Android 2.3 Gingerbread (and Beyond)

The most recent release of Google�s Android mobile operating system code named Gingerbread may be looking to replace your credit card. Android 2.3 is the first iteration of the OS to support near field communication (NFC) chips, meaning that you could use a smartphone running Gingerbread as a �swipable� payment device. Among Gingerbread�s other intriguing new features are native support for Voice over IP calling, manual control over front facing and back facing cameras, simpler cut and paste controls, and improved power management.

The Samsung Nexus S (available both unlocked and in combination with a T Mobile contract) is the first cell phone to offer Gingerbread out of the box, but it most assuredly won�t be the last. Prepare for a wave of Android 2.3 loaded smartphones to reach stores by the middle of 2011 and perhaps earlier. Also on the way is a tablet specific version of the Android operating system Android 3.0 (�Honeycomb�) which Google recently demonstrated on an unannounced, iPad like Motorola tablet at the D: Dive Into Mobile Conference in San Francisco. Will devices powered by Honeycomb make up ground on Apple�s runaway iPad market share? That outcome certainly seems possible, as long as the devices themselves are up to snuff.

Source of Information : PC World Magazine February 2011