Dec 6, 2010 16:29 GMT  ·  By

Today, Mountain View-based Internet giant Google announced officially the release of the latest flavor of its mobile operating system, namely Android 2.3 Gingerbread, which brings forth a nice range of enhancements over the previous versions of the OS.

Among these novelties, we can count the inclusion of a new user interface into the mix, complemented by a faster, more intuitive text input, and one-touch word selection and copy/paste, as well as improved power management, control over applications, or new ways in which one can keep things organized.

With the new Android version, Google offers its users features like Internet calling, Near-field communications (NFC) capabilities, Downloads management, or the possibility to access multiple cameras on the handset when available.

In addition to announcing the launch of Gingerbread, Google also made official the new Nexus S by Samsung, the long rumored successor of Nexus One. Nexus S with Gingerbread can be seen showcased in the video below.

The new handset was announced as the first Gingerbread-based mobile phone, able to offer a “pure Google” experience, while sporting a 4” Contour Display (that unique curved display we already reported on).

“Gingerbread is the fastest version of Android yet, and it delivers a number of improvements, such as user interface refinements, NFC support, a new keyboard and text selection tool, Internet (VoIP/SIP) calling, improved copy/paste functionality and gyroscope sensor support,” the company notes in a post on its official blog.

In addition to the aforementioned enhancements, Android 2.3 Gingerbread also comes with improvements meant to make it faster and more efficient.

Many of these improvements were meant mainly for application developers, with new platform technologies and APIs that should offer them the possibility to come up with new, highly appealing software solutions.

The new Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) can be added to the Android SDK through the Android SDK Manager, so that app builders can start targeting newer devices with their solutions.