# Android Jelly Bean: All the New Features



## Draconis

Interesting, while I like the Siri-style search engine. Google Now promises to up the bar on what smart phones can do.

http://gizmodo.com/5921713/android-jelly-beans-new-features



> The new version of Google's Android operating system is called Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. It comes loaded with new features, including faster interface performance, a cleaner home screen and, what could be a killer app: Google Now.


Another article.

http://lifehacker.com/5921761/whats-new-in-android-41-jelly-bean



> Google announced the next version of Android, named Jelly Bean, today. It has a ton of improvements in notifications, speed and smoothness, and a new feature called Google Now that gives you useful real-time information based on where you are and what's coming up in your calendar.


----------



## hdtvfan0001

Draconis said:


> Interesting, while I like the Siri-style search engine. Google Now promises to up the bar on what smart phones can do.
> 
> http://gizmodo.com/5921713/android-jelly-beans-new-features
> 
> Another article.
> 
> http://lifehacker.com/5921761/whats-new-in-android-41-jelly-bean


Cool beans.


----------



## Earl Bonovich

And how long will it take for JellyBean to reach a significant user base, especially on existing devices ?


----------



## kevinturcotte

I can't even get an ICS update on my phone, let alone Jellybean.


----------



## kevinturcotte

Earl Bonovich said:


> And how long will it take for JellyBean to reach a significant user base, especially on existing devices ?


About the time they're up to the "M" update lol (Marshmallow maybe)


----------



## Alan Gordon

kevinturcotte said:


> I can't even get an ICS update on my phone, let alone Jellybean.


Aah... quit your griping! 

I felt lucky managing to get up to Froyo on mine!  

~Alan


----------



## kevinturcotte

Alan Gordon said:


> Aah... quit your griping!
> 
> I felt lucky managing to get up to Froyo on mine!
> 
> ~Alan


Yeah, but my phone just came on the market in Oct 2011 lol


----------



## dpeters11

kevinturcotte said:


> About the time they're up to the "M" update lol (Marshmallow maybe)


Or Marzipan. Maybe Nougat.


----------



## Alan Gordon

kevinturcotte said:


> Yeah, but my phone just came on the market in Oct 2011 lol


Dude... you're rocking a dinosaur phone now! 

~Alan


----------



## Steve

The feature I'm most impressed with is off-line voice recognition and typing. That could come in very handy for folks who use it instead of the keyboard.

I have to imagine it's very CPU and memory intensive, though, so I suppose there will be minimum hardware requirements for it.

I also wonder if it'll work locally when you're online as well? If so, it will help with data caps, not having to ship an audio file to be recognized remotely.


----------



## kevinturcotte

Alan Gordon said:


> Dude... you're rocking a dinosaur phone now!
> 
> ~Alan


Well, if Verizon would offer a better phone, I might bite lol It has to have 4G LTE, an actual physical keyboard, and at least a Super AMOLED screen or better. What are my options? lol


----------



## BubblePuppy

It may look impressive (and I'm sure it is)...but wait till the carriers get it and make the usual mess of things.
Of course the "rooted" ones will be able to by-pass the usual carrier lag times. 
I'll be keeping my eye on XDA Developers forum.

However new Nexus Tablet will have the pure Jelly Bean experience.


----------



## spartanstew

Earl Bonovich said:


> And how long will it take for JellyBean to reach a significant user base, especially on existing devices ?


Not sure how that matters.

I just bought a new Android phone 2 weeks ago with ICS. Will it ever get JB? Don't know, don't really care. I didn't buy it for what Android might do in the future, I bought it for what it's capable of now - and I'm happy with it so far.

Now, if it received JB, I'd accept it and be glad for it, but I rarely buy anything in anticipation of what it might do in the future.


----------



## dpeters11

"spartanstew" said:


> Not sure how that matters.
> 
> I just bought a new Android phone 2 weeks ago with ICS. Will it ever get JB? Don't know, don't really care. I didn't buy it for what Android might do in the future, I bought it for what it's capable of now - and I'm happy with it so far.
> 
> Now, if it received JB, I'd accept it and be glad for it, but I rarely buy anything in anticipation of what it might do in the future.


