First things first, these screen shots are really easy to fake. Ridiculously easy. With that out of the way, it looks like a settings screen shot is showing a T-Mobile Motorola Cliq running Android 2.1. As in the 2.1 you guys hope and dream for. We know that Motorola has planned for the Cliq to get Android 2.1 in Q2 2010 sometime but as all Android users who've been waiting for 2.1 know, you never really know until the update is right there on your phone waiting to download. Maybe it's T-Mobile and Motorola testing it out? Or a rogue user finding a way to update himself. Hopefully it's coming soon. Because by the end of today, you guys will all be clamoring for 2.2. What a vicious cycle. [android community]

Good news, everyone! We found our first giveaway item for this week's podcast. (Here's another contender.) But you'll have to be there live to win. Join us at 7 p.m. EDT / 4 p.m. PDT at androidcentral.com/live for the Google IO wrap-up. And don't worry, we have more stuff to give away, too. See you there!

Yes that is a real picture, even though it's blurry as all get out. (Never claimed to be a photographer :P) No, I didn't get a magic OTA from Phil while he was at Google I/O, it's a 2.2 SDK emulator virtual machine ported over to run on the Nexus One.  I'm not the only one doing such outlandish things either. It's mostly for the novelty, and now I can say I have FroYo on my Nexus.  It crashes (a lot), not much works, and it's a real PITA to do, but for those who feel the need, links, instructions and a couple more pics are after the break.

Google I/O started off a little slow on Wednesday, but boy did Thursday take over, with the announcement of Android 2.2 -- Froyo -- and Google TV. Here's what we've posted thus far. And while we're headed home from San Francisco, we're not done with the news just yet. More to come.

Day One

• Android Writers Roundtable: Predictions for Google I/O
• Official Google I/O T-shirt has a few surprises
• Google IO Keynote liveblog -- live at noon EDT / 9 a.m. PDT
• Sports Illustrated shows what print publications can (and should) do online
• What else is going on at Google IO?
• Hands-on with the Android Kindle app
• Seesmic shares new Android beta with Google I/O attendees, with support for Google Buzz
• The Great Wall of Android

Day Two

• Today: Froyo; tomorrow (er, Q4): Gingerbread
• Hands-on with the Chevy Volt OnStar Android app
• Google IO Day 2 Keynote: Froyo time!
• Android: 100,000 units per day, 2nd in smartphones, 1st in usage
• Google takes plenty of shots at Apple at Google IO
• Android to stream your desktop music over the air.
• Google shows off new mobile ad formats
• Most 2010 HTC Android phones will get Froyo ...in 2010
• Android 2.2, Froyo, officially announced, but no release date in sight
• Google Announces Google TV, coming Fall 2010 (Update: Video demo)
• Adobe explains Flash 10.1 on Android
• Logitech + Google TV details: specific remote, Video calling software
• Android 2.2 / Froyo to bring Bluetooth voice dialing
• Hands-on with Laminar Research's X-Plane Android flight sim
• Why the Google phone store didn't work out (and what happened to the Sprint and Verizon Nexus Ones)

So what, exactly, killed off the Google phone store? We had a couple really good questions during this afternoon's Q&A regarding the death of the web distribution model, and what happened with the Sprint and Verizon versions of the Nexus One. Said Mario Queiroz, above, vice president of Android product management:

"The web store as a direct distribution model is really a very small part of the overall Android strategy. With the Nexus One we had the objective of bringing to market a very technologically sophisticated phone, which we did, which really set a new bar for quality. And I think you've seen a lot of the phones in the market today, that have come to market in the past few months, have been influcing, in many ways ... by what the Nexus One was able to do.

"The web store was another element of the strategy. It was, in many ways, an experiment for us. ... Android was in a very different place six months ago. ... And today, we believe that the right thing to do from a distribution perspective is different from what it was a few months ago. And so we've chosen to double down on our partnerships ... we're focusing on building great technology -- being an Internet software company -- and working with our partners on distribution."

Andy Rubin followed up with a great explanation with what goes into working with carriers. Check it out after the break.

I'm pretty sure I could probably fly myself home after spending a few minutes with Laminar Research's X-Plane Android flight simulator (this is no mere "app"), which we toyed around with at Google IO. You have seven airplanes -- Piper Malibu, Beach King-Air, Eclipse Jet-500, Piaggio Avanti, Cirrus Vision, Cessna 172 and Columbia 400 -- from which you can choose, and it features custom terrain (no Google Earth here) and even shows where lift is affecting the aircraft. It's not available yet in the Android Market because they're waiting for a few technical issues (with the Market, not their app) to be resolved. But hopefully we'll see this soon. Check it out after the break. Anybody want to navigate for me?

First question out of the gate today for the Android leadership at Google IO was about everybody's favorite subject: fragmentation. And VP of engineering Andy Rubin put things in perspective: 

Some of the press has called this "fragmentation," and that's probably the wrong word for this. The better word for it is "legacy." These phones and devices ... the iteration ... is incredibly fast.

And when we stop to think about it, we like that term. It's not all fire and brimstone like you guys are looking for, but it's the way it is.

Look, that's really not going to make a lot of you happy. But that's just the hard truth: These phones are progressing extremely fast. At some point yours will be old. At some point ours will be old. And we'll all have to live with that.

Check out the whole exchange after the break.

We first showed you the official Froyo sculpture a week ago, and here it is, finally on the Google campus. Yummy, eh? [Twitpic via @billnapier]

A small programming note, people: Due to our regularly scheduled Android Central Podcast falling smack in the middle of Google IO/cross-country travel, we're going to push it back a day this week. So, no podcast tonight. Instead, join us Friday at 7 p.m. EDT / 4 p.m. PDT as we wrap up all the week's Android news -- including Froyo and Flash -- and we might even have a few special treats to give away. We'll be at AndroidCentral.com/live. See you Friday!

You guys keep asking, and here's the official answer: Android 2.2 -- Froyo -- is trickling out in the SDK now, but it's going to be a few weeks before we see it on phones en masse. That doesn't mean we won't see it anywhere, just that you don't need to be checking for updates (and e-mailing us) every day, m'kay? [Twitter]