ANDROID & GINGERBREAD

This is the year of the Android. If the last couple of years have been about the Apple iPhone, 2011 will see Google’s operating system overtake Apple in the number of handsets shipped using its interface. The Sunday Business Post reviews seven of the most popular currently on the market.

“With Google aggressively expanding the platform and tablet devices starting to use the system en masses, Android could soon be the single biggest operating system on computers, mobiles or laptops,” writes Adrian Weckler, the newspaper’s technology boffin.

When it comes to choosing a handset, it is very much horses for courses. It depends what you are using them for, Weckler advises. However, regardless of which one you plump for, you should check if it is upgradeable to the latest 2.3 Gingerbread version.

At present, most handsets use either 2.1 (Éclair) or 2.2 (Froyo) operating systems. The main difference between the two is the ability to use the smartphone as a broadband modem for your laptop. Gingerbread promises this and more.