Google has come a long way as the early days whilst it struggle
to encourage the world that its friendly green celestial could make applesauce
of the innovative iPhone.
In truth, Google's first Android phone, the HTC-made
T-Mobile G1, wasn't much to look at when it debuted in October 2008, with its
trough for a keyboard and its strangely jutting chin. HTC was hardly a known
brand, and we weren't even sure if we were getting a single Google Phone or an
entire operating system. Yet the humble G1, with its ugly design and few apps,
kicked off an Android avalanche just the same.
Fast-forward to 2012, when the now-mature Android operating
system is neck and neck with the iPhone around the globe. Android is universally.
Yet for all the platform's success, Android is still plagued
by division, by too many versions of the operating system available at the same
time across handsets and carriers. Developers and the press will once again
raise a hue and cry this week when Google spill the beans on its Jelly Bean OS
at Google I/O. As of today, many existing Android 2.3 Gingerbread smartphones
are still waiting for their Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich updates, eight
months after the SDK became presented.
Jelly Bean (Android 4.1)
Less than a year
after the Ice Cream Sandwich release, Android 4.1 Jelly Bean builds from
Android 4.0 with incremental trappings
that still pack a lot of punch.
Google's Voice Actions has been dust off, prettied up, and
thrown into the spotlight to stand against Apple's Siri. Google also devise
Google Now, an optional program that uses your GPS coordinates, calendar, and
search history to predict your needs for travel information, sports scores,
public transportation routes, and reminders on when to leave in order to make
your appointments on time.
Google has also built out its notifications to let you see
and do more every time you get a new alert, and expanded Android Beam, which
now transfers meatier files like photos and video, in addition to URLs, maps,
and contact details.
destruction on the rise
While Jelly Bean is a
worthy update, Google is only digging itself deeper into the destruction mess.
Most current phones have been brought up to Android 2.3 Gingerbread, but
despite its announcement eight months ago, Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich is
still shiny, new, and absent from the majority of top U.S. smartphones. The
hunger for Jelly Bean, which arrives first for the Samsung Galaxy Nexus,
Samsung Nexus S, Motorola Xoom, and Google Nexus 7 tablet will only frustrate
more.