I think that's the big thing to remember for the average user. I've told users that got a new iPhone that Apple would be announcing the next model within the next month etc. Generally they don't care.

Now, if say Verizon and Sprint had the same phone and one released Jellybean and the other didn't, that would upset more people, but only the ones that knew someone on that other carrier. Of course that wouldn't be any rooters.


----------



## bobnielsen

I wonder what will be alphabetically next. Krispy Kreme?


----------



## kevinturcotte

bobnielsen said:


> I wonder what will be alphabetically next. Krispy Kreme?


Doubt it, that's trademarked.


----------



## Drew2k

I'm really looking forward to the enhancements to Notifications. The demonstration today showing how users can take action directly from the notification, without opening the app that spawned the notification, will be really convenient.


----------



## Drew2k

bobnielsen said:


> I wonder what will be alphabetically next. Krispy Kreme?


Kugel? (That would NOT make for a cool statue on Google's lawn.)

Honestly, when I first got into Android I remember seeing a list of the desserts that went out quite far, and from what I remember, I think K is supposed to be Key Lime Pie (KLP.) That's what I'm going with for now at least.


----------



## Earl Bonovich

spartanstew said:


> Not sure how that matters.


It matter's tremendously to application developers.


----------



## dpeters11

"bobnielsen" said:


> I wonder what will be alphabetically next. Krispy Kreme?


Key Lime Pie
Licorice (I don't think Lemon Merengue)
Marzipan
Nougat
Orange Sherbert or Oatmeal Cookie
Peach Cobbler?

I'm sure some are wrong, but not Key Lime Pie.


----------



## spartanstew

Earl Bonovich said:


> It matter's tremendously to application developers.


Perhaps.

I would think developers would just create apps for the latest software. Eventually, everyone will get it or they'll be upgrading their device (what's the lifespan of a phone, 2 years?). And as I said, I usually buy things for what they are currently, not future apps, so wouldn't really bother me if some app in 6 months was only for JB.


----------



## bobukcat

BubblePuppy said:


> It may look impressive (and I'm sure it is)...but wait till the carriers get it and make the usual mess of things.
> Of course the "rooted" ones will be able to by-pass the usual carrier lag times.
> I'll be keeping my eye on XDA Developers forum.
> 
> However new Nexus Tablet will have the pure Jelly Bean experience.


You can always buy an unlocked GSM (HSPA+) Galaxy Nexus directly from Google (just dropped price to $349) and have absolutely no bloatware and it's already getting JB today. The problem is that this means you are limited to AT&T, T-Mobile or one of the regional carriers like Cincinnati Bell.

Which leads to another point - the carriers and (I've recently learned) chip manufacturers also play a part in what phones get what OS when. Verizon is notorious for having a ridiculously tough (and costly) certification process before allowing a new device or OS onto their network.

Then you also have device manufacturers that want to put their skin on the OS and they have to do that development which takes time (and money). Which devices they decide to develop the OS for is a big factor in the whole process.

I'm currently running a leaked ICS ROM on my Bionic and it is flawless as far as I have seen in a week or so or running it. It even appears to have finally fixed the LTE/CDMA switching and data drops that have plagued this device from day one.


----------



## bobukcat

Drew2k said:


> I'm really looking forward to the enhancements to Notifications. The demonstration today showing how users can take action directly from the notification, without opening the app that spawned the notification, will be really convenient.


That was the part that really struck a chord with me too. Just when iOS caught up to Android with regards to notifications Google is taking them to a whole new level! Being able to quickly send a note from a meeting reminder notification will be extremely handy and I love the idea of being able to end a call from a "Call in Progress" notification.

Of course project "Butter" looks very promising but ICS is already sooooo much smoother than GB on my Bionic that I can't imagine it getting much smoother. Higher resolution devices will probably see more of an improvement I would imagine. I'm also pleased that Moto has really scaled back their customizations (Blur) in ICS, it's hard to tell the differences from stock.


