Gingerbread running on 44 per cent of Android devices

Gingerbread is now the most-used version of Android, with the gingery-flavoured version of Google's mobile OS residing on 44 per cent of Android devices.

Stats released on Android's developer site show that versions 2.3, 2.3.2, 2.3.3 and 2.3.7, all of which fall under the Gingerbread banner, account for 44.4 per cent of all Android kit.

That beats Android 2.2 Froyo, which now has a mere 40.7 per cent of the Android pie.

Although Froyo was a more significant update for the platform, bringing the ability to play Flash video in your phone's browser, Gingerbread has been the default version of Android on loads of new mobiles, like the Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc and the Samsung Galaxy S2. We suspect that's the reason for its popularity.

The data was harvested based on the number of Android devices which accessed the Android Market over a two-week period that ended on 3 November.

Hard-up Honeycomb

The data also paints a grim picture of Android's standing in the tablet wars -- just under two per cent of 'droid devices are running Honeycomb, the tablet version of Android.

Admittedly there are an absolutely staggering number of Android smart phones out there skewing the numbers, but such a small share for Honeycomb still doesn't look great.

Gingerbread's dominance could be short-lived -- Ice Cream Sandwich, aka Android 4.0, is just around the corner. This update brings a revamped interface, and is designed to unify the smart phone and tablet versions of Android. The first phone to sport this ice-cold creamy edition will be the Samsung Galaxy Nexus.

Which version of Android are you using? Let us know in the comments, or on our Facebook wall.

Image credit: Android developer site