[Update: It's Gone!] Gingerbread FINALLY Emerges from Blurrycam Hell [Official Video]

by Quentyn Kennemer on December 2nd, 2010 at 12:43 pm

Google in Hong Kong released an official video showing off Gingerbread about a week and some change ago, but no one knew. How did this slip past everyone’s fingers? The video’s really just to show off Cantonese Voice Search, but the poor souls who put it together probably didn’t know how big of a deal it was that they were demonstrating it on Google’s yet-to-be-formally-announced-but-still-very-very-real Android 2.3 Gingerbread update. It doesn’t show much different from what we’ve already heard, but it’s something. Be sure to grab a look at the video before it’s taken down. (It most probably will be, unless Google simply doesn’t care at this point.) [via Android Police, Android-HK]

[Update]: Engadget has concluded that the new tab reads “Related”. Good to see Google trying to increase app awareness, albeit at a very slow pace.

[Update 2]: And just as we suspected, the video has been removed by the user. We’re sure it’ll turn back up somewhere: nothing ever truly gets deleted from the internet. Ever. If you were too late to see it,  Engadget has more tasty shots of the video at the link above.

  • jstew

    Is it going to include their cloud music application?

  • Slick

    I thought it was a Gingerbread video. I guess you get to see some Gingerbread but nothing really worth watching.

  • http://mindmirror007.blogspot.com heroid007

    no tabbed browsing?

  • Ryan

    Anyone else notice that when he went to install an app from the market, that there were 3 tabs for the app, instead of just “About” and “Comments”. Anyone speak cantonese? What is that additional tab?

  • LCW

    too green

  • Ryan

    Can anyone take a look at the video at 0:56 and translate the newly added tab?

  • Gee

    Ugly compared to Froyo. Boo.

  • Quentyn Kennemer

    @Ryan it reads “Related”.

  • Ryan

    …nevermind… it says “Related” (via Engadget)

  • Donkey3000

    nothing worth seeing.

  • Bizzle

    It looks almost exactly the same. Rumors of a “UI overhaul” have been grossly exaggerated.

  • Quentyn Kennemer

    Those rumors weren’t exaggerated, they were just wrong. Gingerbread’s introducing minimal style changes, but a lot of behind-the-scenes development is bringing the necessary framework changes for an overhaul come Honeycomb.

  • T

    information, review, details

  • Bizzle

    @Quentyn Kennemer
    .
    Just curious, but how do you know that?

  • Pimpstrong

    Man that is a HUGE improvement over 2.3!! Just look at how its… compared to FroYo its a whole lot… and now its gonna be… Well I guess I’ll just be happy when I get 2.2 on my Vibrant and not even trip off of the 2.3 update.

  • Aeok18109

    yea…..about that….wtf? lol. wasted 2:46 of my life. didnt understand a word of course, and i saw no real notable features of the fabled “gingerbread”

  • Pimpstrong

    2.2* oops Sarcasm FAIL.

  • Eric Heymann

    Hey guys Flash has a new update………version 10.1.105.7.
    I hope I’m not behind in versions if so so for the “old” news lol.

  • Quentyn Kennemer

    @Bizzle sources.

  • Bizzle

    @Quentyn Kennemer
    .
    I hope your “sources” are correct. Until then, I’ll keep my expectations low. Seems to be a requirement of an Android enthusiast, sadly.

  • David

    @Bizzle

    Google has publicly said that they are working on back-end changes in this release to prepare Android for tablets and a UI overhaul. I am sure that is why the release is 2.3 and not 3.0 as everyone was thinking it would be originally.

  • monkeydroid

    @David

    Where are there references of them “publicly” saying this? I haven’t heard anything but rumors of a UI overhaul.

  • Bizzle

    @David
    .
    What monkeydroid said.

  • Rick

    @monkeydroid I too have read on many different android sources that 2.3 will have slight UI changes but the back-end changes will be major and UI major overhaul in in Honeycomb.

  • max

    LOL yeah not going to be that cool UI wise but i bet some great features are coming with it

  • http://N/A Craig

    Is that an iPhone 4 (looking at the left-side volume buttons)?

  • turbo

    At the start yes, they are showing off voice search. It is also available for the iPhone.

  • Geraldo

    @Eric There’s actually a 10.2 Beta out now.

  • Alex

    wtf its been removed by user :(

  • wildstar

    I thought the UI enhancements were all about hardware acceleration weren’t they? OpenGL or some such for desktop render? I hope they don’t significantly change the UI or I’ll be bummed. I like the widgets, customizable desktop, folders, live folders, etc. What could they do differently than that?

  • Dilbert

    @Bizzle – UI overhaul comes with 3.0. Some people thought that was going to come with Gingerbread because at one time people thought Gingerbread was 3.0. Since Gingerbread is not 3.0 there is no UI overhaul quite yet.

  • Clay

    LoL That didn’t take log

  • http://beerpla.net Artem Russakovskii

    I posted an update to the original article at Android Police with a new mirror.

  • swazedahustla

    And actually the overhaul won’t really be for phones come 3.0, which is mainly for tablets.

  • TF

    Appearances aren’t everything…. a little hardware acceleration will go a long way…

  • Sören

    I thought about downloading it and uploading it on my website, cuz I knew it would be gone at some point, but probably I would have had copyright issues then, so I didn’t ;)

  • Sören
  • callen

    Damn, the video has been removed.

  • Froyo the Hobbit

    epic fail, google dropped the ball. its fugly!

  • azureus

    honestly if the ui had hardware acceleration and nothing else was in gingerbread I would be more than satisfied at that!

    to anyone not convinced as to the impact just this would have trust me, the whole interface would run MASSIVELY smoother, and live wallpapers would be a joy to use.

    android badly needs this – this is why 3 year old iphones run smoother than our 1ghz processors, and WP7 has it too. people can feel the difference with the phones side by side in shops and it will hurt android.

  • zi

    i speak cantonese!

  • Michael Dogfight Vick

    Welcome to 2006…

  • Justin

    I watched it while it was still up. It was boring.

  • http://ultimateweightlosssolution.org Ultimate Weight Loss Solution

    OK, so when can i expect to see this on my DX?

  • Peter H

    man thats ugly. come on google



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