Jellybean, Tech Candy

By Heather Lopez
So as mentioned last Tech Tuesday, Android just came out with 4.1 aka Jellybean. For those of you using Android-powered smart phones like myself, you will be please to learn that there are some pretty cool updates. Some of which I mentioned on my wish list last week.

Here is my take on what eWeek reports is the “10 New Features that Make it the Best Version Yet”:

It’s fast. As an Android user, I have watched while iphones respond quicker to each touch and it has been frustrating for me. I was definitely hoping for a speedier system, and it sounds like they are delivering.
It has better notifications. I’m not sure exactly what that’ll mean, in terms of my day to day excperience, but eWeek seems to believe it is one of the best new features.
Resizable App Widgets. This seems pretty cool as you can resize to fit more apps on a page, or make apps that you use frequently, larger for easy access.
Google Now. Supposedly it will make the mobile search experience quicker by pulling up cards on topics such as weather, traffic & sports. I will have to see what that looks like.
Offline Voice Dictation. Okay, raise of hands if you are an Android-user who secretly desires Siri on your phone? I will have to admit I am guilty. Last week, I mentioned wanting a Siri-like app and it seems Android is moving in this direction with offline voice dictation. eWeek points out that Siri relies on access to the Apple servers to work, while the offline voice dictation does not require access to any online servers to function.
Improved Android Beam. This will let you share pictures, etc. with others in close range without as many problems as before. It uses Bluetooth to do this. I really don’t use that function anyway, unless I am printing pictures at CVS or something. I assume it’s cool for others though.
Better, Faster App Updates. Whenever there is an app update, Android will now only download the changes rather than replacing the entire program, which should make the process run much quicker. That is very cool since I have seen how long it can take to do an update, but they are essential for the apps to function properly.
It works with Nexus 7. Android just announced this tablet, which I mentioned about in a previous post. I believe it moves us closer to having the compatanility that idevices have. I’m still not clear on whether this means there will be a cloud-like experience that will allow the devices to sync data. Let’s see….
Same Android Flair. Okay, I admit that I am not exactly sure what that means. I guess it just means that they are not duplicating the iphone.
A Consistent Smartphone-to-Tablet Experience. Apparently there were different user experiences when you went on the phone vs when you went on an Android-powered tablet. With the new tablet beiong able to accept jellybean, this allows for a consistent experience whether you are on the phone or using your tablet. You know, sort of like the iphone and ipad.