This version of the Android mobile OS offers speed! Not only that though, as you’re soon to find out, there’s wild additions too! Nothing so big your eyeballs will explode, but close! There’s a new keyboard, a new text selection tool, gyroscope support, power management improvements, VoIP/SIP calling, improved copy and paste, support for NFC technology, and more!
Android OS was developed initially by a startup called Android that was involved in making software for mobiles and that Google bought in the summer of 2005. In 2007, Google announced the Android OS in association with the Open Handset Alliance, a large and open group of hardware, software and telecom companies that have been roped in by Google to participate in developing and distributing the Android operating system and applications.
New Keyboard
First of all, the thing that everyone uses every freaking day of the year, the Keyboard. This new keyboard has its keys reshaped for faster input and editing, bringing up word suggestions also depending on what letters you’re typing. Switching to voice mode allows you not to replace selections, multi-touch key-chording allowing you to type numbers and symbols with keyboard shortcut combos instead of flipping back and forth like you’ve got to now. Included deep inside the keyboard class “android.view.KeyEvent” is support for the following buttons – A,B,C, L1, L2, R1, R2, select, start, X, Y, and Z – aka PlayStation controls.
Copy/Paste
The copy and paste function has been improved to include pressing and holding to select words, stay in selection mode, and copy text for later pasting. Word Selection
Improvements to word selecting include the aforementioned press-hold, a function iPhone
users are already used to using. Once pressed and held, a free-selection mode begins, a place where you can adjust the area you’re selecting by expanding bounding boxes.
Power Management
Improved next is your ability to manage your power usage. Inside your application settings, you’re able to see your battery in how it’s being used by various apps. See how much that Matrix screensaver really is sucking up all your juice! Hopefully soon those task killers will be rendered outdated.
Application Control (Task Killer Killer)
Along these same lines is a shortcut to “Manage Applications” which you can reach in your options menu. From here, you can indeed view all of your applications, how much power they’re using, and you’ve got the ability to stop any app instantly.
NFC Near Field Communication
This is the future of commerce as far as credit cards go. Use this to touch or swipe NFC tag embedded posters, advertisements, other weird junk, to be directed to a website (and more than likely other such actions). In the future, this functionality will work to send and receive money via your handheld device. Excellence.
Internet Calling
SIP Internet Calling addresses can be added to your contacts list and you can make internet calls via Quick Contact or Dialer. Hooray! Of course you’ll need a SIP account for this to work and these features will be turned off or on depending on what your manufacturer or carrier wants.
Downloads Management
A new download manager is in place to work from your browser, email, or other apps. This could be rather helpful I must say so myself.
Camera
Multiple cameras can now be accessed from your one new camera app, just by clicking the “select camera” button.
UI Improvements
Simple changes in the user interface of this Gingerbread system make the whole situation faster, easier, and more power-efficient. One example is the changing of the background to BLACK in the areas that it’ll always be covered up such as the notification bar, menus, and etc. Changes in these menus are also in place to simplify.
NFC is another high-frequency, short-range wireless communication technology that enables exchange of data between devices in a secure mode. Schmidt said that because NFC is incorporated into Android Gingerbread, a device running the operating system will easily be able to make mobile payments.
Users will have to do as little as wave the phone at a payment terminal to carry out a financial transaction. Google benefits from this because buying often comes naturally at the end of a Google search (like buying a movie ticket or air ticket). This would replace the use of a credit card or some other payment method online. A phone with NFC technology can handle search as well as purchase functions in a single device.
Widespread implementation of mobile payment technology has been slowed down by the hardware requirement in phones as well as retail stores and other payment terminals.
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