Nexus One may get 802.11n Wi-Fi with Android 2.2
updated 09:10 am EDT, Fri April 23, 2010
Nexus One update could unlock faster wireless
The Nexus One may get a surprise "free" upgrade to 802.11n Wi-Fi when Android 2.2 ships, enthusiasts discovered late yesterday. Broadcom and Google have quietly released new drivers for the smartphone's Wi-Fi chipset that enable 802.11n; although not yet part of the official OS, a pair of hobbyists have compiled the drivers for Android 2.1 and successfully connected to the faster wireless networking. Android and Me noted that the hardware was already capable of the higher speeds but hadn't been
Google has already hinted that the Nexus One may have a number of features 'unlocked' when Android 2.2 arrives, which could be as soon as May 19th. Among these could be color-coded illumination of the Nexus One's trackball when certain kinds of notifications appear.
Android often gets updated builds in between major releases, but these often lag about a month or more behind Google's own development cycle and would roughly line up with Android 2.2 getting the drivers at the same time as it becomes readily available.
