Trivia

Google's official Android video explains many of the improvements in Froyo.

Here is a recipe for how to install a ROM image, plus a link to the image that I used. Beware - you do this at your own risk. If you brick your phone, loose data or otherwise do something regrettable then it is your problem to fix. This recipe uses the FroydVillain ROM and is only for GSM and not for CDMA phones.

Prepare:

You will be wiping your phone. So start off by making a backup.

1. Backup all the files from your SD card to your PC, to be sure
2. Note down which accounts you have set up for syncing (Google, Facebook, etc)
3. Note down which apps you have installed, you are going to need to reinstall them

Download:

1. Download the FroydVillain ROM and save on your SD card from here
2. Download the FroydVillain ROM patche and save on your SD card from here and here and here
3. Download this tool to "root" your phone and save on SD card. Universal Androot
4. Download this recovery image and save on SD card as a file called "recovery.img" Recovery Image.

Get Root on your phone (super user access):

1. Install Astro File Manager from the Market
2. With Astro, browse to the SD Card and Install the Universal Androot application
3. Run Universal Androot, selecting the correct Android version for what is on your phone
4. On my phone I had to run this twice and then got the message "Woot ! Your device is rooted !"
5. Use the Market to install the Android Terminal Emulator application
6. Use the Market to install Advanced Task Killer
7. Kill all the apps that you dont need, so you have plenty of free memory with Advanced Task Killer
8. Start the Terminal Emulator program

Flash the recovery image:

#su  (press enter and agree to the popup warning)
#flash_image recovery /sdcard/recovery.img   (press enter and wait)

Make sure that there were no error messages. Try repeating this step if there were.

Boot to the recovery screen and backup then wipe the contents of your phone:

1. Power off the phone
2. Power on by holding the Home key and pressing power
3. A "recovery mode" menu will show. If it does not, you messed up flashing the recovery image and will see a red no-entry signal instead. Dont panic if this happens, just turn the phone off and restart it normally.
4. The volume keys are up/down in the menu and clicking the rollerball selects an item
5. Choose "Backup" and press the "Home" key to confirm when you are asked. Wait for it to complete.
6. (You can always re-install this backup to get back to the old way your phone was.)
7. Choose Wipe data/factory reset, then Wipe cache, then Wipe Dalvik-cache, then Wipe SD:ext partition. Use the "Home" key to confirm each step and wait for each one to complete.
8. Choose "Flash Zip from SD Card"
9. Flash the FroydVillain 1.7.0 file first (takes a little while, be patient)
10. Flash the FroydVillain 1.7.1 patch next
11. Flash the FroydVillain 1.7.2 patch after that
12. And then the optional FroydVillain "Lights Fix" patch
13. When everything is flashed, restart the phone

Your phone will now boot into Froyo. The first boot is slow and will hand for a long time at the splash screen whilst various background processes happen. Be patient!

Once you are up and running you can set up your accounts again and your Google contacts will sync to the phone. Other good apps to install:

1. Opera Mini and Opera Mobile
2. Spotify
3. K-9 Mail
4. SwiftKey keyboard
5. Advanced Task Killer Pro

You can also remove some of the shortcuts from the Home screen as they are now already supported in the launcher menu - such as the shortcuts for the phone and browser. There are loads of new settings and tweaks in the settings menu to try out.

Enjoy your new phone!