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Print 7 comment(s) - last by quiksilvr.. on Dec 8 at 9:32 AM

  (Source: BGR.com)
Gingerbread keyboard already available for rooted devices

With yesterday's announcement of the newest Android update -- 2.3, or "Gingerbread" -- being light on the roll-out schedule (we know very little except that 2.3 will first be available on the Samsung Nexus S), the developer community took it upon themselves, as they usually do, to begin offering the latest Android iteration to the world much sooner than any carriers.

The Gingerbread ROM is currently in the early stages for the EVO 4G, Droid Eris, and Wildfire, but it can be had. Keep in mind that at this stage, it's mostly for looks and for other developers to contribute to.

One aspect that is ready, as noted by BoyGeniusReport, is Gingerbread's new-and-improved keyboard. If you have a rooted Android device, you can already download and install the new keyboard.

As for official Gingerbread roll-outs, Nexus One users -- as usual -- should be some of the first to get 2.3, sometime in the next few weeks.

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My wish:
By quiksilvr on 12/7/2010 9:32:56 AM , Rating: 5
Cellphone makers would install STOCK Android OS with an application of their own custom interface that you can easily uninstall and re-install at your leisure.

This can open up a whole new competitive market. Suppose you have a basic Android device (say, the Motorola Cliq) but wish you could get the HTC Sense UI installed onto it. Just go to the market, pay $5-$10 and voila!

To me, that would be preferred to having to ROM your phone just to clean up the OS and/or to forcefully uninstall programs from it.




RE: My wish:
By weskurtz0081 on 12/7/2010 10:33:25 AM , Rating: 2
Yes, this is exactly what I was saying to a friend of mine that uses a Droid X. There are a bunch of UI's out there made by the different carriers, we should be able to use whichever one we want, or none of them if we so choose.


RE: My wish:
By strikeback03 on 12/7/2010 11:35:27 AM , Rating: 2
I don't know if they would be willing to go that far, but IMO at least being able to choose at boot (without root) between whatever the custom skinned version for your phone is and whatever the latest and greatest vanilla Android is would be nice.


RE: My wish:
By theapparition on 12/7/2010 11:42:51 AM , Rating: 2
It's wishfull thinking. I like the idea myself, but not naive enough to know it won't happen.

Vanilla android won't work on most phones, at least not with some tweaking. Drivers have to be compatible, not all phones use the same hardware, etc. Plus you forgot a huge factor that all the bloatware on your phone helps pay for the manufacturers developement and lowers cost to both the carrier and the consumer.

But Sense would be sweet as an add on.


RE: My wish:
By KingstonU on 12/7/2010 6:21:06 PM , Rating: 2
I remember reading that Android 3.0 is doing away with carrier custom UIs. It was in an article that also stated that 3.0 would also be the first to feature minimum hardware requirements.


RE: My wish:
By quiksilvr on 12/8/2010 9:32:46 AM , Rating: 2
That's great news and all, but what about the phones now? This means most sub 1GHz phones will NOT get Honeycomb and once again will have to mod it like the G1 just to get the updated OS.


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