Gingerbread 2.3 - 13/19 - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

Feb

[Breaking] The "Few Weeks" Are Finally Over - Android 2.3.3 Now Rolling Out To Nexus One And Nexus S

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Gingerbread 2.3, HTC, Nexus One (Passion)

It seems Google has a funny definition of "a few weeks" - the Nexus One has been waiting for an update to Gingerbread for almost three months now - but late or not, the update is finally rolling out.

It isn't just any update, however; it's the recently announced Android 2.3.3, which features API level 10 as well as enhancements to Bluetooth, Graphics, Speech Recognition, and Media APIs (sorry, the Nexus One won't benefit from NFC enhancements as it doesn't have the hardware).

Nexus S users should also be seeing the update, and they'll get an extra treat to go along with it: writing/transmitting NFC capabilities.

Feb

[Updated] CyanogenMod 7 RC1 Now Available For 17 Android Devices

Posted by David Ruddock in Development, Gingerbread 2.3, News

Warning: This article contains information about flashing custom ROMs to your phone. If you're at all new to this, give our complete guide to custom ROM flashing a read.

Well folks, the day has finally come: the Gingerbread-based CyanogenMod 7 Release Candidates have landed for 17 Android devices. These "RCs" are suitable, generally speaking, for everyday use and have been road-tested enough that TeamDouche feels they're almost ready for prime time. Hit the links for the individual threads, which contain instructions and download mirrors:

Happy flashing, and be sure to read the instructions if this is your first go.

Feb

Rumor: Nexus One Gingerbread OTA By End Of This Week Or Early Next? We'll Believe It When We See It

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Gingerbread 2.3, HTC, News, Nexus One (Passion)

HTC Nexus One, the predecessor to the Gingerbread-sporting Samsung Nexus S, has been teased with the Android 2.3 over-the-air upgrade ever since Gingerbread was released. At the time, we anxiously waited for the upgrade that seemed to be imminent, but weeks flew by without any news. Then, Google said it was coming "in the next few weeks," but months slowly churned, and thousands of Nexus Ones owners are still GBreadless.

How many times can you cry wolf before people stop listening to you? I don't know, but I hope this is the last time - Mobile Crunch reports that multiple sources, including Googlers on location at MWC in Barcelona, claim the 2.3 OTA is coming to our precious N1s by the week's end or early next week at the latest.

Feb

Android 2.3.3 Update To Gingerbread Brings New NFC Capabilities (Including Writing/Transmitting) And Other Enhancements

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Android OS, Gingerbread 2.3, News

When Gingerbread was launched back in December of last year, we learned that one of its main selling points was Near Field Communication (NFC) support, which allowed for NFC-enabled devices to communicate when placed near each other.

Using your Android phone as a credit card or sharing information by bringing 2 devices close to each other seemed like a dream come true until we found that NFC support in Gingerbread was actually quite limited - writing/transmitting was not possible and only a limited subset of reading APIs was available.

Today, Google announced a new Gingerbread update bearing version number 2.3.3. The update is concentrated mostly around NFC, introducing writing/transmitting APIs and support for a wider range of NFC standards.

Feb

Hands-On With The Honeybread Theme For CyanogenMod 7: It's The Bee's Knees!

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Applications, Development, Gingerbread 2.3, Honeycomb 3.0/3.1/3.2, News

Ever since the official Honeycomb video preview was unleashed at CES, the blogosphere has been aflutter with admiration for the update's stunning UI. It didn't take long for the developer and modder community to push out Honeycomb-like visuals, either - for example, the clock widget has been available for a few weeks.

Now there's an even better way to get that Honeycomb feel, at least for those running CyanogenMod 7 (CM7): Honeybread. I've been running the theme for the past few days, and I'm seriously impressed. (Side note: I had to flash CM7 to try the theme, and I'm hugely impressed with it, as well as Gingerbread.

