FlexBeta

Google’s Andy Rubin just came up on stage here at the IDF keynote holding a bona fide Medfield-powered smartphone running Android 2.3 (Gingerbread)! The device — which was used to take a picture of Intel CEO Paul Otellini and upload it to a PC — looks like the Aava Mobile handset we’ve seen before. The cameo was part of a much larger initiative, which will see Intel working concurrently with Google in order to optimize future processors for use with Android. We were actually tipped off on this a few days back, but at the time, it was difficult to tell how much of a consumer impact it’d have. Given Andy’s showing, though, it’s looking better and better in that regard. The most impressive tidbit, however, is the promise that all future Android builds will be “optimized” for Intel’s low-power Atom clan. We’ve compiled a gallery for you below, and hopefully and hands-on later today.