----------



## Doug Brott

spartanstew said:


> Perhaps.
> 
> I would think developers would just create apps for the latest software. Eventually, everyone will get it or they'll be upgrading their device (what's the lifespan of a phone, 2 years?). And as I said, I usually buy things for what they are currently, not future apps, so wouldn't really bother me if some app in 6 months was only for JB.


I think the bigger problem is that the lifespan of the phone is 2-3 yrs and the lifespan of the OS is 6-12 months with minimal legacy support. It's off putting to developers to spend a large effort across so many platforms AND OSs when there is little coordination for rollouts.

At some point there needs to be some consistency. It's the difference of a river full of boulders and one that is free of them.


----------



## kiknwing

Yesterday I downloaded the JB update for the galaxy nexus from XDA. My first impression was that the UI is smoother. 

The Google Home feature is a nice addition. The voice is very impressive, just about human sounding. After asking a question, the response time is very fast. The one complaint that I have is with the cards, I wish I could manually set them up. The only card I have right now is for weather. I wounder how long it will take for it to learn that I take public transportation and baseball scores for the Rockies.

I haven't had a lot of notifications so I can't comment about it. Overall I think it's a good update for android.


----------



## Drew2k

kiknwing said:


> Yesterday I downloaded the JB update for the galaxy nexus from XDA. My first impression was that the UI is smoother. The Google Home feature is a nice addition. The voice is very impressive, almost perfect human sounding. After asking a question, the response time is very fast. The one complaint that I have is with the cards, I wish I could manually set them up. The only card I have right now is for weather. I wounder how long it will take for it to learn that I take public transportation and baseball scores for the Rockies.


Sounds like you're describing "Google Now", where you can let the phone learn your habits.

I've always been leery of giving away too much information to too many sources, but this is all to Google and they already have all my information from all my devices anyway, so I'm eager to try this out when I get JellyBean on my phone and tablet...

Here's the Google Now page: http://www.google.com/landing/now/


----------



## Shades228

kevinturcotte said:


> Well, if Verizon would offer a better phone, I might bite lol It has to have 4G LTE, an actual physical keyboard, and at least a Super AMOLED screen or better. What are my options? lol


Droid 4

With the need of a physical keyboard I would never leave the Droid line as Motorola is the only company that takes it seriously and improves the keyboard each time. My wife has to have a physical keyboard so she gets those phones. The nice part is Motorola is also the best when it comes to accessories.


----------



## Groundhog45

I finally got ICS last Friday night on my RAZR MAXX. I wonder how long it will take to get JB.


----------



## dpeters11

Groundhog45 said:


> I finally got ICS last Friday night on my RAZR MAXX. I wonder how long it will take to get JB.


I think a one click root is available for ICS on the MAXX.


----------



## hdtvfan0001

Earl Bonovich said:


> And how long will it take for JellyBean to reach a significant user base, especially on existing devices ?


Likely a year, even though updates will roll out to various devices in the next 30-60 days.


kevinturcotte said:


> I can't even get an ICS update on my phone, let alone Jellybean.


Perhaps the Smithsonian will be interested in your phone. ICS has been out for a while, although manufacturers decide if/when updates roll out, not Google.


spartanstew said:


> Not sure how that matters.
> 
> I just bought a new Android phone 2 weeks ago with ICS. Will it ever get JB? Don't know, don't really care. I didn't buy it for what Android might do in the future, I bought it for what it's capable of now - and I'm happy with it so far.
> 
> Now, if it received JB, I'd accept it and be glad for it, but I rarely buy anything in anticipation of what it might do in the future.


With the average smartphone user device longevity being about an average of 2 years (before they trade up or replace it)...that is likely an approach others take as well.


dpeters11 said:


> I think a one click root is available for ICS on the MAXX.


Rooting ICS has proven to be a risky thing on many devices. In some cases, it bricked them, in others, the ability to get future updated versions was prevented. The risk/reward evaluation for rooting mobile devices is something everyone should consider carefully before doing it.


