Currently there are many Android smartphones that are still waiting for the upgrade to the Ice Cream Sandwich operating system, but as expected Google has announced the next version, Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, and we also have a release date for the new OS.
The Google I/O event begun earlier today and we have already told you that the Google Nexus 7 Tablet has been confirmed with a release date and pricing, and as TechCrunch are reporting the next version of the Android operating system was also announced along with some new features and a release date.
The first addition to Jelly Bean is Project Butter that is aimed to make the experience “buttery smooth”, and was achieved by upping the OS frame rate to 60 FPS, and developers will also have access to a new tool called systrace in the SDK of Jelly Bean. Text input has also been improved with users no longer needing a solid network connection for voice typing to work.
Google has improved the camera app by allowing users a quicker way to review photos, which now has the ability for users to pinch to enter a film strip view of images. Android Beam has been enhanced with the ability to share video content via NFC along with being able to pair an NFC enabled Bluetooth device by just tapping it.
Notifications have been treated to a refresh with users now having the ability to return calls from within the notifications, and view multiple emails without having to use a separate app. Google has improved the mobile search experience with the UI featuring a Google bar that provides white cards, which display information pulled via the Knowledge Graph. Voice search has been improved and features a Siri sounding female voice.
Another feature Google Now will get information quickly by reviewing the users search history, calendar, and other information to work out what the user wants. Examples were used such as the feature displaying info on sports scores and upcoming games without setting users favourite teams, and this feature looked good in action.
Google also revealed a release date for the new software and the search engine giant will begin pushing out OTA updates in July, and will begin with the Motorola Xoom, Samsung Galaxy Nexus, and Nexus S. Google has made the SDK available already to developers.
Does this news leave you frustrated if you are still waiting for ICS?