Treat Yourself to an Android Ice Cream Sandwich

The Android OS treats keep on coming. After a year or so of Honeycomb tweaks, Google has finally unveiled the specifics of their new Ice Cream Sandwich operating system, officially dubbed Android 4.0. The previous evolutionary stages of Android have been slow and steady shifts into a more streamlined system, better imitative of it’s main competitor iOS, but ICS is introducing innovation as much as adjustment. The new Android operating system will make its debut on Google’s latest phone, the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, sometime in November, with additional models and even prepaid phones carrying the OS being released sometime after the start of the new year









New aspects of Android include:

NEW AND IMPROVED CAMERA ATTRIBUTES

The Android camera and camcorder apps are set to see some serious changes. Now, users can use the camera as a face recognition lock for their devices. They can also take panoramic portraits and snap multiple shots at once. With the camcorder, multiple video chatterers standing at different focal lengths will be focused in on independently, depending on who is doing the talking.

TABLET INSPIRATIONS

Ice Cream Sandwich will be the first version of Android designed to work for both smartphones and tablet computers. What this means is that you are essentially getting a tablet OS put onto your cell phone. Widgets can be manipulated with a wider range of customization, while icon size can be adjusted as well. Those with matching Android smartphones and tablets carrying ICS will experience a much more streamlined transition of data and media.

ANDROID BEAM

The most exciting newfangled feature is Android Beam, which allows two Android-powered devices to exchange contact information, media, and even certain apps, just by hovering the devices near one another. The transitional data even includes maps and directions. It’s an addition that’s certain to impress new and experienced Android users alike.

Just in time for the holiday season, Google is about to unleash a whole bunch of goodies onto mobile device users. The sample tastes sure make getting the update a tempting proposition, but whether consumers can handle the extra cash involved in getting a new device to handle the calories remains to be seen.

RELATED POST

Posted in Android , News , operating systems , Technology