----------



## trdrjeff

hdtvfan0001 said:


> Rooting ICS has proven to be a risky thing on many devices. In some cases, it bricked them, in others, the ability to get future updated versions was prevented. The risk/reward evaluation for rooting mobile devices is something everyone should consider carefully before doing it.


I must say that is news to me...


----------



## bobukcat

"trdrjeff" said:


> I must say that is news to me...


Yep, I am running leaked version of ICS on my Bionic and have done several reverts to stock GB followed by manual applying ICS again and have had no problems. My Xoom was running a custom ICS ROM for months but I reverted back to stock to try the OTA build. All have easily been rooted thanks to amazing developer support in the community. It is sometimes possible to cause problems if you do something wrong but most of these root methods have gotten extremely easy these days.


----------



## RasputinAXP

hdtvfan0001 said:


> Rooting ICS has proven to be a risky thing on many devices. In some cases, it bricked them, in others, the ability to get future updated versions was prevented. The risk/reward evaluation for rooting mobile devices is something everyone should consider carefully before doing it.





trdrjeff said:


> I must say that is news to me...


Me too. Galaxy Nexus, no prob. Razr/Razr Maxx, no prob.

Just ordered the wife a GSM GalNex to replace her GalS4G. I'll unlock and root that too.


----------



## BubblePuppy

"RasputinAXP" said:


> Me too. Galaxy Nexus, no prob. Razr/Razr Maxx, no prob.
> 
> Just ordered the wife a GSM GalNex to replace her GalS4G. I'll unlock and root that too.


If a person can read and follow instructions rooting a Android phone can be as easy as 024.... .  I've rooted my N1, Atrix, Inspire, Skyrocket, and GSII. By doing so I've been able to get the latest and pure Android os update well before ATT released its bloated versions. I've been running ICS for a few months before the "official" ATT release. 
I've never bricked a phone or ever gone back to factory reset, except to do clean rom flashes. 
HTC even posts approved rooting methods on its website (If you can't beat em help em).


----------



## hdtvfan0001

trdrjeff said:


> I must say that is news to me...





bobukcat said:


> Yep, I am running leaked version of ICS on my Bionic and have done several reverts to stock GB followed by manual applying ICS again and have had no problems. My Xoom was running a custom ICS ROM for months but I reverted back to stock to try the OTA build. All have easily been rooted thanks to amazing developer support in the community. It is sometimes possible to cause problems if you do something wrong but most of these root methods have gotten extremely easy these days.





BubblePuppy said:


> If a person can read and follow instructions rooting a Android phone can be as easy as 024.... .  I've rooted my N1, Atrix, Inspire, Skyrocket, and GSII. By doing so I've been able to get the latest and pure Android OS update well before ATT released its bloated versions. I've been running ICS for a few months before the "official" ATT release.


Glad to hear you guys had successes with rooting...however...

As a senior Moderator on an large Android site...I can tell you that I have seen literally thousands of crashed, significantly messed up, and bricked units from rooting. Even several other Moderators who know how to successfully root caution against the practice, except for those willing to see problem results.

The biggest challenges include multiple ways to root, multiple "tools" to root (there are over 15 rooting toolkits out there right now for ICS alone), and incompatibilities with installed apps that cause rooting to go haywire. In plenty of cases, it took weeks and weeks to recover for people. In other cases, there was no recovery until a full original install was done (painstakingly). Note: these were not all rookie users either.

That prompted my comments that rooting was risky, and I stand by that...even if some other folks do it blindfolded ( a minority of users).

I've successfully upgraded through 7 newer versions of Android on my tablet, and 3 on one of my phones, using the prescribed process. Never a problem with that technique.

ICS had less user rooting than previous versions, mostly because it included capabilities that prompted rooting in earlier versions. I suspect Jelly Bean will continue that pattern. There seems to be less and less reasons to root as Android versions advance. Still...some will do so anyway, despite a shorter list of motivations to do it. That's all OK, as long as folks know the risks.


