I’m pretty sure most of the Android faithful know that with the latest operating system from the Android guys, Android Jelly Bean, comes Google Now , which has been touted as the Google smart assistant that rivals Apple’s Siri, so no doubt every Android user can’t wait to get to play with Google Now, and now apparently if you own an ICS handset you don’t have to wait.
According to the guys over at Tech Crunch, you can now extract Google Now from Android Jelly Bean and port it to Android Ice Cream Sandwich devices thanks to a developer over at XDA-developers, although doing so does require a bit of a geeky skill set.
Apparently though will will require to have your Android Ice Cream Sandwich smartphone rooted , and you’ll need to be able to navigate through the Android file system, and apparently the developer achieved the port by modifying the build.prop.file, and thus users can install the modified APK.
So here’s how you get Google Now working on your Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich phone, first off open up Root Explorer and go to /system, next open build.prop in Text Editor, and then edit ro.build.version.sdk = 16, and then save. Next hit system/app and Rename GoogleQuickSearchBox.apk to GoogleQuickSearchBox.apk1.
Then you need to reboot your device, and install the the application by hitting up here, after which you edit build.prop and change to ro.build.version.sdk = 15, and then reboot, and apparently you are done. Although there is another way that does not involve editing the build.prop file, the instructions for which can be followed by hitting up here.
If successful and depending on a little luck and your device, you may experience a few issues with the app including not being able to use voice search along with other bugs, and of course if you do install you do so at your own risk. However if any of our Android readers do give either method a shot, feel free to let us know how you get on by dropping us a line to our comments area below.
And for those that prefer a video guide on how to get Google Now onto your Android Ice Cream Sandwich handset you will find a video tutorial below on how to do so courtesy of YouTube user Babblingboolean…enjoy.