Android 2.3 upgrade list: Is your phone getting Gingerbread?

After months of warming in the oven, Google's Android 2.3 operating system -- better known as Android Gingerbread -- is finally starting to make its way to handsets around the world.

Android 2.3 provides faster speed, better battery life, and a refreshed user interface. It also introduces a new and improved keyboard with a more intelligent cut-and-paste system. More Gingerbread goodness may be on the way, too: Google is believed to be working on a follow-up release numbered Android 2.4.

So how do you know if your phone will get the upgrade -- and if so, when? We've made it easy. This list has everything there is to know about the Gingerbread upgrade, broken down by device. It'll be updated regularly as new info becomes available, so you can always check in to get the latest info on your phone's status.

Want a more detailed look at Android 2.3 and what it'll do for your phone? Click over to our Android Gingerbread FAQ. And when you're ready for a real eye-opener, be sure to check out our in-depth report: Android upgrades: Which manufacturers can you trust?

[Page last updated: April 7, 2011]

Android 2.3 Upgrade List: Phones That Have Received (or Are Receiving) Gingerbread

• HTC Nexus One: After a longer-than-expected delay -- from users' perspectives, at least -- Google started sending the Android 2.3 upgrade to its Nexus One flagship phone on February 22, 2011.

• Samsung Nexus S: Though the Nexus S shipped with Android 2.3 already installed, the device received an over-the-air upgrade to Android 2.3.3 in late February. The 2.3.3 update enabled new Near Field Communicationscapabilities and included a handful of other minor tweaks. 

Android 2.3 Upgrade List: Phones Expected to Get Gingerbread

• LG Optimus 2X: The LG Optimus 2X -- known in the U.S. as the T-Mobile G2X -- is confirmed to be in-line for the Android 2.3 upgrade. No specific launch date has been announced so far.

• LG Optimus Black: Despite the fact that it ships with Froyo, LG's upcoming Optimus Black smartphone will eventually enjoy the taste of Gingerbread, LG has confirmed. No specific date has been announced.

• LG Optimus One: LG has confirmed that all of its Optimus One phones will receive the Android 2.3 upgrade at some point in the foreseeable future. This includes the Optimus S on Sprint, the Optimus T on T-Mobile, and the LG Vortex on Verizon, as well as the Optimus C on Cricket Wireless, the Optimus M on MetroPCS, the Optimus U on U.S. Cellular, and the Optimus V on Virgin Mobile. LG has not announced any specific time frame for the Gingerbread rollout, saying only that details will be "announced locally in due course."

• HTC Desire: HTC says its original Desire Android phone will receive the Android 2.3 upgrade, according to a spokesperson quoted in tech blog SlashGear. The update is said to be scheduled for sometime in the second quarter. British carrier Three also sent a tweet in early April stating that Gingerbread was "coming in for testing" on April 4 and should be sent out to users around the "end of April" or "early May"; a follow-up tweet sent by Three on April 5 said the upgrade was "expected in the next couple of weeks" but that no firm date could be provided. 

• HTC Desire HD: HTC has gone on the record as saying its European Desire HD phone will feast on Gingerbread sometime in the second quarter of 2011. Some French sites have reported that the upgrade could come as early as April, though that timing has not been officially confirmed.

• HTC Desire Z: The Desire Z is on-track to get Gingerbread, according to an HTC spokesperson quoted at SlashGear. The Desire Z's update is said to be scheduled for sometime in the second quarter.

• HTC Droid Incredible: According to an email said to be from an HTC rep and published by Android blog Droid-Life.com, the HTC Droid Incredible is set to receive the Gingerbread upgrade. The email says the upgrade will be made available "before the end of the second quarter of this year." Neither HTC nor Verizon has officially confirmed that information.

