Google Android Jelly Bean 4.1 rolling out this July

Introducing Google Android Jelly Bean 4.1

I am excited to see what improvements the Android Jelly Bean 4.1 shall be bringing to all the Android Phone and Tablet Users (yours included with my HTC One X) this July 2012. But, it isn't all good news as there are some issues that of course pop up when it comes to a new software, from hardware compatibility and more. But will the good out weigh the bad? That's something I guess the users will have to find out once they get first hand look at the New Android OS.

In the meantime, here is a quick run through of what is to come:

UI changes

Google's made a ton of background changes in Jelly Bean, known as Project Butter, which tweaks aspects of Android's code to make the performance of Jelly Bean's UI "buttery smooth."

Google hasn't changed much in terms of the ICS Interface but instead has changed the flow and smoothness of how it works.

For instance, say you want to add a widget to one of your homescreens but there’s no room. Forcing you to manually rearrange your applets. With Jelly Bean 4.1 all you need to do is select the widget and where you want to go and Jelly Bean will re-arrange the existent apps and widgets accordingly.

Text Input

Android Jelly Bean has an improved text-input that Google claims shall make typing a lot easier. The dictionary has been improved, and Jelly Bean’s stock keyboard, over time, will learn your typing habits and the words you like to use.

Voice Typing offline

Google also confirmed that it is bringing offline voice typing to Android Jelly Bean. Hugo Barra said the company has shrunk its Google Speech Recognizer down in size and squeezed it into Jelly Bean. This means you can now do speech to text without requiring a web connection.

Brail support

Finally good news for the blind - Android Jelly Bean also features full support for brail. Quite curious as to how they have incorporated this, standby for the update.

Camera

Within the Gallery application you can now view pictures in ‘Film Strip’ mode for faster access to your shots. To remove images simply swipe them off the screen and it is deleted.

Android Beam

Android Jelly Bean features two key updates for Android Beam – Google’s wireless streaming service.

The first is the ability to send photos and videos simply by bumping two Beam devices together.

You can now also pair a Jelly Beam handset with a NFC-enabled speaker simply by tapping the two things together.

Notifications

The biggest change in Android Jelly Bean is in the notifications drop down menu.

Now you can respond to calls and emails directly from within notifications. It also links with third party applications, like Foursquare, so you can like a friend’s check-in directly from inside notifications without having to open the application itself.

Search

Google has also heavily updated search on Android Jelly Bean.

Search within Jelly Bean is now done through an overhauled UI and, most importantly, features Knowledge Graphs. 

For example - Search for, say, ‘The Films of Brad Pitt,’ Google Search displays a results on a card complete with a beautiful UI.

Google Now

Google Now is the one that got the most attention.  This is a system wide update based on your location, search history and personal preferences. With Google Now, when you search it delivers results that are tailored to your locations, previous searches and personal preferences.

For example, Google Now knows your regular commute to and from work. But say you’re going the long way around, but didn't realize. Google Now shall show you a quicker way via its Maps application.

Heads Up Info

The tablets are said to have the updates first this mid July with the handsets to follow. Unfortunately the Samsung Galaxy S2 is rumored to not be a candidate for this particular update. 

Adobe is not supporting Google Android Jelly Bean. So all the phones that come out with the new software won't have flash support. But with HTML 5 that shouldn't be a worry. Those that have units with Adobe Flash pre-installed will still be able to get the Adobe Flash Update with the Android Jelly Bean 4.1

As to which Phones will get updates, Check these links out:

Phones updating to Android Jelly Bean 4.1
HTC Android 4.1 Scheduled Update

I would also recommend to read up on the movement of Android from G1 to Jelly bean by Jessica Dolcourt of Cnet for more info on what is noteworthy from each of these software updates.

Till next time...

-METZ-