Giant Gingerbread Man touches down at Googleplex; launch of next Android OS build imminent

With a giant Gingerbread man being led into the Googleplex on Friday, it is becoming apparent that the launch of the next Android OS build is imminent. Earlier Friday, we reported that according to a Google engineer, the Gingerbread version of Google's open source OS will be Android 2.3 and will be considered a major release.

The Gingerbread man finds himself among the company of a cupcake, donut, eclair and some frozen yogurt, each one representing a specific Android OS build. With Gingerbread most likely turning out to be Android 2.3, Honeycomb should be Android 3.0 and get released early in 2011 for use in Android powered tablets. Considering that the Froyo statue was put up one week before Android 2.2 was launched, if history repeats, Android 2.3 should see its release next week, coming just a couple of weeks before Microsoft launches Windows Phone 7 in the U.S.

As we have told you, Samsung and Google are working on a device that is expected to be the first handset loaded with Gingerbread. As far as upgrades to current Android models, those currently running Android 2.2 (perhaps even the first-gen Motorola DROID) could be in line to move up to the next build.

source: YouTube via AndroidandMe