• HTC EVO 4G: While Sprint and HTC have stayed fairly quiet on the EVO's Gingerbread status, the phone certainly seems poised to receive an Android 2.3 upgrade. A small tech blog, citing a conversation with an HTC employee at the CTIA mobile tech show in March, suggests the upgrade could arrive sometime after the launch of HTC's new EVO 3D device. An email purportedly sent from HTC and leaked to another website, meanwhile, points to a possible second quarter rollout.

• HTC Incredible S: The HTC Incredible S -- rumored to be headed to Verizon as the Droid Incredible 2 -- will be bumped to Gingerbread "soon after" its release, according to HTC. A company spokesperson has been quoted as saying the Android 2.3 upgrade (or possibly Android 2.4 upgrade) will be rolled out sometime in the second quarter of 2011. Some rumors have suggested the Verizon version could arrive with Gingerbread already intact, but that information has not been confirmed.

• HTC Thunderbolt: An email said to be from an HTC rep and published at Android blog Droid-Life.com claims the HTC Thunderbolt will get its Android 2.3 upgrade sometime in the second quarter of 2011.

• Motorola Atrix 4G: Motorola has indicated it plans to upgrade its AT&T-based Atrix 4G phone to Android 2.3 at some point in the future. No specific date, however, has been announced.

• Motorola Droid 2: While we've heard no official word about Android 2.3 upgrade plans for Motorola's Droid 2, some Android blogs have posted leaked versions of a Gingerbread update apparently customized for the phone. It's not entirely clear if the update is official or final, but many Android enthusiasts are taking it as a sign that something is a-cookin'.

• Motorola Droid X: Numerous rumors have circulated in the blogosphere about possible Gingerbread rollouts for Verizon's Motorola Droid X, with the latest having pointed to March 27 as the day to watch. That date, of course, didn't end up panning out -- but leaked versions of the Android 2.3 software apparently customized for the Droid X do add weight to the notion that an update is in the works.

• Samsung Galaxy Player: It isn't technically a phone, but Samsung's new Galaxy Player Android device will be upgradeable to Android 2.3, according to a press release put out by the company. No target date has been announced.

• Samsung Galaxy S [UPDATED 4/7/11]: All signs point to Gingerbread being in the cards for Samsung's popular Galaxy S line of phones. That includes the Samsung Captivate on AT&T, Samsung Epic 4G on Sprint, Samsung Vibrant on T-Mobile, and Samsung Fascinate on Verizon (which as of now has yet to even receive Froyo). Rumors started popping up in January that some Galaxy S phones could see an Android 2.3 upgrade as early as March or April. Samsung's official Samsung Mobile India Twitter account, meanwhile, has stated numerous times that the Galaxy S will receive Gingerbread -- version 2.3.3 -- but that a definite launch date has not been set. Samsung's Romanian Facebook page has issued similar promises. In late March, software said to be a leaked version of Samsung's official Galaxy S Gingerbread update surfacedon an Android developers' forum, heightening speculation that a rollout could be near. In addition to all of that, Samsung's Finnish site has now posted a news release stating that Gingerbread will reach Galaxy S handsets "in mid-April."

• Sony Xperia X10: Sony disappointed countless customers when it said its Xperia X10 line of phones wouldn't be upgraded past Android 2.1 earlier this year. Now, however, Sony has reconsidered its stance and said it will upgrade the Xperia X10 to Android 2.3. According to a company blog posted in late March, Android 2.3 -- 2.3.3, to be specific -- will hit Xperia X10 phones late in the second quarter or early in the third quarter of 2011. Before you get too excited, though, note that Sony says the upgrade will be delivered to "generic trade versions" of the phone -- and that carrier-customized versions may or may not be included. "We will have to get back with more information on this at a later stage," Sony says, "but we want to be very clear already at this stage on the fact that some of you may not get this upgrade." Sony also notes that Xperia X10 phones will not be upgraded again beyond the Gingerbread level.

Android 2.3 Upgrade List: Phones Where Gingerbread Looks Iffy

• Motorola Backflip: Neither Motorola nor AT&T has said a word about the Backflip even receiving Froyo -- so while there's no official denial of Gingerbread for the device, a 2.3 upgrade certainly doesn't seem like a strong possibility.