----------



## BubblePuppy

hdtvfan0001,
what is the Android website that you're a moderator of?


----------



## hdtvfan0001

BubblePuppy said:


> hdtvfan0001,
> what is the Android website that you're a moderator of?


I can PM that to you...


----------



## RasputinAXP

Maybe I've just been lucky since my first days as an OG Droid user, but even when I've thought I've seriously screwed up my phone it never took me more than a few hours to fix (Droid, Droid 2 Global, Galaxy Nexus, in my case, wife's MyTouch 3G, Galaxy S 4G in the others).

The biggest pain out of all of them was the GS4G because of the whole ODIN/THOR/HEIMDALL thing. I'll be very happy when she's got that GSM GalNex.

Edit: Also, the JB ROM I'm running on the Nexus is great, but I've got to get that new v7 JB ROM onto it because the GPS fix issue was killing me in DC this week.


----------



## trdrjeff

Got my GNex last night, hooked up to Tmo prepaid. Very please with the speed so far, couldn't stand it so I was up late last night getting it unlocked, rooted and JB on it. I've only used ICS on my Xoom so this is the first time using it on a phone, but so far I haven't seen a huge change in the interface. Looking forward to how the Google Now learns my habits over the next few days. 

The voice commands seem more accurate now, almost as good as the dragon built into swype.


----------



## dpeters11

hdtvfan0001 said:


> Likely a year, even though updates will roll out to various devices in the next 30-60 days.
> 
> Perhaps the Smithsonian will be interested in your phone. ICS has been out for a while, although manufacturers decide if/when updates roll out, not Google.


Aren't the reports that ICS is only on about 10% of devices, even though it was released last October? Even the major carriers are still selling phones with Froyo.


----------



## hdtvfan0001

dpeters11 said:


> Aren't the reports that ICS is only on about 10% of devices, even though it was released last October? Even the major carriers are still selling phones with Froyo.


Not for long.

Different carriers move forward at different timelines. Some are simply slow and behind the times. ICS (Andoird v4.0) is actually ahead of many other versions from the past, and often seen as a stepping stone to Jelly Bean (Android v4.1).


----------



## Steve

dpeters11 said:


> Aren't the reports that ICS is only on about 10% of devices, even though it was released last October? Even the major carriers are still selling phones with Froyo.


Yup. Latest numbers came out yesterday.

http://www.androidauthority.com/jelly-bean-ics-market-share-june-99102/


----------



## Guest

Well it is quiet interesting to hear about the android jelly bean. It is the latest version with its unique applications and the fastest performance. I have the android 4.0 ICS version and i want to upgrade to the jelly bean version as it includes the high processing speed.


----------



## RasputinAXP

Everybody welcome the new spambots. Vaguely English on topic posting!


----------



## Draconis

Steve said:


> Yup. Latest numbers came out yesterday.
> 
> http://www.androidauthority.com/jelly-bean-ics-market-share-june-99102/


:nono2: Looks like Earl nailed it.



Earl Bonovich said:


> And how long will it take for JellyBean to reach a significant user base, especially on existing devices ?


----------



## TBlazer07

hdtvfan0001 said:


> Glad to hear you guys had successes with rooting...however...
> 
> As a senior Moderator on an large Android site...I can tell you that I have seen literally thousands of crashed, significantly messed up, and bricked units from rooting. .


 "Crashed" and "messed up" maybe some but "bricked?" Haven't seen that on XDA. Rarely ever is there a "brick" that can't be "unbricked" in minutes with the right tools (and the right forum). If your forum-folk has had soooo many issues it leads me to believe they aren't too, ummmm, knowledgeable.  I haven't had a crashed device since my first Android back in the beginning. Maybe because I don't run odd-ball apps. I don't even remember the last FC I have gotten. Again, maybe due to the apps I use. All pretty safe. I root them within minutes of taking them out of the package.


