Next Android version will be called Froyo, says Erick Tseng
Proving once again that those who don't watch The Engadget Show are always going to be one step behind those who do, our latest star guest Erick Tseng has dropped a dollop of exclusive wisdom on us: Android's next big iteration will be known as Froyo.
Context & Ripple Effects
The Froyo name lands at a moment when Android's release process has been unusually opaque: an Android team member said back in July 2009 that Donut wasn't 2.0 and lacked multitouch, leaving the community guessing at both numbering and features between releases. Erick Tseng confirming the next codename on The Engadget Show extends the dessert-alphabet scheme past Donut and Eclair into frozen yogurt.
The timing matters because Android arrives at this announcement with momentum: the platform left CES 2010 as the software story of the year, and a January 2010 survey found Android finally roiling the smartphone market after a slow start. A named next version gives carriers, developers, and the enthusiast press something concrete to anticipate against that backdrop.
First-order effects
- Developers and device makers now have a fixed label for the next Android iteration, ending speculation about whether the release would be numbered or named differently from the Donut/Eclair line.
Second-order effects
- The codename itself becomes a marketing asset: press and the enthusiast community can track, leak, and build anticipation around "Froyo" ahead of any feature announcements, giving Google free attention between releases.
Third-order effects
- If the pattern holds, Google is institutionalizing a codename-driven release cadence — each dessert name becoming a public milestone that structures expectations for a platform whose open-source model had already drawn criticism over coherence.
The trend: Android is turning its dessert codenames into a public anticipation rhythm, pacing platform hype between feature announcements as the OS competes for smartphone mindshare.