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Google on Monday announced its new Nexus S phone, which runs an upgraded version of the Android operating system dubbed Gingerbread.
Gingerbread (Android 2.3) mostly adds refinements to older features, such as faster text input and an improved copy-and-paste tool. However, there are also some brand-new additions to the OS, such as internet telephony and near-field communications.
Here’s a quick rundown of what’s new in the OS, courtesy of Google’s Android developer center.
Near-field communications
The OS ships with an NFC-reader application, which can read NFC tags. (For a full explainer on NFC, read Wired’s 2004 article.) This addition has bigger long-term implications: If a bunch of smartphones ship with NFC chips, then merchants could potentially use Gingerbread-powered devices to read their chips as a substitute for the credit card. So the idea is you’d be able to pay for everything with your phone.
Support for front-facing camera
The built-in camera app will now support a front-facing camera, if the Android device has one. (That’s cool, but Google probably should’ve added this before HTC shipped the Evo 4G smartphone with a front-facing camera.)
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