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Google has released to developers its latest version of Android, nicknamed Gingerbread, and in the video below has demonstrated a range of enhancements made to the OS.
Mobile gaming is seen clearly as a priority for Google’s smartphone business, with several key inclusions to Android 2.3 that are said to “optimise performance and tools for game development.”
David Turner, the technical lead on Android NDK promises smoother applications and increased responsiveness. He says the firm has also tweaked input processing, which in theory lowers CPU demands and, in turn, allows developers to build greater high-performance games for the smartphone.
Gingerbread is said to be the OS at the heart of Sony’s long-rumoured PlayStation Phone.
Google has “broadened the native APIs exposed by the platform, meaning developers now have direct access to audio, input and sensor events, assets and the OpenGL ES API” Turner explains in the video.
Support for a gyroscope sensor has been added, he said.
Android 2.3 will launch with the Samsung Galaxy S next year. The OS’s most talked-about addition, for many news outlets, is Near Field Communication, which allows a smartphone to read data upon touching other data nodes – much like an Oyster card.