• Motorola Cliq: Motorola accidentally announced a Froyo upgrade for the original Cliq last fall, then quickly deleted the apparently typo-caused mention. Since that time, the phone has been stagnant at the 2.1-level on Motorola's corporate upgrade list -- a sign that isn't very encouraging when it comes to the newer 2.3 release.

Android 2.3 Upgrade List: Phones Not Expected To Get Gingerbread

• HTC Droid Eris: Verizon has confirmed that its HTC Droid Eris device will not receive even the Froyo upgrade. The phone is no longer sold by the carrier.

• HTC G1: The T-Mobile G1 was denied Froyo due to hardware limitations, and the same restrictions will keep Gingerbread from officially reaching the device. "Like Froyo, Gingerbread is too large to fit on the G1's system storage," Android team member Dan Morrill explained via Twitter.

• HTC Hero: The Hero got a "no" for Froyo, so it seems safe to say the phone won't be receiving Gingerbread, either.

• Motorola Charm: The Charm will not receive upgrades beyond its current 2.1 level, according to Motorola.

• Motorola Cliq XT: Motorola said Froyo "could not meet the basic performance standards required" while running on its Cliq XT device. As such, the phone is now set to remain at Android 1.5, the company has confirmed.

• Motorola Devour: Motorola says the Devour will remain on Android 1.6.

• Motorola Flipout: The Flipout will not receive upgrades beyond its current 2.1 level, according to Motorola.

• Motorola i1: The Motorola i1 will remain on Android 1.5, Moto says.

• Motorola Milestone XT720: Motorola has said its XT720 tablet phone won't be upgraded beyond its current 2.1 level.

• Samsung Behold II: Samsung has confirmed its Behold II handset won't be upgraded beyond Android 1.6.

• Samsung Moment: Like the HTC Hero, the Moment was given a no-go for Froyo and consequently isn't likely to receive Gingerbread.

• Sony Xperia X10 Mini and Xperia X10 Mini Pro: Though it changed its mind onits upgrade stance for the Xperia X10, Sony says it's sticking to its guns with the X10 Mini and X10 Mini Pro; neither device is scheduled to receive the Android 2.3 upgrade. "We have had to prioritize our resources and have therefore focused on delivering the upgrade to Xperia X10," Sony says.

Android 2.3 Upgrade List: The Rest of the Phones

If a phone isn't listed here -- like the original Motorola Droid, for example -- it's likely because there just isn't much clear info available yet about its fate. Odds are, we'll soon be hearing more and more details with each passing week.

Pandora Android App Slurping Tremendous Amount of Personal Data

A Veracode report confirms that Pandora's Android app tracks and shares userss gender, GPS data and the unique device ID with advertisers.

Free smartphone apps may be collecting more personal information than users realize and sharing them with third-party advertising firms, according to an analysis by a security firm. The report followed recent news articles that Pandora and other mobile app vendors had received federal grand jury subpoenas about their data sharing practices.

Federal prosecutors in New Jersey were investigating whether mobile application vendors are illegally retaining and sharing customers’ personal information, the Wall Street Journal reported on April 5. The Journal further tested 101 apps and found that 56 transmitted the phone’s unique device identifier to other companies without the user’s knowledge, 47 transmitted the phone’s location, and five provided the user’s age, gender and other personal details. Privacy policies were not included on 45 of the tested apps, according to the Journal.

Pandora, the free music service, revealed in a Securities Exchange Commission filing on April 4 that it had been subpoenaed by the federal grand jury to provide documents related to how the company collected and shared user information on its iPhone and Android apps. Pandora was not a “specific target of the investigation,” the company said in the filing, and that subpoenas were issued “on an industry-wide basis” to other mobile app makers.

"Your personal information is being transmitted to advertising agencies in mass quantities," said Tyler Shields, a senior researcher for application security testing firm Veracode, on the company’s ZeroDay Labs blog. He based his conclusions on a detailed analysis of Pandora's radio-streaming application for Android smartphones.

