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18 Nov 2009

The problem: users have complained about the autofocus feature on the Droid since day one. As in, it didn’t work (video). Last night I wrote that some users found a fix – clean the lens. It turns out that probably didn’t do a darn thing.

But there were even better conspiracy theories out there, such as Engadget’s idea of a secret software update, which quickly spread around the Internet.

It turns out that wasn’t true, either. And we’ve confirmed that there’s no such thing as a secret software update on Android phones anyway, at least according to people at Google. Updates, even security updates, must be approved for installation by the user.

So what was the real reason for the problem, and the fix? Well, it fixed itself. The problem, as MobileCrunch duly noted, was an issue with the phone’s timestamp: “According to Google Engineer Dan Morrill, there is an unfortunate bug in the Droid’s autofocus routine. It improperly rounds a timestamp used in the calculations, which somehow throws the entire focusing process off. Today it works, and tomorrow it will work…but 24.5 days from now, the bug will be back.”

But by the time the problem cycles back again, Verizon will have pushed out a fix for the problem.

As we say around the office, Android is freedom from the iPhone. But sometimes that freedom feels a little bit like this:

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Tags: conspiracy theories, Dan Morrill, didn, Droid, Fix, google, iPhone, problem, problem users, secret software, thing

Motorola Droid camera autofocus fixed in secrecy? (Update: it’s a date-related self-correction)

In: gadgets

18 Nov 2009

While we were busy looking into external speaker problems on the Droid, it would seem Moto was itself hard at work remedying a separate issue with the device. A number of users on support forums have complained of the Droid’s camera failing to focus and giving them “red corners” when attempting to take pictures, but now — suddenly and without warning — their ailment has gone away as if touched by the hand of an omnipotent being (or, alternatively, a silent firmware update). This particular autofocus problem was mentioned in Verizon’s 5-page treatise on known issues with the Droid, though the planned resolution was an official update by December 11. The fix seems to have been delivered early, as green corners are sprouting up all around, but this silent update conduit sounds a bit nefarious, no?

Update: Sure enough, we can confirm from testing one of our own Droids that the issue has been resolved. The endless quest for the green focus box is over, and you can now finally begin scanning all your discount cards into Key Ring.

Update 2: And things have turned surreal. Dan Morrill, from Google’s Android team, has confirmed that there’s a date-related bug in the Droid’s camera software that leads to it having cycles of good and bad focus that depend on the date. Our own testing confirmed this, as backdating to the 11th of November returned those red bars of failure. Apparently, the cycles last 24.5 days, meaning that you’ll have good focus all the way to December 11, when the real fix is expected to drop. So breathe easy, Gotham, there are no phantom updates, just an oddly date-sentient camera.

[Thanks, AlexL and Kaiser]

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Filed under: Cellphones

Motorola Droid camera autofocus fixed in secrecy? (Update: it’s a date-related self-correction) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Tags: 11th of november, camera, Dan Morrill, Droid, Engadget, google, green corners, Howard ForumsFiled, Issue, nbsp, page treatise, Read, update

Google Unwraps Android’s Giant Eclair

In: web resources

15 Oct 2009

The Android robot that graces Google’s front lawn got a new dessert friend today: a giant Eclair, drizzled with some chocolate syrup. The Eclair now sits alongside two other over-sized confections: an enormous cupcake and an intimidatingly large donut. You can see a video of the upwrapping of the new treat below, taken by Android engineer Dan Morrill according to Androidandme.

The dessert trio is, of course, a product of Google’s quirky sense of humor: each Google Android release has a dessert codename (Cupcake was 1.5 and Donut was 1.6, and Eclair is 2.0), and the Android team puts out a new giant sculpture to coincide more or less with the software’s release.

What that means is that we’re likely very close to seeing Android 2.0, codename Eclair, for the first time. Nothing’s for certain yet (Google hasn’t made any announcements), but when a Donut was spotted in front of Google back in September the developer release was out within a few days.

There have also been persistent rumors that Motorola’s Sholes phone (AKA Droid and Tao) will be making its debut by the end of the month, and that it will be the first phone to feature Eclair, so the timing lines up.

Also worth noting: the video below was taken by an Android phone, and given that this is the Android team we’re talking about it’s reasonable to think they’re testing out the latest-and-greatest. Looking good.

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