HTC Evo 4G Getting Gingerbread OTA June 6th or Manually June 3rd

All you Evo owners out there are about to get a tasty treat this month. On June 6th Sprint will begin rolling out the 2.3 Gingerbread update to handsets over the air (OTA). To those that want to get the update ASAP, on June 3rd grab your phone and hit home screen/Menu/Settings/System updates/HTC software Update to initiate the upgrade manually.

“HTC EVO™ 4G from Sprint will receive the Android™ 2.3, Gingerbread, update through an over-the-air maintenance release beginning on Monday, June 6.

Sprint will send update notifications to users in waves. The notification will let users know the update is available and provide the simple two-step, over-the-air download instructions.

Users will receive a notification that Android 2.3 is available for download.

Once the user has downloaded the update, they will be prompted to install the update. The user will be notified that their device will be disabled during the installation process. The phone will be ready to use once the process completes.

Can’t Wait Until June 6?

For those who just can’t wait to get Android 2.3, there will be an easy user initiated option to download the upgrade starting on Friday, June 3. To access the update – from the home screen/Menu/Settings/System updates/HTC software Update. This will initiate the upgrade process.

The software release upgrades HTC EVO 4G to Android 2.3, Gingerbread. This version of Android improves download management through the Downloads application, offering the user easy access to any file downloaded from the browser, email or another application. It also fixes the devices ability to stream media through certain applications for the device.

Gingerbread restores HTC EVO 4G’s ability to sync multiple Gmail™ accounts, display email attachments in the email client and fixes battery discharge issues.”

HTC will no longer lock down bootloaders

Today on HTC’s Facebook page Peter Chou, the CEO of HTC made a statement that from this date forward HTC will release phones with unlocked bootloaders.  This comes as welcome news to those who enjoy customizing their Android phones.  Hopefully this will prompt other manufacturers to take the same path.

“There has been overwhelmingly customer feedback that people want access to open bootloaders on HTC phones. I want you to know that we’ve listened. Today, I’m confirming we will no longer be locking the bootloaders on our devices. Thanks for your passion, support and patience,” Peter Chou, CEO of HTC

[Facebook]

Guru Inspection: HTC Thunderbolt Review

 The HTC Thunderbolt is the first US phone to have real deal 4G by way of Verizon’s LTE network. Although it packs the latest network technolgy, the Thunderbolt has a steep moutain to climb. It is going up against phones with dual core processors, better screen technology, and of course Verizon’s own iPhone 4. Does the Thunderbolt have what it takes to make it rain in the club, or is it a mild drizzle? Find out in this Guru Inspection.

Gameloft Now Lets You Re-Download Games on New Devices

I love Gameloft games, they are great quality and lots of fun. One major issue I have had with Gameloft is that they require you to re-purchase a game if you get a new device. They also do not have most of their games int he Android Market, which lets you re-download anyway. Today they have announced a change to their DRM allowing you to re-download purchases on your new devices. I am about to give this a try and will report back with an update.

via [Android Central]

Netflix launches for Android, er 5 of Them

The wait is finally over…… sort of. Due to “testing issues”, Netflix has only launched on five Android devices and the selection seems pretty random. Not sure how Netflix went about testing these devices and found them compatible but not others. According to Netflix, they are testing each device one by one and there are plenty of devices to go through. Is your device one of the lucky ones? Check the list below or hit up XDA to try the APK as some devices not on the list have been found to work.

“* The Netflix app runs on these phones:
1. HTC Incredible with Android 2.2
2. HTC Nexus One with Android 2.2, 2.3
3. HTC Evo 4G with Android 2.2
4. HTC G2 with Android 2.2
5. Samsung Nexus S with Android 2.3.

via [Netflix]