Gingerbread -- Android 2.3 -- despite being a "dot" release (aka minor), actually brought some fairly major changes to the Android platform. (It also brought us the statue you see above).
Cosmetically, nothing changed that much. The notification bar at the top of the screen went black, and the signal strength and battery indicators turned green. Many had been hoping Gingerbread would contain the handiwork of Matias Duarte, who led Palm's webOS UI and now is user experience director for Android. But it looks like we'll have to wait for Ice Cream Sandwich for that one.
Another big question you'll ask is "Will my phone be upgraded to Gingerbread?" For the first half of 2011, far too many phones launched without it. But slowly, our unofficial list of phones is starting to see upgrades.
More Gingerbread stories
Article
by Phil Nickinson
Dec 21, 2010
Gingerbread on the Droid Incredible? Don't sound so surprised. Now that the source code has been made publicly available, everyone and their mother (hi, Mom!) is compiling a beta build for their favor...
Article
by Phil Nickinson
Dec 20, 2010
OMG! The Nexus One will get its over-the-air Gingerbread update in a few weeks, according to the GoogleNexus Twitter account. In a few weeks?!?!? That means we should repeatedly hit the software updat...
Article
by Jerry Hildenbrand
Dec 20, 2010
One of the big changes in Gingerbread is the inclusion of a full Internet calling stack in the Android operating system. This means that you can make and receive voice calls over 3G (or 4G or an...
Article
by Jared DiPane
Dec 19, 2010
With the recent release of the Android 2.3 source code to the Android Open Source Project, we have seen many different ROM's surface for devices based on this 2.3 code. It can be a bit of a strug...
Article
by Jesse Potter
Dec 18, 2010
Whenever a new version of Android is released, one thing you can always count on is the developer community hacking it onto as many devices as they can. Using the kernel and system image from th...
Article
by Phil Nickinson
Dec 17, 2010
Now that the Android 2.3 code has been made available as part of the Android Open Source Project, we knew it would just be a matter of time before we get it on devices other than the Nexus S. First u...
Article
by Phil Nickinson
Dec 17, 2010
For your folks who like to compile and run your own ROMs straight from the source (and who doesn't?), know that the Android 2.3 Gingerbread source code is being pushed to the Android Open Source ...
Article
by Phil Nickinson
Dec 17, 2010
Nexus S is released Nexus S Hands-on Photo Gallery; Update: VideoNexus S available online now (with free shipping); stores open at 8 a.m.Nexus S rooted (to nobody's surprise)How to unlock the Nexus S ...
Article
by Jerry Hildenbrand
Dec 17, 2010
As we slowly tear into everything new about the Nexus S and Gingerbread, we're sure to come across a slew of little things that add to Android. Macro mode with a decent camera is one of them. ...
Article
by Phil Nickinson
Dec 16, 2010
Excellent news, folks. The bootloader on the Samsung Nexus S (watch our hands-on video) can be unlocked just as the Nexus One's was. Gandalf44 in the Android Central Forums reminds us of the instructi...
Article
by Jerry Hildenbrand
Dec 15, 2010
While we still don't have a definite date, Googler Jean-Baptiste Queru lets us know that we'll be seeing Gingerbread in the AOSP tree soon after the Nexus S ships. My geeky side is all tingly, a...
Article
by Jerry Hildenbrand
Dec 14, 2010
There's a lot of new, behind-the-scenes goodness going on in Gingerbread, and not all of it was made with the end user in mind. One of the new APIs, "StrictMode," is built for Android ...
Article
by Jerry Hildenbrand
Dec 13, 2010
In an almost overlooked note on the Android Developers Blog, Tim Bray lets us know that starting with the Nexus S and Gingerbread, some Android devices will be moving from the YAFFS file system to the...
Article
by Chris Parsons
Dec 12, 2010
By now we've all seen the video and pics from when Andy Rubin hopped onstage showing off the Motorola, Honeycomb equipped tablet and we've gotten a glimpse of the device in a previous blurrycam photo...
Article
by Jerry Hildenbrand
Dec 10, 2010
We saw Andy Rubin showing off the new Google Maps application on the mystery Motorola Honeycomb tablet on Monday, now we get to see Google showing it off on the upcoming Nexus S. While it'...
Article
by Phil Nickinson
Dec 10, 2010
Android 2.3 Gingerbread Gingerbread SDK is released! Update: VideoMinimum CPU speed for Gingerbread? Googlers say noPreviewing Gingerbread with the 2.3 SDK [how-to]Gingerbread developers have new toys...
Article
by Phil Nickinson
Dec 09, 2010
If you're just dying to try the Gingerbread launcher, MoDaCo's pulled it from the Android 2.3 SDK and packaged into a handy app. How's it different from the stock Android 2.2 launcher? It has co...
Article
by Andrew Melnizek
Dec 08, 2010
With the official announcement of the Google Nexus S and Gingerbread (Android 2.3), the fine people over at Google decided to bombard the internet with new videos of Android goodness. Hey, we at Andr...
Article
by Jerry Hildenbrand
Dec 07, 2010
It's that time again, when a new Android version is due and the rumors, speculation, and poetic ramblings inevitably start. An old rumor that has been hashed over far too much is on the rise aga...
Article
by Jerry Hildenbrand
Dec 07, 2010
It's the thought at the front of everyone's minds -- "will my phone get Gingerbread?" Just like last time, and just like next time, we all want to know if our phone can expect an upgr...
