Google to release new version of Android in Oct?

California, Oct 14: Windows Phone 7 may be the new hero or iPhone will be more popular, but one thing is clear, Google Android is going to be the leader. And one more reason for the speculation, the upcoming version of Android will hit market soon.

Media reported that Google is planning to launch the next version of Android, named as Gingerbread, by the third week of Oct 2010. The new version may be numbered as 3.0 and may support video chat.

Currently Android has Froyo or 2.2 version which was released in May 2010. But still many of the mobile phone and tablet manufactures use Android 2.0 version. Gingerbread is expected to have more advanced features which will be more tablet friendly.

"We support video chat today with Google Talk Video. It works on the desktop. Whether that can be repurposed and made appropriate for sipping bandwidth for mobile, it's an exercise that's under way," said Andy Rubin, Google's vice president of engineering.

Expected new features on Gingerbread are:

* Support for WebM video playback
* Improved copy–paste functionalities
* Improved social networking features
* Android Market music store
* Media streaming from PC library
* Revamped UI
* Support for bigger screens
* New 3D Games support
* Support for video calls
* Support for WebP image files

The version after Gingerbread, known as Honeycomb, or Android 3.5, is expected to release by the first half of 2011.

OneIndia News