Today Motorola DROID 2 owners have something to be excited about besides the fact that we're getting close to the weekend. Motorola has announced that the DROID 2's Gingerbread update is now rolling out in phases, bringing a number of enhancements and some good cheer to D2s everywhere. Along with all of the goodies that come with Android 2.3, users can expect better battery life when using Wi-Fi, improved email contact syncing, improvements in screen display, and more. You can find the full list of improvements below. And for those of you that don't feel like waiting for the over the air update to roll to your neck of the woods, go ahead and hit Menu > Settings > About phone > System updates. The 106MB update should be waiting for you.

Although I'm sure that this update took longer to arrive than most DROID 2 owners would've liked (don't they always?), it's good to see the middle child of the DROID family get some love today. DROID 2 owners, be sure to let us know how everything's going once you get Gingerbread up and running on your handset. You know we're all ears.

Enhancements

• Download Manager App: New App to manage all of your downloads from web browsing, email attachments and other apps.
• App and Power Management Details: Under Manage Applications, a new “Running” tab displays a list of active applications, as well as the storage and memory being used by each.
• Multi-Touch Key-Chording: New ability to enter numbers and symbols with keyboard shortcut combos, without having to change to the numeric keyboard mode.
• Improved Word Selection and Copy Functionality: New capability to select a word via press-hold. A second press of the selected word copies the selected characters.
• New User Interface and Color Scheme: New widgets, icons and screens with refreshed colors.
• Dock Icons: Three swappable icons and the App Launcher icon are fixed to the Dock at the bottom of all home screen panels for easy and instant access. The Phone, App Launcher and Contacts icons are now within this customizable dock.
• App Groups: New App Menu allows creation of custom app groups, in addition to 3 default groups: All Apps, Recent and Downloaded.
• Security: Added Device and SD Card encryption. VPN enhancements integrate IPSec VPN clients into device security settings.

Web Browsing and Data Access

• Improved battery life while using Wi-Fi.
• Fixed issue that caused frequent data connection drops.
• Mobile Hotspot status is displayed accurately.

Email and Messaging

• Email application:
  • Improved contact syncing from multiple accounts.
  • Email pushes now work correctly when using Exchange ActiveSync.
  • Exchange ActiveSync account setup will accurately present server option.
• Correct contact name is displayed when receiving SMS messages.
• Emoticons are displayed in messages.
• Forward SMS message conversations accurately.
• Notification LED will flash when new message is received.
  

Applications and Widgets

• Access My Verizon without any force close errors.
• Compass calibration within Google Maps syncs accurately with your location.
• Geo-tagging features available for camera applications.
• Clock widget updates time correctly.
• Callback numbers now populate in Dialer app.
• GPS apps and programs no longer cause unnecessary device resets.
• Google Books is now preloaded.
• V CAST Apps is now preloaded.
• V CAST Media Manager is now preloaded.
• Blockbuster® movie rentals license remains active after download.

Additional Improvements

• Keypad backlight turns on in darker settings.
• Improvements in screen display no longer causes display screen to turn black.
• Fixed issue that caused factory resets when the device’s mobile number is changed.
• Fixed issue that caused device reset and a black display screen after over the air upgrades.

Via Motorola