Android's been able to run native code since v1.5. The updates in 2.3 are significant, as you can now use C to hook into Android's APIs, whereas before you were

Android's been able to run native code since v1.5. The updates in 2.3 are significant, as you can now use C to hook into Android's APIs, whereas before you were given the screen and told to go wild (for example, the Firefox Mobile port needed its own gui widgets)