Android 2.3 to launch today?

Rumours surrounding the latest iteration of Android have been buzzing around for a while now. However, a couple of new whispers point to exciting news. If they're to be believed, Android 2.3 could be with us today.

The first little nugget of information comes via Google CEO Eric Schmidt, who last week said that the new OS, named Gingerbread, would be available “in the next few weeks”.

That's admittedly not much to go on, but does sync up rather nicely with nugget number two, namely a blog post from tablet designer Notion Ink that includes the following statement:

“6th December is another big day for Android and you will find out how fast Notion Ink can work. (Eden is extremely compatible with 2.3)."

Gingerbread will also support Near Filed Communication (NFC), a high-frequency short range communication method that could allow mobiles to be used as credit cards or bus passes. It could well be coincidence, but there'll also be a press conference tomorrow to launch NFC's new Certification Program – potentially perfect timing given Gingerbread's built-in NFC read/ write support.

Of course, these are only rumours. The truth will hopefully be revealed when Andy Rubin, Google's Vice President for mobile platforms, gives a press conference today at 6.30pm Pacific Time.