Android 3.0 Gingerbread getting revamped UI, Froyo living on for lower-end phones?
By Chris Ziegler 
posted June 30th 2010 1:15PM
posted June 30th 2010 1:15PM
Last we'd heard, the next major release of Android -- codename Gingerbread -- was scheduled for a fourth-quarter launch, but the always-entertaining Eldar Murtazin has apparently just spilled a few details on what he knows of the release on a Russian podcast. Most notably, the dude says that we can expect an entirely revamped UI -- the first that the platform will have undergone since its introduction -- and will take cues from the fancy 3D Gallery app launched with Eclair. There's said to be a new 1280 x 760 resolution available for devices larger than 4 inches, which would dovetail nicely with Verizon's desire to bring a bunch of Android tablets to market. Like Windows Phone 7, Murtazin claims that Google will be laying down the law with some hardcore hardware specs to run 3.0, demanding a minimum of a 3.5-inch display, a 1GHz processor, and 512MB of RAM -- so what about cheaper devices? Well, those will apparently continue to run Android 2.1 or 2.2, which sounds like yet another serious recipe for platform fragmentation from the outset. We'll apparently see the first devices launch in time for the holidays following an October introduction, which lines up with what we've heard so far. Needless to say, we'll be keeping a close eye on this one.Update: Android team's Dan Morrill (full title Open Source and Compatibility Tech Lead -- yeah, that's a bit of a mouth full) is calling out the rumor over Twitter: "I love it when people just make stuff up" (sarcasm, obviously), "rumors are not official announcements," and so on. Guess that's how the, erm, cookie crumbles.
[Thanks, John]
So... Droid Doesn't???
Sent from my iPhone
@Techholic3547
droid will
so based on these specs one of androids flagship and most hype products the droid will be 'outdated' by q4. wow thanks alot
@tc4101
dont lie
@beesneazy dont be a turd ;)
@tc4101
droid will
;)
droid doesnt
@tc4101
lol Droid DOES
IF you want it bad enough
el root'o
As a happy droid owner since December, I was a little worried when the nexus one came out, and a little more with the incredible, and completely green with envy for the evo.
Now with the announcement of the Droid X and upcoming Droid 2, I'll happily wait till this december, or even next year, to buy whichever new device is coming out around that time.
Remember the promise for a phone with a 2ghz snapdragon processor by the end of 2010? I'll bet that thing will run 3.0 (hell maybe even chrome os?!?!)
So thats what the Russian spies were after!
I wonder if Engadget will do these extreme closeups with phones once the iPhone is no longer the leader in the resolution dept.
I doubt it.. they did not do close ups when the iPhone was still HVGA vs all the VGA devices out on the market.... they seem to only highlight technical differences when its in apples favor.. when its not they downplay its significance.
@newjaruz Again, with the "engadget are apple fanboys" stuff
They only covered the iPhone 4 screen as much as they did in comparison because it's such a high ppi, about 100-120 ppi higher on average than almost all of the VGA phones out.
I was about ready to buy/pre-order the Droid X, and now in about 3 months it's already going to be considered lower end? damn it...progression is great but this is WAY too fast
2.2 out on most recent phones by the end of August, 3.0 out on brand new phones 2 months later? :(
@travis8214 err not that the Droid X will be lower end but that it'll just meet the minimum requirements
@travis8214 Do yourself a favor, unless you absolutely can't live without a phone right now - don't buy anything until 3.0.
800x480 (854x480 for Droid) and 1Ghz processors have been around for too long now (relative to smartphone spec progression). It is pretty clear a significant improvement is just around the corner. Also, devices released with 3.0 are not going to feel like a crap shoot from now on as to whether or not you are going to get firmware support.
Feel bad for my G1...
"so what about cheaper devices? Well, those will apparently continue to run Android 2.1 or 2.2"
i fkn wish
*galaxy user never to get anything above donut from samsung*
@mrqs Yeah this is why I'll never buy a Samsung handset until they show some serious improvement. S-AMOLED is mindblowingly cool (to a geek of course) but if it comes with zero support they can keep it.
Only because this is a 'hot' topic:
PIXEL DENSITY CALCUATIONS!
4.0" @ 1280x760 == 372ppi pixel density
4.1" @ 1280x760 == 363ppi pixel density
4.3" @ 1280x760 == 346ppi pixel density
5.0" @ 1280x760 == 297ppi pixel density
PPI aside, if a Anrdoid3 device is indeed released this year, apple is going to be blown out of the water spec-wise. With the new UX upgrade, and Unity3D allowing developers the ability to port games to the platform, Android3 devices will compete exceptionally well on all fronts.
Symbian, Win7, BlackBerry, are laps behind and need to do some serious work to catch up.
thats sad u are all thinking of this on the low end remember motorola has stated that by the end of the year it is releasing a android phone with a 2ghz processor also intel atom and nvidia tegra 2 is joining that along with airnergy also toshiba is releasing a 128 gb sd card and a 64 gb sd card running at 300mbps so think about the possibilities and dont forget moores law these things are just gonna get better. if all those claims are right by christmas we could see a phone that has 2ghz intel atom processor 512mb of ram nvidia tega 2 handleing all the graphics flash and html5 support resolution of 1280x760 a built in 32 gb sd card or better and expandable by 128 gb all running on a 4 in full touch with a qwerty keyboard a front facing vga or better camera and a rear view camera what if all this and more were added on the new sidekick refresh that thier making then it could run on t-mobiles 4g hspa+ which is supposed to put sprints 4g to shame then u will be putting netbooks out the only thing left at that point is to make games compatable and to make the screen and frame out of chemical enhanced gorrilla glass like the new i phone 4
*fap*fap*fap*fap*fap*fap*fap*fap*fap*fap*fap*fap*fap*fap*fap*fap*fap*fap*fap*fap*
Some low end Android phones still won't have Froyo by the time the first Android 3.0 phones ship.
I'm sorry, but as awesome as Gingerbread my be, the fact that my Desire is still running Éclair stays the same.
Which means that 'Q4 2010' actually means Q2 2011 for anyone without a Nexus one (or two by the time this comes out).
I'll only get excited when HTC or any of the other companies start to get these updates faster to their users