Google Announces Android 4.1 Jelly Bean At I/O Conference

Last night, Google took the wraps off its latest version of theAndroid OS, in the form of Jelly Bean. The update was announced at the Google I/O 2012 developers' conference, which is currently underway at San Francisco. The company explained some of the core features of the new OS in detail, and though it's not a major upgrade, it is still something to look forward to. Apparently, the purpose is to make Android faster and smoother, as explained in the keynote address.

The Project Butter, as it is known, brings in greater responsiveness and fluidity to the new OS. Touchscreen usability has been improved as well, with quicker app transition animations.

 

Google has also brought forth some cosmetic changes with Jelly Bean. Widgets will now resize on their own when placed in a crowded homescreen. Here are a few other features of the OS.

Keyboard - The existing keyboard has been improved, offering better autocorrect functions, similar to the Swiftkey. One major addition is the offline voice-to-text feature, which previously required a working data connection. New input languages such as Hindi, Persian, Arabic, and Thai among others have been added to the system.

Camera - Some neat tweaks have been made to the camera app. Users can see a new transition effect after a picture is taken, along with a quick preview. Additionally, pinching the display will give a short preview of all the images in a vertical layout. This looks very similar to Windows Phone 7.

Notifications - The notifications bar has received a huge bump, making it more accessible. It will show previews of social network notifications (including thumbnails of photos) and even mails, instead of just a plain message like with previous iterations of Android. Users can call back or text a contact right from the notifications bar, which is another neat addition.

Voice Search - While, there's no Siri-like voice integration built into Android yet, a similar feature has been introduced. The native Google Voice Search on Android goes a step ahead with interactive responses to offer better search results. I'm not sure if it's as witty as Siri, but it's an interesting addition nonetheless.

Google Now - Google Now integrates with Google Maps to figure out your daily commuting routes. It will also give you suggestions for new routes, just in case there's heavy traffic. This means you'll have to let Google know where you're going at all times, which can be an issue for some people. It will also tell you when the next bus or the next flight is expected, and can even provide sports updates with scores. To enable this, Google Now will go through the user's search history to know which team he \ she is rooting for. Again, privacy-concious user may not appreciate this feature.

The update will be made available mid-July for the GALAXY Nexus, Nexus S, and Motorola XOOM tablets. It will take a while for other OEMs to announce the update, though.