LG Optimus software! Enjoy!

So, you need to unroot your LG Optimus S to take it in for service or update it or something? Here’s a descriptive guide to give you all the information and instructions to unroot your device.

First off, you will need to download some files, located here.

Once those files are downloaded, you will need to follow all of the following instructions. Failing to follow instructions may cause you to turn your Optimus into a paperweight.

Once we’re finished here, we will be reverted to a completely un-rooted phone, with the V8 software installed. We can then update our phone to V9 or the newest update, VC.

So, you’ve downloaded all the files that you need. Follow all of the below steps, and *absolutely* DO NOT skip any of them. They’re here for a reason.

1) Connect your phone to your PC and prepare to use ADB – open a command prompt, navigate to the directory where your ADB is located (ours is C:\Android\tools).

2) Unzip the recovery kernel and flash_image ZIPs you downloaded. Make sure the contents are inside of the C:\Android\tools folder, for easy access.

3) Enter the following commands, one per line:
adb push recovery-RA-GNM-thunderc-s-1.1.0.img /sdcard/
adb push flash_image /data/local/tmp
adb shell
su
chmod 755 /data/local/tmp/flash_image
/data/local/tmp/flash_image recovery /sdcard/recovery-RA-GNM-thunderc-s-1.1.0.img
reboot recovery

4) Your phone should now have rebooted into a recovery with light blue text, with Build: RA-thunderc-1.1.0-GNM at the bottom of the screen. Your controls are as follows:
Volume Up = Up
Volume Down = Down
Back = Back
Menu (4 squares button right of home) = Select

5) Scroll down to USB-MS Toggle. Select it.

6) Select USB-MS Toggle SDCard.

7) Unzip the nandroid-thunderc-V8-STOCK file and place the unzipped contents into the root of the SD card that should have popped up on your computer.

8) Use your option on your computer to safely remove the device (phone) from your computer.

9) Press the menu button to disable USB-MS toggle.

10) Press back.

11) Select Backup/Restore option.

12) Select Nand Restore

13) Select mem=477M

14) Select BCDMRS12-20101122-1915

15) Press Menu to confirm.

16) Wait. The restore process will take a while. When it is finished, DO NOT restart. We need to flash a STOCK RECOVERY now!!!

17) Enter the following commands, one per line:
adb shell
mount /sdcard (if this makes an error appear about device or resource busy, ignore it)
cd /sdcard/nandroid/mem=477M/BCDMRS12-20101122-1915
flash_image recovery recovery.img
reboot

Now, we have rebooted back into a stock build of the V8 software for the LG Optimus S. If you want to upgrade to V9, read below.

The process that we just completed upgraded our kernel. We need to update the firmware now to V9.

1) Plug your phone into you PC and enable USB mass storage.

2) Place the file named 3b293d854446.LS670ZV8_V9_Inc.zip onto your SD card, and rename it as update.zip (very important!).

3) Open a command prompt, and enter the following code:
adb reboot recovery
Note: this will only work if you followed our guide to install the SDK, or if you added ADB to your PATH variable in Windows. Otherwise, enter the following codes, one per line:
cd C:\Android\tools
adb reboot recovery

4) You should now be at LG’s recovery screen, which is dark blue text with 4 options. Select the option with update.zip.

5) follow the on-screen instructions, which are VERY IMPORTANT!!

You now have the V9 radio and baseband, as well as the stock update. You can delete that file that you remaned update.zip from your SD card, it’s no longer needed.

To upgreade from V9 to VC, use the LG Update tool.

This guide will explain how to root Samsung Galaxy Tab. Rooting the Samsung Galaxy Tab is going to be a fairly easy process, but be sure to follow all instructions so you make no errors! We want your root process to be painless, so we make these guides very simple and understandable. Now, on to the rooting, shall we?

First thing you want to do is open your Market and download an app called z4root. Once you download that, you’ll want to enable USB Debugging Mode on your Samsung Galaxy Tab. You do this by going to Menu > Settings > Applications > Development > USB Debugging and place a check mark in the box. Approve the warning message that may pop up, we’re not going to hurt your device by doing this process.

Next, open the z4root application then press the button labeled “Root”. Your Samsung Galaxy Tab may restart during this process, it’s safe and normal. Once the root process finishes, you’ll see a blue screen with a message at the bottom saying your phone is already rooted, and it will also have 2 buttons that say “Re-root” and “Un-root”. If you ever need warranty service, the “Un-root” button is your dearest friend!

Enjoy having a rooted Samsung Galaxy Tab!