Veracode analyzed Pandora’s Android app and found five advertisement libraries compiled into the application, including AdMarvel, AdMob, comScore, Google.Ads and Medialets. The research team analyzed each of the modules to identify exactly what was being collected.

The AdMob library transmitted the user’s birthday, gender, zip code, and exact GPS location. The app continuously updated the GPS data, which provided Pandora with “significant insight into a person's life” by tracking users at home, office and other places, Shields concluded.

The library also accessed the Android ID, the phone’s unique device ID. The other libraries collected the same types of information, as well. ComScore’s SecureStudies library directly sent a hash of the Android ID to its ScoreCard Research Website. The Medialets library accessed the GPS data, bearing, altitude, Android ID, connection status, network information, device brand, model, release revision and current IP address.

While the user information help Pandora personalize the music streams for its users, Veracode’s analysis showed that Pandora is also sending the information to advertisers.

“As more and more ‘free’ applications attempt to monetize their offerings, we will likely see more of your personal information being shuttled out to marketing and advertising data aggregation firms,” Shields wrote.

It was possible that Pandora and other smartphone app developers were not aware of the amount of information being collected and shared, Shields said. Developers could be integrating prebuilt code snippets from the libraries without analyzing what is happening.

"They may merely think they are getting $X per ad impression, not that the ad library is leaking significant information about the user," Shields said.

When all the data is “compiled into a single unifying picture,” it’s pretty easy for mobile app makers and advertising companies “to determine who someone is, what they do for a living, who they associate with, and any number of other traits about them,” Shields said.

“I don't know about you, but that feels a little Orwellian to me,” he said.

A commenter on Shields’ post on Veracode’s blog wondered whether Pandora is collecting and transmitting the data for paid users as well. Another asked whether the BlackBerry app could be tweaked since users have a more granular level of control over what the app can do on the device. Veracode have not yet investigated these questions.

Pandora's smartphone app allows users to listen to streaming music from their phone. The application has been installed more than 10 million times, according to statistics on Google's Android Market and is the 28^th most downloaded app on Apple’s App Store.

Android security apps for smartphones, tablets

With Webroot app, users can wipe out text messages, contact information and other details and even lock the device remotely.

Webroot, an Internet security company, has launched two mobile security applications for Android devices. The apps provide an extra layer of security for Android tablets and smartphones, so the users can safely browse the Internet and download stuff.

The Webroot security apps first assess the safety of links and other stuff available on the website before users can safely open the links.

The app also blocks certain caller as per the users' wishes.

Quinn Curtis, vice president of mobile solutions, Webroot, says, "With smartphones and tablets, we carry around vast amounts of personal data including our contacts, emails, passwords, and even financial information. This data is targeted by cybercriminals through malware, online scams, and device theft, and the market success of the Android mobile operating system provides the scale they need to make those attacks profitable."

With this app, one can remotely wipe out text messages, contact information, and even lock the device or make the device to give a sound alert so the users may find out where they have kept it. In case the users forget the password, they can get the app to send a temporary access code to a trusted friend too.

The basic version of the app can be downloaded for free. The paid version is available for $14.99 (Rs 670 per year) subscription fee per year.

Android chief Andy Rubin tackles open source qualms, says Honeycomb isn't 'one size fits all'

google got a lot of flak for withholding the Android 3.0 source code, and plenty more when Businessweek sources claimed the company had set aside its open stance to dictate from a throne, but today the man who would allegedly sit atop the royal seat says it isn't so. Andy Rubin, the man in charge of Android, says that "there are no lock-downs or restrictions against customizing UIs" nor "any efforts to standardize the platform on any single chipset architecture" as have often been rumored before, and that when Honeycomb is finally ready for phones, Google will indeed release its source code. Overall, he claims that Android's position when it comes to open source hasn't changed since day one -- which is nice for those who would like to believe that Google's still sticking to its motto -- but that's not likely to appease companies cut out of the loop simply because they weren't part of the early adopter club. If Google's methods will reduce fragmentation, though, who are we to judge?

