As exciting as seeing the Gingerbread keyboard leak out was, the fact remained that users stuck on Android 2.1 or below couldn't join in on the fun, and the same went for users of non-rooted devices.
Fortunately, the Android community rests not, and the keyboard has been neatly packaged into an APK and posted for all to see. Thanks to XDA-Developers member hotaru, both Éclair-running and non-rooted handsets can now access Google's latest input method.
To install:
Prepare your party gear and break out the keg, people: Google is officially starting the push of Gingerbread to AOSP (Android Open Source Project) as we speak. Jean-Baptiste Queru just announced that fact, saying he was going to begin pushing the code to the AOSP, and the process is expected to take a few hours.
What does that mean for you? ROMs built on AOSP code (such as CyanogenMod) will now have access to Gingerbread, so expect CyanogenMod for Gingerbread (CM7?) to start cooking shortly. Since the code is now finalized, it also means that Google will likely start pushing out the Gingerbread update to the Nexus One.
The Nexus S isn't exactly a huge upgrade from Google's original Jesus phone (in fact, it could be considered a downgrade in some respects), but it does feature one potential selling point: Gingerbread. That said, there's no reason those of us with non-Nexus S phones should have to wait in order to enjoy the update's new features, as the leaked Gingerbread launcher and 2.3 keyboard have shown us.
Today, Android Central Forums member Upstreammiami tweaked the Nexus live wallpaper in Éclair and Froyo to make it nearly identical to the default wallpaper on the NS. Obviously, since the phone isn't available yet, Upstreammiami wasn't able to grab the files directly off Samsung and Google's creation; therefore, this isn't a direct port.
With Android 2.3, users will have not only a slew of new features (I can't wait!), but also a fix to a security issue present in the previous versions of Android: TapJacking. TapJacking occurs when a malicious application displays a fake user interface that you can interact with, but actually secretly passes interaction events, such as finger taps, to a hidden user interface behind it. Using this technique, a devious developer could potentially trick a user into making purchases, clicking on ads, installing applications, or even wiping all of the data from the phone. All around, TapJacking is not good!
In previous versions of Android, an attacker was able to display the fake user interface by creating a customized notification (called a Toast) to obscure the real interface.
LG definitely struck a nerve In the Android community when they said that their LG Optimus One series would not be updated to Android 2.3 due to not meeting the hardware requirements, when it has already been stated that all phones running Froyo (such as the Optimus One) were capable of running Gingerbread. Well, LG have not only retracted that statement and offered an apology, they've delivered a great piece of news: every phone in the Optimus One line will get updated to Gingerbread!
LG will upgrade all Optimus One smartphones currently using the Froyo OS to the next version of the Android OS, Gingerbread.
Our (OK, mainly Brian's) man Paul O'Brien of MoDaCo has been hard at work porting the Gingerbread launcher to Froyo (Android 2.2). What's different? Well, frankly... not a lot.
The major differences are that there's a bit more green and that the app drawer fades in/out. In my minute or two with it, that's about all I noticed, and really, that's all you can ask for at this point. That said, if you're using vanilla Froyo now, there's really no downside to using the Gingerbread launcher.
Nothing revolutionary, but given the amount of fervor over Gingerbread, the launcher and the keyboard may be just enough to whet your appetite and hold you over until some official releases start rolling out.
One thing that was very much anticipated in the Nexus S and Gingerbread in general was NFC (Near Field Communication) support, which is a feature we've never seen before on an Android device. In fact, the vast majority of us took it to mean that it will allow you to use your phone as a credit card, which would indeed be very exciting and insanely cool. Unfortunately, that's not the case here; rather, the technology will allow the Nexus S (and other NFC-capable Android phones) to act as a glorified barcode scanner of sorts.
Google loves putting Easter eggs into their products, and whoever sneaked this late Halloween piece into the official Gingerbread SDK release over at Google is a real master. This is art, people! Found among the boring buttons and icons in the depths of the new Android SDK at this path: platforms\android-9\data\res\drawable-nodpi\platlogo.jpg, this painting is a work of a pure genius:
Source: Android Central
Having finally seen the Android 2.3 Gingerbread release happen, I can't tell you how happy I am. All I can say is that this is better than Christmas and New Year's Eve combined!
Amidst all this holiday spirit and joy in the air, one amazing person (Peter Alfonso of Bugless Beast) has already ported the Android 2.3 keyboard to rooted 2.2 devices. Be sure to thank him kindly for the following Android 2.3 keyboard port. I should warn you, however, that at this point the keyboard does not have a proper functioning dictionary, auto-correct is not working, and multi-touch is not active.
As you may have seen, Google took the covers off Gingerbread today and released the new SDK, which allowed me to immediately jump into an emulated Gingerbread instance. After playing with the new UI for a while, I've taken a bunch of screenshots, which you can find below, along with some of my notes.
Before I dive into the Gingerbread screenshots, here is a side-by-side comparison of the same Settings screen in Donut (1.6), Froyo (2.2), and Gingerbread (2.3):
From left to right: Donut, Froyo, Gingerbread
As you can see, not much has changed since Froyo, except for most of the elements getting darker and/or greener.
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