It was obviously on the cards, but today Sony Ericsson has confirmed that there won’t be any OS upgrades beyond the current Android 2.1 for its X-range of Android phones – the X10, X10 Mini, X10 Mini Pro (and presumably also the budget Xperia X8).

Which is a bit of a shame. Here’s a rather ill-advised attempt at “fronting it out” by Sony Ericsson’s Twitter account manager:

Is it wrong to expect phones to last forever – or more than 12 months – in the rapidly-changing world of Android? Link via Android Community.

UPDATE:
We’ve just received the below clarification from Sony Ericsson, explaining what it meant in a little more detail and its future plans for the X-Phones. Here it is:

We believe that the current Xperia range on Android 2.1 coupled with Sony Ericsson’s proprietary upgrades and unique hardware delivers a user experience that is on par with, and in many cases better than, a vanilla installation of Android 2.2.

We’re planning another upgrade to bring new features (such as for example multi-touch for Xperia X10) to the current family of Xperia™ smartphones in Q1 2011.

Our priority right now is to keep enhancing the user experience of the existing products through coming updates and to deliver a fantastic range of smartphones in 2011 that are all on the latest possible version of Android – that is a target we are determined to hit.

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This is how LG is going to sell six million smartphones around the world this year – by dressing up the Google Android character like Zorro and parading it around the streets of Seoul along with a collection of lovely ladies.

It should work. We’d buy anything this bunch told us to, mainly out of fear:

That’s the Optimus Z they’re parading around the place, the one LG Android phone we’d actually like to have a go on.

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Google has now sliced and uploaded the videos of last night’s I/O 2010 Android 2.2 presentation, and is hosting them all on its Google Developers YouTube channel if you want to relive the highs – and endless crowd-pleasing Apple digs – of the evening’s big FroYo reveal.

Here’s the opening 10 minutes from the Android conference – links to other chunks are below.

If you’re seriously into Google’s web developments, the entire Day One I/O presentation is online in one huge two-hour-long chunk. But you’re probably after the bite-sized Android 2.2 chunks:

ANDROID 2.2 PRESENTATION VIDEOS:

Google I/O Android 2.2 presentation Part 1

Google I/O Android 2.2 presentation Part 2

Google I/O Android 2.2 presentation Part 3

Google I/O Android 2.2 presentation Part 4

Google I/O Android 2.2 presentation Part 5

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Google has just confirmed another hot recent Android rumour concerning its forthcoming Google TV scheme, namely that tech heavyweights Sony and Intel will be coming together to create the launch hardware that powers Google’s new interactive TV platform.

Sony is itself planning an entire range of TVs and Blu-ray players, all including Android-compatible hardware and capable of running the Google TV platform. If nothing else, this should ensure Sony’s deep-pockets fund a flurry of publicity during the launch window.

The Google TV range from Sony will launch in “Fall 2010″ – otherwise known as “Autumn”. Otherwise known as pretty soon. There’s an enormous justification of Google TV up on the Google Blog right now – but we’re still not entirely convinced of the need, to be honest.

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Another most-wanted Android feature has been ticked off the list by Google today, which revealed an all-new Android Market web site which allows PC app-buying – and direct over-the-air transmission of apps to your Android phone.

Once you’ve signed in to the forthcoming new Android Market with the same Gmail account details used on your phone, you’re able to ping apps across to your mobile from the comfort of the new Android Market portal. Just. Like. That.

Just like this:

The second image not only shows the new Android Market sending an app, it also illustrates apps being pinged directly from PC to Google’s new Android-powered Google TV format. It’s all getting a bit too exciting, this.

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The Android Developers Blog has just updated with a simple list of the hottest new Android 2.2 features revealed at Google I/O today, bringing together everything we’ve learned about the all-new “FroYo” update during the conference.

Read the full feature list of all Android 2.2 updates on the Developer site, or skim-read the following below…

Performance & speed: The new Dalvik JIT compiler in Android 2.2 delivers between a 2-5X performance improvement in CPU-bound code vs. Android 2.1 according to various benchmarks.

New enterprise capabilities: We’ve added Exchange capabilities such as account auto-discovery and calendar sync. Device policy management APIs allow developers to write applications that can control security features of the device such as the remote wipe, minimum password, lockscreen timeout etc.

Faster, more powerful browser: We have brought the V8 JavaScript engine to the Android browser as part of 2.2. This has resulted in a 2-3X improvement in JavaScript performance vs. 2.1.

Rich set of new APIs and services: New data backup APIs enable apps to participate in data backup and restore, allowing an application’s last data to be restored when installed on a new or a reset device. Apps can utilize Android Cloud to Device Messaging to enable mobile alert, send to phone, and two-way push sync functionality. Developers can now declare whether their app should be installed on internal memory or an SD card. They can also let the system automatically determine the install location. On the native side, a new API now gives access to Skia bitmaps.

Additions to Android Market: Android Market provides Android Application Error Reports, a new bug reporting feature, giving developers access to crash and freeze reports from users. Developers will be able to access these reports via their account on the Android Market publisher website.

The Android 2.2 SDK details are online here, so if you have access to a debugging emulator setup you’ll be able to give 2.2 a go as soon as it downloads.

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Google’s still announcing yet more new features of Android 2.2 AKA “FroYo” at its I/O 2010 conference right now, but it’s already jumped the gun a little and made the official Android 2.2 features video live on YouTube a few minutes ago.

Here it is. Android 2.2 is officially GO.

This video is basically a nice and high-res round-up of everything Google showed off at Google I/O including everything from the JIT compiler speed test, through to Android 2.2′s tethering features and the direct-to-device Android Market sync option.

It’s bloody impressive stuff.

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If you’ve fallen in a gutter in a drunken stupor outside the bar of your holiday resort, Android will soon be able to help.

In a demo of a forthcoming updated Google Translate feature at Google I/O 2010, the Google demonstrator spoke his request into his Android phone in English – and Google computed it, then spoke back his request in Spanish (UPDATE: actually, French. Whoops).

Here’s a picture which in no way does this audio-based feature justice:

Your phone will soon be a universal translator, basically. This means there’s now even less motivation for people like us to bother learning foreign languages in school.

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According to Google, users are installing “more than 40″ apps on their Android phones, on average, which is making it little hard for us all to manage our collections of tools and apps. That problem will soon become a THING OF THE PAST, thanks to FroYo letting us search through our apps via the Home search box.

Also, there’s this new little option:

Yes, Android 2.2 will finally allow users to shuffle their apps between their phone’s memory and their SD card AT WILL – another most-wanted FroYo feature Google is soon to make real. It’s almost as if it’s been listening to what people want.

Although your phone will attempt to manage your memory requirements itself, you’re able to hit MANUAL OVERRIDE and do what you wish with your apps.

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Hooray! The dream, the fantasy, the ultimate in labour-saving app management has just been confirmed – Android 2.2 will let you update all of your apps at once, via the new UPDATE ALL option.

We can honestly say we’ve never been this excited about seeing a grainy image of a grey text button before:

Imagine pressing that. Imagine how much time it will free up. You’ll be able to start talking to your wife or girlfriend again.

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