While desperately searching for the snooze button on my HTC Droid Incredible this morning, I found the most welcome and unexpected sight: a popup notification that Android’s 2.3.4 (Gingerbread) upgrade was ready to be pushed to my phone. After the upgrade was completed (and my impromptu early morning happy dance), I tried the new version of Android’s software out.
The best news to report is that Gingerbread has fixed the Incredible’s infamous battery problem. I tried bump charging the battery this morning and got a green light immediately, the first time that’s happened in the nine months since I got the Incredible. That’ll take a few days of use to verify completely, but I’m hopeful and tentatively techcited that my phone won’t lose 10 percent of its charge in the first two minutes off the charger.
Based on what I’ve seen so far, I’m impressed with the update. Here are a few highlights I noticed:
- Startup took about third or less time than it did on Android 2.2 (Froyo).
- Transition from desktop to application (and vice versa) is softened quite a bit. It’s so smooth it almost makes me want to take a nap.
- A new Downloads button, which is a much appreciated addition for those of us who can never find that PDF we downloaded last week.
- New default image for callers who aren’t in my address book.
- A new ringtone or two, though I can’t swear to that. I haven’t looked in that menu for some time.
- Assorted small UI changes that I noticed today, but will take for granted from now on.
- And of course, there are undoubtedly a hundred small tweaks under the hood that the user doesn’t see.
Not bad for an early morning surprise.
I have an Incredible, but I haven’t gotten any notifications about the update. Is there something I have to do?
No, the notification just appears on its own. From what I understand, they’ll be pushing Gingerbread out to Incredibles in waves over the next month or so.
I stumbled upon this today and noticed you haven’t posted an update. I’m guessing you figured out the battery acts the same as far as losing 10% right away. If you are seeing anything differently, please update.