Currently, the Google Android operating system version 2.1 is only available on newer Android devices such as the Nexus One meaning that a large number of devices in the wild are running on an older version of the OS, including versions 1.5, 1.6 or 2.0.

According to a new rumor, all Android devices within the US will be receiving an upgrade to Android 2.1. This even includes old hardware such as the T-Mobile G1 which at one time was considered just to old to be successfully upgraded. With some of the oldest models, it is possible that a few of the Android 2.1 firmware features such as live wallpapers may be unavailable while with other select models, a clean install with full data wipe may need to be performed using a PC connection thereby eliminating the possibility of an easier OTA upgrade. However, with proper backups and cloud computing playing a prominent role in these devices, a full data erase should hopefully be much easier for the mobile user.

Once Android handsets are successfully upgraded to Android 2.1, users can expect to enjoy all the features that this OS brings with it including speech to text, an improved Gmail client and support for Google Voice.

As it stands now, the update will most likely happen in the second quarter of this year.

Via: Android And Me