Hit Playstation games launched in Android Market for Xperia Play

Five Sony Playstation games have been released in the online app store Android Market, developed for mobile devices based on Google Android. Particularly, for android smartphones the hit games that have been launched include shooter Syphon Filter, action MediEvil , snowboard simulator Cool boarders 2, race Destruction Derby and Jumping Fish . The price of each game is $6.38. It is expected that the range will be expanded in the coming weeks.

At the same time one must remember that as of now these games can only be played on Xperia Play and not just any android device.

Games, originally developed for PlayStation One, have appeared in the Android Market just before the upcoming launch of game centric Android-smartphone Sony Ericsson Xperia Play. The gadget was announced during WMC 2011 in February this year. The smartphone runs Android 2.3 (Gingerbread), has 4-inch display with a resolution of 854×480 pixels and is equipped with two cameras (0.3 megapixel front and 5.1-megapixel main).

Sony Ericsson Xperia Play has under its hood – Snapdragon processor clocked at 1 GHz, 512 MB RAM and 400 MB of internal memory. The device supports microSD (up to 32 GB) memory card and microUSB 2.0 interface. Weight of the gadget is 175, and it is expected to be released in the US this spring.

The fact that owners of Android-smartphones will be able to play PlayStation games was revealed just two weeks ago. It was reported that support for console games will be available in android smartphones and the tablet PCs that run on dual-core processor Tegra 2 from Nvidia.

PSOne Emulator App Pulled from Android Market

Gamers toting Android devices will be disappointed to learn that the popular first-generation PlayStation emulator PSX4Droid has been pulled from the Android Market.

It's had a good run, PSX4Droid, and it certainly made the summer of 2010 an entertaining one. However, the days of PSX4Droid have come to an end, as the developer responsible for the application, ZodTTD, yesterday received notification that his application had been taken off the Android Market.

"PSX4droid v2 was pulled by Google due to "Content Policy violation" as noted here," he said via Twitter. "Trying to determine what can be done."

Zoom

ZodTTD goes on to speculate that the timing of the removal could indicate the arrival of the Xperia Play, Sony's upcoming Android smartphone that will have the ability to play PlayStation games. Throwing yet more weight behind that theory is the introduction of five Xperia Play-exclusive PS One titles to the Android Market: Syphon Filter, MediEvil, Cool Boarders 2, Destruction Derby, and Jumping Flash.However, in contrast to ZodTTD's theory we've got Joystiq reporting that another PSOne emulator for Android, fpse, remains available on the Market. 

Google has yet to provide a compelling comment. All the search giant has done so far is confirm that it removes applications that violate its policies. 

Android app picks for April 2, 2011

 On Air (Wifi Disk)

Sometimes it’s not always convenient to just hook your device up to your USB cable and connect it to your computer. To get over that, I make use of a free app called On Air. Basically, using WiFi and the app you can now access the contents of your memory care either through WebDAV, FTP or even AppleTalk. On Air is easy to use, you just open it -- click on the power button and select which protocol you wish to use. After that and connecting to the secure IP address it assigns from you can then browse and transfer files to and from your device. Simple, awesome and free. [Market Link]

Titanium Media Sync

This application launched almost two weeks ago, but I wanted to give the developer some time to work out some of the issues, and for me, it's at a point now where it seemsto be workiTitanium Media Sync is from the same team that brought you Titanium Backup, and promises to let you backup any folder on your phone with the cloud using Dropbox. The interface is simple enough. Once you link the application with your dropbox account, you simply select the folders you want it to watch, and let it take care of the syncing for you. One thing I really like about this application as opposed to some of the others I've tried is that it allows you to configure when it can sync your media, so I have mine set to only check for new files when it's on wifi AND on an AC charger. The application still has a few quirks, but the developer is quick to update the application. If you're looking for a backup solution, be sure to check it out. $2.96 in the market. [Market Link]