Feb

[Rumor] Android 2.4 Coming Soon To A Smartphone Near You

Posted by Abhiroop Basu in Gingerbread 2.3, Honeycomb 3.0/3.1/3.2, Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0, News

Pocket-lint has been told that the Viewsonic ViewPad 4 smartphone will be the first device with Android 2.4 when it launches in April of this year. Android 2.4 was confirmed over a month ago; however, this rumor lends credence to the fact that the update will not be a major release. Instead, the update will augment Android 2.3 (Gingerbread), allowing dual-core apps specifically designed for Android 3.0 (Honeycomb) to work on single-core devices.

Earlier last week, we heard that Honeycomb was designed exclusively for tablets and not for smartphones, though some of its features will be carried over to smartphones. This appears to be in line with Pocket-lint's rumor today.

Feb

Confirmed: Sony Ericsson Announcing Xperia Play On February 13th, Gingerbread Included

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Gingerbread 2.3, News, Sony Ericsson, Xperia Play (Zeus, PlayStation Phone)

There's been no shortage of leaks involving the Xperia Play, but Sony Ericsson hasn't said a single word on the matter... until now, that is. A new event was just posted on the company's Facebook page, and guess what it's related to:

That's right - expect an official announcement of the Xperia Play on February 13 (the day Mobile World Congress kicks off) at 1:00 p.m. EST / 10:00 a.m. PST. Can't wait? Check out the (now official) commercial for the device - not only is it super creepy; its description confirms that the phone will ship with Android 2.3 (Gingerbread).

Feb

[Weekend Poll] The Great Divide: Is The Tablet/Phone Split Going To Hurt Android?

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Android OS, Gingerbread 2.3, Honeycomb 3.0/3.1/3.2, Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0, News, Polls

Last Updated: September 3rd, 2011

Welcome to the first of a new series of polls, where every weekend, we'll ask your opinion on a timely Android-related topic. The goal is to see where the populus stands on issues and foster discussion to broaden our view. So without further ado, let's get into our first poll.

The Great Divide

Ever since the SDK was released, there's been discussion on whether Honeycomb would make it to phones or not. Most of the team here firmly said no - but a few of us thought it could. The debate was fueled by the SDK preview release - specifically, as Ars Technica noted, the emulator could scale down to WVGA resolutions.

Jan

Yet Another Android Data-Stealing Vulnerability Uncovered, Affects All Versions Of The OS

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Android OS, Gingerbread 2.3, News

Last year, we reported on a serious vulnerability in all versions of Android, found by a security researcher Thomas Cannon. It allowed a remote attacker to download files off a user's SD card upon visiting a webpage with malicious JavaScript code embedded in it. Google's response was swift, and the fix was rolled out in the public release of Gingerbread at the end of 2010.

A new report from eWeek came out today stating that another researcher, Xuxian Jiang, this time from North Carolina State University, stepped forward with a tweak to the very same vulnerability Google reportedly patched. The new method circumvents protection put in place and allows an attacker, yet again, to access a user's SD card as well as the /system directory and directories that are open for reading in the Android sandbox.

Jan

Nexus One 2.2.2 And Nexus S 2.3.2 OTAs Rolling Out - Hath The SMS Bug Finally Been Conquered?

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Froyo 2.2, Gingerbread 2.3, HTC, News, Nexus One (Passion), Nexus S (Crespo/Soju), Samsung

As disappointing as it may be to see the Nexus One - Google's first officially anointed developer phone - still getting Froyo-based updates, that's exactly what just happened. According to several Android Central forums members, a 558kb update to Android 2.2.2 (or build number FRG83G) is currently rolling out over the air to the N1, bringing "important bug fixes" with it.

In related news, the Samsung-built Nexus S - Google's second developer phone - also received an update today, though this one is Gingerbread-based. Its version number is 2.3.2, and, coincidentally, it is also said to bring "important bug fixes."

So here's the question: Given the fact that the two updates are rolling out at almost exactly the same time with the exact same description, could they both contain a fix to the infamous SMS bug?