----------



## TBlazer07

RasputinAXP said:


> Edit: Also, the JB ROM I'm running on the Nexus is great, but *I've got to get that new v7 JB ROM onto it *because the GPS fix issue was killing me in DC this week.


 What ROM are you referring to? GPS is very important to me. Been holding off on JB on my Gnex. Well, actually I did play with it for a few minutes then re-flashed back to ICS.


----------



## RasputinAXP

Oh, I'm way past that one now. I'm running Vicious now.

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1738018 if you're on Verizon.


----------



## TBlazer07

RasputinAXP said:


> Oh, I'm way past that one now. I'm running Vicious now.
> 
> I've got the GSM version. Been running AOKP for ages. Waiting for his JB port.


----------



## RasputinAXP

Ah, the wife is on AOKP's JB I believe. Hold on, I'll look for it.

edit: meaning my wife has TMobile and I got her an unlocked GNex.


----------



## RasputinAXP

Oh, this looks good. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1667418


----------



## Steve

dpeters11 said:


> Aren't the reports that ICS is only on about 10% of devices, even though it was released last October? Even the major carriers are still selling phones with Froyo.


Big ICS jump in July, to almost 17%. Still a ways to go, tho.

http://asia.cnet.com/gingerbread-still-dominant-android-os-62218207.htm


----------



## Draconis

I'm just annoyed that my wife's Xoom has already downloaded it, and my Transformer Prime has not, (but they say it will get it).


----------



## tranglandmarket

that's very helpful , thanks


----------



## hdtvfan0001

Draconis said:


> I'm just annoyed that my wife's Xoom has already downloaded it, and my Transformer Prime has not, (but they say it will get it).


On "standby" here as well for my Transformer awaiting Jelly Bean.

The new performance enhancements and features will be welcome.


----------



## hdtvfan0001

TBlazer07 said:


> "Crashed" and "messed up" maybe some but "bricked?" Haven't seen that on XDA. Rarely ever is there a "brick" that can't be "unbricked" in minutes with the right tools (and the right forum). If your forum-folk has had soooo many issues it leads me to believe they aren't too, ummmm, knowledgeable.  I haven't had a crashed device since my first Android back in the beginning. Maybe because I don't run odd-ball apps. I don't even remember the last FC I have gotten. Again, maybe due to the apps I use. All pretty safe. I root them within minutes of taking them out of the package.


I don't dispute what you're saying...but I can tell you that many, many folks who attempted or executed rooting had a wide range of problems, and some bricking as well. To your point, it's not for either the faint-hearted nor uninformed. XDA loyalists tend to be some advanced users, so they likely have far better results.

My Android tablet has never crashed either.

As for Jelly Bean...based on the accelerated release of new hardware...I suspect it will be a dominant Android version within months of its release on each device that can run it.


----------



## Draconis

Well, my patience finally paid off, my Transformer Prime downloaded Jelly Bean this morning.


----------



## hdtvfan0001

Draconis said:


> Well, my patience finally paid off, my Transformer Prime downloaded Jelly Bean this morning.


Very cool.

I suspect you'll have to go through the customary "tweaking process of a few updates"...but at least you're there.


----------



## Cholly

Jellybean is supposed to be coming for Samsung Galaxy tablets in October.


----------



## hdtvfan0001

Cholly said:


> Jellybean is supposed to be coming for Samsung Galaxy tablets in October.


...and on the original ASUS TF101 Android Tablet in November.


----------



## bobnielsen

An alpha version of CyanogenMod 10 (Jellybean) came out a few days ago for the B&N Nook Color. It's missing a few features but is quite nice and can only get better.


----------



## inmyopinion

i am using jelly bean on my old samsung nexus s as of now , im just curious because the 3x4 option for typing message is no longer available..

is there a way we can get 3x4 grid again?


----------



## RasputinAXP

i have no idea what you're talking about. I even googled it and found nothing. What's 3x4 grid?


----------



## inmyopinion

i mean, on froyo and gingebread you have an option to change the format on how you type the message like the qwerty format or the 3x4 , ...


----------