This guide will explain how to root the LG Optimus. The process is really pretty simple, although other guides make it out to be really hard, or not for the novice user. Basically you’re going to need a few tools, up to an hour of free time, and a little bit of patience, as well as knowing how to red directions word for word and not skip anything. Also, these instructions are from a Windows 7 based computer. I’m actually going to root the LG Optimus as I write this guide, so I know these steps are correct!

The very first steps we need to take are as follows:

• Download and install the Java Runtime Environment (JRE)
• Once JRE is installed, we now need to download and install the Android SDK. Follow steps on How to Install Android SDK here.
• Once the SDK is installed, according to our instructions, you need to isntall drivers to make the computer recognize your LG Optimus.

So, we need to download the LG Mobile Support Tool. Once it’s downloaded, install it. Once the program is installed, and while your phone is not connected to your computer, open the program. This is going to take a few minutes to load the program. We need to change some settings in it to make it work right.

Under the Options & Help menu, choose Country & Language. Set United States as your country, and English as your language. Next, on the main window choose to install the USB driver, and choose Sprint as the carrier, and LGLS670 as the model number. Now, wait until the application downloads and installs some drivers for your phone. Once it installs the drivers, close the program. You no longer need to run it.

While you wait for the files to download, you can begin prepping your phone to be rooted and connected to your computer. Go to Menu > Applications then select Unknown Sources. This allows us to install applications to your phone from the computer. Place a check in the box. Then, accept the warning. Next, go to Development, then select USB Debugging. This allows us to root the phone. After you do that, and the program is done installing the USB drivers, plug in your phone once, let it do it’s thing and let the computer install all the drivers for it, then when you get a message saying your device has been installed successfully, unplug your phone, then plug it back in one minute later to make sure everything is ok.

The next thing we need to do is download the root files. You can obtain them here, named OptimusRoot. Once you download this file, extract it and copy the 3 files inside to your C:\android\tools folder. Now, connect your phone to the computer if you haven’t already, Make sure it says USB Debugging Connected or something along those lines in your notification pulldown.

Next, launch the Android SDK Manager, which is also located in the C:\Android\ folder of the Android SDK program you downloaded earlier.

Next, open a command prompt (if you don’t know how, here’s How to Open a Command Prompt) and type the following commands, one per line:

cd C:\Android\tools
adb push rageagainstthecage-arm5.bin /data/local/tmp/rageagainstthecage
adb push su /data/local/tmp/
adb push busybox /data/local/tmp/
adb shell
chmod 4755 /data/local/tmp/rageagainstthecage
chmod 4755 /data/local/tmp/busybox
cd /data/local/tmp
./rageagainstthecage

Now, let everything rest for a couple minutes. This is going to disconnect your ADB session once finished, so after 2-3 minutes, type the following:

adb shell        \\Note: This should now return a # instead of a $. If this does not work, repeat the command prompt steps.
mount -o remount,rw -t yaffs2 /dev/block/mtdblock4 /system
cd /data/local/tmp
./busybox cp su /system/bin
./busybox cp busybox /system/bin
cd /system/bin
chmod 4755 su
chmod 4755 busybox
busybox –install /system/bin
exit
exit

Note: If you get to this step “busybox –install /system/bin” you get an error, do this:

a) Download superuser (free) from chainsDD in the market (this is step 5 below)
b) Download Titanium Backup (free) in the market
c) Launch Titanium Backup. You should get a request to give it root permissions. select always allow. Now in Titanium Backup, hit the “problems” button and let it install busybox
d) Reboot phone and enjoy

If you didn’t have any problems with the installation of everything so far, then please go to the Android Market and download the Superuser app, made by the author ChainsDD.

Enjoy root!

Are you sick of accidentally clicking ads in Android apps? Here’s a simple solution for you! After you follow the instruction guide I write out for you, you’ll never see an ad inside an Android app again! Your phone needs to be rooted in order to take advantage of this cool Android modification.

First, you’ll need this ZIP file which contains a file that will block these advertisements from showing up on your Android phone: hosts

Next, you’ll need to place that hosts.txt file inside of your Android SDK Tools folder, wherever you installed it at. We have ours at C:\Android\tools. Follow this guide if you need the SDK installed: How to Install Android SDK

Enter these commands in a command prompt, one per line:

cd C:\Android\tools
adb shell mount -o rw,remount -t yaffs2 /dev/block/mtdblock3 /system
adb push hosts.txt /etc/hosts
adb shell mount -o ro,remount -t yaffs2 /dev/block/mtdblock3 /system

Now that you’ve done that, you may need to restart your phone and/or clear your browser’s cache for full effectiveness. What this modification does is it blocks advertisements from being displayed on your phone as well as statistics data that may be collected by websites you visit. These statistics can include your location, browser type, device type, how long you’re on a web page, and more. This mod blocks that info from being sent as well. Enjoy your ad-free Android phone!

