Android 3.0 'Gingerbread' Details Emerge

From DailyTech: Back in June, we reported Google's plans to launch a major Android update, "Gingerbread" (Android 3.0), in Q4 2010. Amongst other things, Gingerbread promised to kill off third-party "bloatware" like HTC Sense UI and Motoblur, and would only be available for top-tier devices. Now, thanks to the folks over at Phandroid, we have a slightly better idea of what some of those "other things" may be.

The Android-fan website has received some new Gingerbread information from a "trusted source close to Google," particularly about some of the graphic enhancements we'll be seeing. As you may know, the lead designer of Palm's webOS, Martias Duarte, fled to Google to work on Android last May. While Palm is struggling amid executive-level shakeups (having been acquired by HP) and catastrophic sales numbers of its devices, its OS has largely been praised as sleek and innovative. Analysts saw Duarte's arrival at Android as a sign that Google would be taking some visual cues from webOS, and it appears as if they're right.

According to Phandroid, most of the visual changes to Gingerbread thus far are quite subtle. Most of the standard icons, like the Android debugging icon, have taken on a "simpler and cleaner look." The overall OS experience is easier on the eyes and the overall aesthetic has a more uniform feel to it, as if it were designed in an individual effort.

Initially, the changes are most noticeable on the notification bar. Rather than the bright white notifications present on current Android, they've taken on a warmer, "slate grey" color. While everything in the bar itself looks pretty familiar, the carrier branding is more prominently displayed when the notification tab is pulled down.

Not much has changed fundamentally on the home screen. One thing Phandroid points out is that Google is bringing in more of Android's trademark green into various places within the OS. The Browser and Dialer buttons at the bottom of the screen have gone from a muted gray to a bright lime green. But the familiar orange isn't totally gone, either. One change, in fact, embraces it. When scrolling through lists, the edges emit an orange glow and the list bounces back if a top or bottom border is reached -- similar to the "bouncy" effect on iOS or TouchWiz 3.0.

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