Excitement surrounding Android was at an all-time high yesterday when Google finally unveiled Android 2.3, and now everyone wants to know when their particular handset will be upgraded to the latest tasty treat. Things aren't looking good for users of LG's Optimus devices, though, as the company has said that they won't get bumped up to Gingerbread. As you can see above, our friend Alberto over at DroidDog asked LG when his Optimus S would be upgraded to Android 2.3 and was told that the Optimus line of handsets won't get the update since they run 600MHz processors and Gingerbread "require[s] a 1GHz processor."
Once upon a time, we heard a rumor that Gingerbread did actually require a 1GHz processor, but it was promptly shot down by Google's own Dan Morrill. I highly doubt that Gingerbread actually requires a 1GHz chip because that would cut a lot of devices out of picture, most notably the DROID and the recently-released G2. As for the possibility that the Optimus devices won't get updated to 2.3, well, I certainly hope that it's wrong. Sure, they aren't the most high-end handsets on the market, but their owners deserve at least one update, especially since they've all come out within the past couple of months. We'll keep our pitchforks on the shelf until we hear official word from Google, but if you were considering a new Android purchase in the near future, you may want to stay away from the Optimus devices for now.
UPDATE: Dan Morrill to the rescue again! Morrill just tweeted that there's "no hard minimum processor requirement" for Android 2.3. All of you DROID and G2 owners can now breathe easy. Now you have to wonder: will the Optimus devices still be denied their helping of Gingerbread?
UPDATE 2: LG has reached out to us to clarify the situation with their Facebook post. They explain that the information in the post was released prematurely and that once Google sends out the Android 2.3 Compatibility Definition Document and the public branch open source code, they'll examine the Optimus line and make a decision on its upgradeability. The full statement can be found below:
"LG released information prematurely regarding the minimum processor upgrade requirements for the LG Optimus. Google recently announced the Gingerbread platform and has not yet published the Gingerbread Compatibility Definition Document (CDD) or the public branch open source code. Once the CDD and the source code is public, LG will evaluate the upgradability of the Optimus Series. We apologize for any confusion or misunderstanding. We will alert you as soon as more information on this topic is available."
