Android Gingerbread
Version of the Android operating system | |
![]() | |
![]() Android 2.3.7 on an Android SDK emulator | |
Developer | |
---|---|
Initial release | December 6, 2010[1] |
Final release | 2.3.7_r1 (GWK74)[2] / September 21, 2011 |
Kernel type | Monolithic (Linux) |
Preceded by | Android 2.2.3 "Froyo" |
Succeeded by | Android 3.0 "Honeycomb" (tablets) Android 4.0 "Ice Cream Sandwich" (smartphones) |
Official website | developer |
Support status | |
Unsupported, Google Play Services support dropped since January 1, 2017[3] |
Android 2.3 Gingerbread is the seventh version of Android, a codename of the Android mobile operating system developed by Google and released in December 2010, for versions that are no longer supported.
Version
[edit]The Gingerbread release introduced support for near field communication (NFC)—used in mobile payment solutions—and Session Initiation Protocol (SIP)—used in VoIP internet telephones.[4] The first phone with Android Gingerbread was the Nexus S.
Gingerbread's user interface was refined, making it easier to master, faster to use, and more power-efficient. A simplified color scheme with a black background gave vividness and contrast to the notification bar, menus, and other user interface components. Improvements in menus and settings resulted in easier navigation and system control.
The Nexus S smartphone, released in December 2010, was the first phone from the Google Nexus line that ran Gingerbread, and also the first one from the line with built-in NFC functionality.[5]
As of October 2022[update], statistics issued by Google indicate that 0.11% of all Android devices accessing Google Play were running on Gingerbread.[6] Google ceased sign-in support for Gingerbread on September 27, 2021.[7]
Features
[edit]New features introduced by Gingerbread include the following:
- Updated user interface design, providing increased ease of use and efficiency.
- Support for extra-large screen sizes and resolutions (WXGA and higher).
- Native support for SIP VoIP internet telephones.
- Improved text input using the virtual keyboard, with improved accuracy, better text suggestions, and voice input capability.
- Enhanced copy/paste functionality, allowing users to select a word by press-holding, copying, and pasting.
- Support for Near Field Communication (NFC), allowing the user to read NFC tags embedded in posters, stickers, or advertisements.
- New audio effects such as reverb, equalization, headphone virtualization, and bass boost.
- New Download Manager, giving users easy access to any file downloaded from the browser, email, or another application.
- Support for multiple cameras on the device, including a front-facing camera, if available.
- Support for WebM/VP8 video playback, and AAC audio encoding.
- Improved power management, including more active management of power-consuming applications.
- Enhanced support for native code development.
- A switch from YAFFS to ext4 file system on newer devices.
- Audio, graphical, and input enhancements for game developers.
- Concurrent garbage collection for increased performance.
- Native support for more sensors (such as gyroscopes and barometers).
- The first Android easter egg, which depicts the Android mascot standing beside a zombified gingerbread man in a field of other zombies talking on cell phones, presumably Android smartphones.
- Improved speed over Froyo due to system updates.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c6/Android_Gingerbread_Easter_eggs.jpg/220px-Android_Gingerbread_Easter_eggs.jpg)
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Android 2.3 Platform and Updated SDK Tools". Archived from the original on May 19, 2021. Retrieved May 27, 2021.
- ^ "Android Source". Google Git. Archived from the original on May 27, 2021. Retrieved May 27, 2021.
- ^ "Google to drop the support from Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) devices". November 22, 2016. Archived from the original on August 27, 2022. Retrieved August 27, 2022.
- ^ Graham, Flora (December 7, 2010). "What's new in Google's Android 2.3 Gingerbread?". CNET. Archived from the original on August 11, 2018. Retrieved September 3, 2015.
- ^ Hollister, Sean (November 15, 2010). "The Nexus S: a closer look". Engadget. Archived from the original on April 22, 2019. Retrieved September 3, 2015.
- ^ "Distribution dashboard". Android Developers. Archived from the original on May 1, 2017. Retrieved May 14, 2019.
- ^ Pollack, Zak (July 26, 2021). "Sign-in on Android devices running Android 2.3.7 or lower will not be allowed starting September 27". Google. Archived from the original on April 29, 2022. Retrieved August 2, 2021.
External links
[edit]Media related to Android Gingerbread at Wikimedia Commons
- Official website