Samsung Galaxy Gingerbread update – what it means for your phone

Samsung has confirmed that the much delayed Gingerbread update is set to hit its Galaxy range at the end of this month. But what exactly will the new OS version do for your Galaxy S or Galaxy Tab device?

Better UI

Android 2.3 brings with it a number of tweaks and improvements to the Android interface. Admittedly, not all of these will be noticeable on the Samsung Galaxy range owing to the presence of the company’s own custom UI, but the should be some clear improvements nonetheless.

As well as improved navigation, there’ll be an improved copy and paste function for text. Pressing and holding on a word will allow you to copy that word, while you will also be able to manually adjust the parameters of your copied text by “dragging a set of bounding arrows to new positions,” as the Android Developers blog puts it.

Unfortunately, we probably won’t see the improved Android 2.3 keyboard on Galaxy devices, because Samsung tends to go with its own solution. However, it’s certainly not a bad keyboard in its own right, and there are plenty of fine alternatives on the Android Market anyway.

Improved performance

Arguably the biggest improvements in Gingerbread, however, relate to general performance. According to Samsung, “multimedia content now has a lower CPU consumption rate, while support for more powerful 3D Graphics enables an enhanced mobile gaming experience.”

This was certainly borne out when an early build of the 2.3 update for Galaxy devices leaked out back in April. Sites like GSMArena took the opportunity to run some benchmark tests, and found that graphical performance on the Galaxy S was significantly improved when running on 2.3.

It’s not just the CPU and GPU performance that will be improved by the 2.3 update, either. According to the Android Developers blog, Android 2.3 “takes a more active role in managing apps that are keeping the device awake for too long or that are consuming CPU while running in the background.” The result is not only a freeing up of more processing power, but an increase in battery life into the bargain.

When can we catch the Gingerbread, man?

All these subtle improvements and more (see below) will be winging their way to a Samsung Galaxy device near you over the coming weeks. According to Samsung, “the upgrade path will begin with Galaxy S in the UK from late May,” but will be dependent on each network’s own software approval process. After the last false start on Samsung’s part, operators will doubtless want to be extra sure that this update is exactly right.

When the update does turn up, you’ll only be able to access it through Samsung’s Kies desktop program, so be sure to have it installed and up to date.

A lot of attention has been created by this 2.3 update for the Galaxy range, but it’s easy to see why. A new OS serves to freshen up an older device and makes it feel like new. In this case, it will also turn your Galaxy device into a better, faster unit.