I've been doing a bit of reasearch on the new Gingerbread flavour of the Android OS (version 2.3). The Google Nexus S is the first commercially available phone to run on the new Android OS. Some of the interesting features are:

• Includes support for gyroscope, rotation vector, linear acceleration, gravity and barometer sensors (which can be used for gaming interfaces or possibly more response movement based apps
   
• Support for Gaming Buttons in the software - could lead the way to a new generation of hhybrid gaming and smartphone devices - there are rumours of a PlayStation Phone to be released soon - possibly before christmas (more details on this will be presented in this blog shortly) - there is even some suggestion that the announcement might be later today.
   
• New Look UI - the new UI has a black background, which will increase battery life.
   
• New on-screen keyboard for easier typing
   
• Near Field Communications (NFC) - this could effectively turn your phone into an electronic wallet, allowing you to scan items with your phone , and then be able to purchase them instantly without using your wallet (hopefully there is some sort of pin protection on this!)
   
• Front facing camera support - the software can now detect whether a front facing or rear facing camera is more appropriate for any app.
   
• Internet Telephone using SAP (a bit like VOIP, but you need an SAP account - useful if you have wifi connection)
   
• Built-in App Manager - long overdue this one, previously if you want to kill running apps, you need to download a third party app like taskiller. Now its supported in the OS.
   
• Better Audio effects
   
• Extra Large screen support - making it possible that the software could be run on tablet based devices. Surely its only a matter of time before some clever chap hacks an ipad to run Gingerbread on it. It could also pave the way for Ultra High Resolution Phone displays

Very exciting stuff really - if you're a techy geek that is.