The new version of operating system for mobile and tablets Google did not miss the annual developer event of the firm Californian, Google I / O. It is Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, a platform that represents a new step in the competition that the manufacturer maintains with Apple, as well as with Nokia and Microsoft "" now allied through Windows Phone "". The new system, as we say, is designed to run on touch smart phones called "" smartphones "" as well as tablets. Since the last commercial version, Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, the platform shares functions and interface on both types of devices, something that will be common in subsequent editions and that is signed with the present Android 4.1.
It will be in the middle of next July when Jelly Bean begins to circulate among compatible devices. The first to be updated with the newest platform will be the Samsung Galaxy Nexus and Motorola Xoom, ie which in practical terms are native terminals of the house "" device Motorola is not exactly native, but the acquisition of the company on the part of Google logically brought both together, in addition to agreeing with the fact that all the presentations of the Android versions for tablets were made on that computer ””. Developers can now access the working version ofAndroid 4.1.
And what are we facing with this new operating system ? For starters, more fluidity. Since Google have worked to get the movements of the elements we see in the interface do not suffer slowdowns or abrupt transitions. At least, during the tests carried out on the Google I / O during its presentation, the smoothness in the operation was more than palpable. The idea is that everything flows at an equivalence of 60 frames per second, which leads us to think about how they will have solved that fluidity for devices that offer a performance below that of the Galaxy Nexus.
Among the novelties that we see in the main Android 4.1 desktop, one particularly stands out: the option of automatic resizing of the floating windows "" widgets "". The idea is simple. It is a system that allows us, by moving windows configured to access information in real time from the main Jelly Bean screen, that the elements on each of the pages or desktops are redistributed so that, as far as possible, fit with a new configuration. That will happen, necessarily, by the redistribution of the icons that each page has and a change in the size of the widget . What should be checked is if all the floating windows will be compatible with this solution or if the guys at Mountain View have only integrated this flexibility in the widgets dedicated to native applications.
The camera manager application in Android 4.1 is not far behind. Now it is faster, and offers greater integration with the image gallery. For example, from the application itself we would access the album, sliding the images to the left just after capturing them, which speeds up the selection of shots. Precisely, new features have been integrated into the gallery that make image management faster through touch commands. For example, within the gallery, if we remove an image outside the limits that we are seeing, it would be eliminated from the album, although we could recover it if we notice that we have deleted it by mistake. To go back, we would have to press quickly on the panel, and the system will interpret that it must rescue the photo.
One of the points where Android 4.1 has stood out the most is in the integration of the search system. There are three points that backbone the improvements in this regard. First of all, they have redesigned the user interface, making it simpler and more intuitive "" also mimicking Google+ "". On the other hand, they fine-tune the voice search system. Here things get interesting. Google stares into the figurative eyes of Siri, and in fact, the searches it integrates are focused so that the results are displayed as a single response to very specific queries. Of course: for the moment we will only have it in English. The third pillar of your search system is Google Now.
Google Now is a function that, basically, compares the browsing and location histories with the calendars and provides information intuitively to the user. The idea is that Google Now works as a kind of intelligent agenda that suggests data that is the result of analysis from various sources that we have previously provided. Apparently, it is a very useful service designed to make things easier for the user, although it will not be without questions when it comes to protecting privacy.
Notification management has also been improved, taking a further step in integrating with device functions. One of the examples that they put during the Android 4.1 presentation focused on missed calls, so that directly from the notification bar we could return them without having to go through the area dedicated to telephone functions. On the other hand, we also note that the different types of notification now allow a preview of the data and information they offer without having to open the applications focused on their management. In general, the idea is to bet on immediate interactivity from this section, which is enriched with a much more careful graphic potential.
Apart from all this, Android 4.1 Jelly Bean incorporates new languages, as well as improvements in communication between devices through the NFC function that they released in Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich as Android Beam. One of the points that stood out the most was also focused on the means of text input. A new virtual keyboard makes its appearance with the latest version of the system, but the best is in its offline dictation system, which allows you to annotate texts by voice even without Internet access. Unfortunately, this option will only be available in English during its premiere.
Finally, Google Play also receives news. The most interesting one focuses on what the guys from Mountain View have called Smart App Update. It is a function that will allow us to update applications in a more agile way, since every time there is a new version of the app , it will not have to be updated by means of a new complete download of the program, but only the new blocks that are added to the application.
