Android 2.3 Gingerbread Tour In Screenshots

Android 2.3, codenamed Gingerbread, was revealed by Google this morning. It will ship first on the upcoming Nexus S smartphone, which was built by Google in collaboration with Samsung. According to an Android developer it is an update for Nexus One handsets and will be released in America in the next few weeks.

Highlights

• The home screen - has undergone some minor theming changes. The notification bar is now solid black and the bottom panel is darker. Some of the icons have been tweaked to match the black and green palette.

• The actual notification panel - is darker and a bit more elegant. The bottom part still has a gradient, but the rest of it looks a lot flatter. The clear button is more rectangular.

• The dialer - has a much more subdued look. The bubble gradients on the buttons and text bar were stripped out in favor of a more static flat appearance. The rounded corners of the bottom rectangle have been squared off a bit more.

• Application toolbar buttons - have a black background with more pronounced transparency, but are still quite readable. The toolbar overflow menu is designed to match the new look of the buttons. The dark gray font of the shortcut text is a bit hard to read and could use with more contrast.