It’s the first of the month and Google has released its customary state of Android charts and this month finds that Android 2.2 Froyo is the most-used version of the platform.
Froyo is being used by 43.4% of users, while Android 2.1 now has 39.6%. This means that 83% of users are now on Eclair or higher and won’t be locked out of apps like Twitter. Not all is right in Android land though, as 16.9% are still on a version below 2.0.
The high-profile update of device like the Droid X and Droid Incredible has helped the Froyo adoption numbers but we’re about to see some more fragmentation issues with Android 2.3 Gingerbread.
We know that Gingerbread will be coming in the next few weeks and it will probably be accompanied by the Samsung Nexus S. One of the major features of this update will be support for NFC technology for mobile payments but that will also require specialized hardware within the phone.
This means that devices like the Motorola Droid X likely won’t get the main feature of the software update. Google has to keep pushing its software forward but this will inevitably lead to more cries of fragmentation within this ecosystem.
We also know that Android Gingerbread will bring new user interface tweaks including a new lock-screen animation. I’d also hope for overall speed improvements and an improved browsing experience.
The 2.3 version should be hitting the streets very soon but there’s no way to tell how long it will take to get to older devices. The Froyo update took a while for devices with custom UIs and Samsung Galaxy S owners in the United States are still anxiously awaiting some Froyo goodness.
It looks like we’ll have to play the waiting game again with Gingerbread. And then we all have Honeycomb to lust after too.
[Via Android Developers]