Phased out, slow, clunky keyboard and all, Droid 1 users finally are getting Android 2.2 (FroYo). Updates started trickling out over the last two weeks and we finally got our’s last night around 2AM.

During a sleeping pee-break (not at the sametime of course), I do what most smartphone junkies do, check my phone for any super important 2AM e-mails. Even if the inbox is empty, I still feel important whenever I do it, so I do it often.

Self esteem issues aside, my Droid was blinking, almost giddy with finally having the update queued up and ready for download.

Updating, as with all Android updates, is a simple matter of hitting the update button on-screen and that’s it. It didn’t take long and I would say it was way faster than the 2.1 update. Nothing scientific or empirical about my data, just a feeling.

FroYo on Droid is sweet. I had my doubts as all reviews of 2.2 was done on the newest hardware with more memory, better processor, and all the fancy new upgrades you get with being just 6 months newer than Droid 1.

FroYo on Droid 1 bulks up your home screens with 5 total. I loaded up all my frequent, but not good enough to be on the home screen, apps on two screens and I was pretty much done.

As advertised, FroYo is freakin’ fast. 2.1 was just nasty. Clunky doesn’t describe 2.1. It was so bad that it felt like my Droid was a three year-old phone in desperate need of being dumped in the old folks home of cell phones: the donation bin.

FroYo changes all that. Instead of feeling old, there’s a darn fresh feeling to my Droid 1 again. Apps open and run lickety-split and switching between apps is equally responsive. No more pauses and frequent force-closes from 2.1. 2.2 definitely runs well on Droid 1 and will in fact remind you of when you first got your Droid. The speed is noticeable and Google’s done a great job with memory management. There’s a lot more space now.

I’m not done. FroYo also adds 3 much needed on-screen shortcuts: Phone/Dialer, All installed Apps and a web-browser. These three on-screen buttons float at the bottom and are present in all 5 home-screens. It’s one of those head-slapping features. They should’ve had this a long time ago.

Prior to this, you had to get back to your first home screen or put a shortcut to the phone on every home-screen in order to get at the phone easily. Sure, swiping a few times is no big deal, but it’s a downright bother when your smartphone literally hides access to the phone app. Crazy no?

Now, its everywhere and easy to get at. So easy, that I no longer have a shortcut to the phone-dialer and browser app on any home-screens.

I can’t applaud FroYo enough. If you haven’t updated your phone, you can either wait for the OTA (over-the-air) update to get pushed to you or try to see if you’re eligible on your Droid 1 by going to “Settings”, then “About Phone” at the very bottom and select “System updates”. If you’re eligible you’ll get to update to 2.2 right away. Otherwise, wait for the OTA update and enjoy FroYo when you get it.

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