gingerbread

What we might expect from Gingerbread

Though some of the world already has passed into Friday, the rumor that Gingerbread will launch today still could turn out to be true. Expected to be listed as Android 2.3, details of the latest build of the Android OS have been a closely guarded secret thus far. Yet, we can piece together clues and quotes from the last few months to get an idea as to what we should expect.

Interface tweaks Early on, we learned that Gingerbread was going to focus mainly on aesthetics, providing a glossier, more consistent approach to the user interface. That makes sense … Read more

Samsung's GT-i9020 looks to be Nexus S

A handful of month-old pictures surfaced online today showing what appears to be the Samsung follow-up to the Nexus One. After news of Best Buy's accidental mention of a Nexus S today, we're starting to see things unfold rather quickly. At this stage, it's not a matter of whether or not the phone exists, but rather a question of when it will appear.

FCC documents are shedding light on the model number for what turn out to be the Nexus S. As pointed out by Android Community, the GT-i9020 looks identical to the images provided to Engadget, … Read more

Rumor: Android 2.3 to arrive in 'next few days'

The wait for Android 2.3 could be over quite soon.

"Prepare your Nexus One (developer version) for Android over-the-air update 2.3 (Gingerbread) for the next few days," according to a translation of a tweet in Spanish sent yesterday by Alvaro Fuentes Vasquez.

It can't be immediately confirmed that Vasquez or his prediction is for real. However, Vasquez states on his LinkedIn page that he's been a member of the "leadership team and usability" for the Open Handset Alliance for the past two years. His blog seems to back up his credentials as … Read more

Rumor du Jour: Gingerbread comes out of the oven on November 11

IntoMobile is reporting today that the next release of Android--Gingerbread--is expected to debut November 11.

Likely to be marked as v2.3, Gingerbread is said to focus more on aesthetics as opposed to additional features. Other details include WebM support, better copy and paste functionality, and improved social-networking features.

Reading the tea leaves, it certainly appears that an SDK announcement is around the corner. A giant gingerbread man statue was dropped off at Google headquarters two weeks ago, where he now stands next to previous delicious builds of Android, including Froyo (2.1) and Eclair (2.0).

Typically, Google announces … Read more

Cutting through the Nexus Two rumors

The Android rumor mill kicked into overdrive last week with chatter of a Nexus One follow-up. According to the latest dish, Samsung will be making what's been unofficially dubbed the "Nexus Two."

The first signs of the handset came October 26 when City A.M. claimed there would be a new Google-branded device out in time for the holidays. Then, a few days later, AndroidAndMe reported what could be the hardware specifications of the phone. Today, however, Samsung denied that such a phone is coming. So, realistically, what are we to expect? … Read more

Android Atlas Weekly 21: 5 Reasons To Wait for An Android Tablet (podcast)

Steve Jobs attacks, a pre-rooted phone, and 5 reasons to wait for an Android Tablet, All that and more coming up on this week's edition of Android Atlas Weekly for Thursday, October 21st, 2010. Join Justin Eckhouse and guest host, Senior Associate Editor, Nicole Lee for all the Android news of the week.

A misguided rebuttal to Steve Jobs’ Android attack http://news.cnet.com/8301-30685_3-20019997-264.html

Revenue for Android beats iPhone on ad network http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-20020016-94.html#ixzz130Pbd772… Read more

Google: Android not yet ready for tablets

Though Android tablets have already begun popping up, Google says its mobile operating system is not quite ready for that purpose.

TechRadar quoted Hugo Barra, Google's director of mobile products, on Friday saying "Froyo is not optimized for use on tablets." Froyo is the name for Android's current version of the operating system, version 2.2.

And that's despite the latest round of tablets featuring Android shown at IFA Berlin last week. Android Market, the place for Android users to buy apps, won't work properly on tablets, he said.

"If you want Android market on that platform, the apps just wouldn't run, [Froyo] is just not designed for that form factor." But it's been hinted that future versions will be.

That might explain why the Android tablets already for sale are curiously smartphone-like. … Read more

Lots of Android on Verizon's leaked roadmap

Boy Genius offered a load of dish Monday on Verizon Wireless' roadmap through 2010 and 2011. Some of the rumored devices we've heard about already, but not everything has been discussed before. According to the tipster, Verizon will have a Motorola Droid Pro global phone by November, two other global handsets from Samsung and HTC, a Moto Android device that will resemble the company's long-departed Q smartphone, and Android-powered tablets from Motorola and Verizon. And on the 4G front, Boy Genius predicts that Verizon will have LTE service across 75 percent of the country by April 2012 and … Read more

High-fashion Versace phone

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that the Versace Unique is not an iPhone killer. Or an Evo killer. Or whatever phone du jour we want to kill at the moment.

Why are these high-fashion phones still around? Who uses them? I've never once seen one in the wild. Only once have I ever even heard of one in the wild and that was when my friend Adam Curry said that he was going to buy his teenage daughter a Samsung Armani. He hardly counts. He is a high-profile guy. Mere mortals do not … Read more

Next build of Android code-named Gingerbread

As we heard last October, it appears that the next build of Google Android will be called "Gingerbread."

The outing of Gingerbread comes courtesy of a post by Brian Swetland over at LWN.com. "This week we're finalizing our move to 2.6.32 for the Android "Froyo" release, and we'll likely be on .33 or .34 for 'Gingerbread'," he wrote.

As of right now, the enhancements and improvements have yet to be announced. While another Android build sounds great in theory, I'd prefer to see current and forthcoming handsets get on the same page. … Read more