Droid Updates Friday: OTA Update Droid to Android 2.01

Verizon will be pushing out the the Android OS update for Droid by Motorola, sometime late this week. There have been reports of owners of Droid smartphones, receiving update notifications. Although the general public is calling the Droid update 2.01, it's true name is AP:ESD56/BP:C_01.3E.01P.

We called our local Verizon rep who informed us that the official Over-The-Air-Update(OTA) officially will start on Friday, December 11.  Usually, Verizon waits until Friday, when business users are off from work to start their OTA update.

Editors Note:  On Tuesday, Verizon spokeswoman Brenda Raney sent this in an email, "We began pushing the update to the Droid by Motorola yesterday to a
small percentage of handsets so consumers are beginning to see the
alert on their handset. The process is being done in phases and the
numbers of handset that receive the update will increase gradually over
the next week or so. " 

Remember we told you about the camera problem that was helped by cleaning the lens while an auto focus bug was on a  24.5-day cycle was on a  day cycle? The update fixes the auto focus cycling problem along with other glitches with 3-Way calling, speaker phone glitches, Bluetooth echos, Bluetooth contact transfer, GPS icon, SMS/MMS and instant voicemail notifications.

Here are the fetures of the 2.01 upgrade for Droid by Motorola:

• OS stability is improved.
• Battery life is improved.
• Camera auto focus functionality is improved, and time between shots reduced.
• Enhancements for three-way calling.
• Audio for incoming calls is improved.
• When receiving a call on call waiting, the speakerphone now remains on.

• Bluetooth functionality is improved; background echo is eliminated.
• Improved Bluetooth phone book transfer of contacts to in-vehicle Bluetooth solutions.
• After closing a GPS application, the GPS icon will now automatically be removed from the notification panel.
• Users can now receive SMS and MMS messages after an EMSmessage is received.
• SMS and MMS may now be sent to seven-digit addresses.
• Google contact merging has been updated to accommodate seven-digit numbers.
• Visual Voice Mail notices now arrive instantaneously.
• The corporate calendar widget user interface is updated.

There
have also been reports of new unlock sliders and unlock screen, as well
as increased web speed. First, you will be notified that a system
update is available on your device. Press "Install now" and your device will power off and back on and the installation process will begin.The Verizon tech explained that you "pull down the shade" on the notifications menu, where there will be a notification that an update is available.

Detailed instructions on how to upgrade and update your Droid by Motorola are available online at Verizon Support.

BGR reported today that when updates are rolled out there is a small test sample of 1,000 Droid users who received the notification to
update their Droid, today.  Then at midnight tonight 9,000 more Droidites will
receive an update notification. 

There will no more updates until December 10th at
12AM,  then 200,000 Droid Updates will be pushed out over the air. It
will continue at 200,000 devices
a day until everyone is updated. It has been estimated that almost a
million Droid phones have been sold which when calculated out suggests
a four to five day roll-out.