Simple Calendar Widget

Keeping track of upcoming events is always something that I struggle with, and I have tried many different ways. After poking around for a bit I came across Simple Calendar Widget, which is just as the app title says, very simple. The widget has the option to show just one upcoming event, or multiple, and it shows you the current date, along with the upcoming events date, time and location. The font color and size is customizable for your preference, and the widget is a 4-by-1, so it doesn't take up a lot of room on any screen. For free, this is a must have for your Android device. [Market Link]

Five Guys Burgers & Fries

Five Guys released an Android app not too long ago, which is awesome for them but also bad news for my wasitline, because it means I’ll likely be eating there more often now. With the app, users can find the nearest Five Guys location, order food from that location and then pick it up, allowing you to skip the line. There is also an option to save your orders to a Favorites list, which will enable faster ordering in the future. It’s available for free in the Android Market and a dangerous one for anyone who likes Five Guys. [Market Link]

Android Application Weekly 2 Apr 2011

In this episode of the Android Application Weekly we demonstrate some apps that will keep you entertained, mix different music tracks like a professional DJ, and turn your Android into a spy camera. To download these directly to your Android device just take a picture of the QR-Code using Google Goggles or any other QR-Code scanner to be taken directly to the Android Market.



Whiteboard Pro – A lite and $0.99 full version



Whiteboard is a widget based application that allows you to save notes directly on your homescreen. Save audio, texts, or marker notes and assign an alarm to remind you. The paid version has many more options than the lite.



DJ Studio – Demo and $5.25 full version



DJ Studio provides professional style turn tables that allow you to mix various music tracks. Add sound effects, scratch, or sync. Save the audio directly to your Android device to future playback.



Join Me – A free application



The Join Me app and free Join Me service is brought to us by LogMeIn, the company behind the popular remote desktop LogMeIn Ignition. The service allows a computer screen to be shared to many users during a meeting or any other occasion in which you would need to share onscreen documents. There are features that allow instant messaging to take place as well as a phone chat line. There is a premium service available that costs around $30 a month that give a dedicated account.



Picplz – A free application 



Picplz is a great program for anyone that likes to share candid photos. The app will automatically launch the camera to take photos with may be shared over multiple social networking sites at once. Download interesting photos that others have taken and save them as wallpapers.



Securet SpyCam – Demo and $4.89 full version



Securet SpyCam is a unique app that allows you to turn your Android device into a spy camera. Securet SpyCam will capture video or photos when there is movement in the camera view. There are even options to stream a live webcam feed to the Securet SpyCam app.

Google to use Android phones as Credit Cards

Google is keen on starting a partnership with both MasterCard and Citigroup in order to enable Android mobile phones users pay for their calls by using a method called ‘near-field communications’ (NFC).

This partnership presents itself as a serious step, the first being an NFC system that was already installed on a Nexus S handset. Not only Google got interested in this sort of payment. Apple appears to have the same interest in “NFC” chips for its ‘next in line’ releases.

The Wall Street Journal said about the matter: “The planned payment system would allow Google to offer retailers more data about their customers and help them target ads and discount offers to mobile-device users near their stores. Google isn't expected to get a cut of the transaction fees.”




There could be new applications available to help credit card users make transactions via their mobile phones. Eric Schmidt, Google’s Chief Executive revealed Google’s intentions of improving the mobile phone’s knowledge of its possessor. Advertisements about location or shopping history can be easily constructed. Mr. Schmidt was also adamant about the possibility of making payments by only using a cellular phone.

Japan has already been using NFC for a few years. There have already been talks made by Everything Everywhere concerning this type of system to be used in the UK, in cooperation with Barclaycard. O2 will also develop a mobile transaction application.

Google wants to create a better function of their ads and have more success by accessing mobile shopping. Apple is still reluctant to use such a technology like NFC on their next iPhone. It is still considered new and not yet worthy of mass inclusion in their products.