Sprint gets the glory of rolling out Froyo (Android 2.2) for HTC Evo users tomorrow. They’ll begin sending out their notifications on August 3rd, letting users know that they can download Froyo for HTC Evo, and they even have the option for users to opt in to receive the update before everyone else, too! Here’s some of the features of Android 2.2, which HTC Evo 4G users will be able to benefit from:

• Voice dialing over Bluetooth
• camera application allows the icons to rotate 360 degrees, with the direction the camera is turned
• flashlight option for the camera’s LED flashes
• 720p video is now light-assisted
• wireless hotspot hack may be fixed in Froyo
• faster javascript engine and flash 10X support for a better internet browser
• apps can now be stored on the SD card!

If you’d like to opt in to the update early, then on your HTC Evo, go to Settings > System Update > HTC Software Update.

For the normal user, this is a good place to learn about the new features of Android 2.2, also known as Froyo. You’ve been entertained by all of the cool features of Android 2.1, also known as Eclair, such as a better internet browser, more features and options with the camera and flash in your phone, and better contacts synchronization and searching, as well as better SMS searching and archiving, but now, here are some even better features for you to look forward to when Android 2.2 is released, which according to Google, should be happening not too long from now!

New Home Screen Tips

For new users of Android, the new Home screen widget helps users learn how to add widgets to the home screen as well as add program shortcuts and folders. It also explains how to make use of the multiple home screens available on Froyo.

The Application Drawer/Launcher, Phone and Browser all now have dedicated buttons on the bottom of any of the 5 home screens for easy access.

Better Exchange Support

Exchange administrators can remotely wipe the device to factory defaults to secure any possible sensitive data if the phone is lost or stolen.

Exchange calendars are now supported in the Froyo native calendar application.

The security has improved to allow for numeric PIN or alphanumeric password options to unlock the phone. Exchange administrators can regulate and force password use on devices now.

In the email application, you can now do a global address list lookup so you can auto complete the recipient names form the directory.

Better Photo Gallery

The gallery now will allow you to peek into picture stacks using a zoom motion.

New on screen camera buttons allow you to access a new user interface where you can control the zoom, flash, white balance, geo-tagging, exposure and focus. The camcorder also lets you specify the quality and size of the video for sending via MMS or uploading to YouTube.

With the LED flash now enabled for the camcorder (in devices with flash only), you can now record video in a dark room or in night conditions.

Portable Wifi Hotspot

Specific, capable devices, such as the Nokia N1, also known as the N1 or Nexus One, can be turned into a mobile hotspot, allowing up to 8 wifi-capable devices to connect to it to share your mobile internet. You can also use your Android phone as a 3G internet connection by simply connecting your phone to your computer thru USB (on Windows and Linux machines).

Multiple Keyboard Languages

Natively the Froyo keyboard will be able to add several different Latin languages to the dictionary, with a simple swipe across the space bar. This will change the keys on the keyboard as well as add the new language’s words to the auto-suggest dictionary.

Improved Overall Performance

Performance of the browser has been improved, using a newer Javascript technology that allows web pages that are Javascript heavy to load a lot faster.

Performance of the phone has been improved from 2-5x better over Android 2.1, allowing for CPU-intensive applications to run faster and smoother.

Memory management has been boosted to allow for faster switching between applications and smoother overall performance on devices that don’t have a lot of memory to begin with.

More Features and Improvements

Bluetooth voice dialing will be available, as well as the ability to share contacts with other phones, support for car and desk docks that are bluetooth enabled, and improved compatibility with matrix car kits and head sets.

The Android Market will now support bug reporting from applications, meaning if your app freezes or crashes, it will submit an actual report to the developer of the application letting him know what issue has arisen.

Applications can now be installed on external storage, such as the SD card that usually comes with your Android device when you purchase it. This allows for far more apps to be downloaded to your phone without having to figure out which one you need to delete to make space (if you’re an app addict like us!). Apps can also back up the user data so when you have to wipe your phone or when you flash a new ROM to it after rooting Froyo, you don’t have to set your app’s settings again.

There you have it, a big list of the features to come on the Android 2.2 Froyo update when it is released. Also, I am pretty sure that now that the source code has been released, developers in the Android community will be working on creating custom ROMs based on Froyo for you to download, flash and enjoy!