Jelly bean for S3

Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean)

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Manufacturer: Google

Jelly Bean is fast, slick, and feels like what Ice Cream Sandwich should have been when it first launched. Read our Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean) review to find out more.

We tested a Samsung Galaxy Nexus running the Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean) operating system, and found that there are a few things that Google has done right with this update - and a few issues that still need work. 

Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean) review: What Google did right

Jelly Bean is fast, slick, and feels like what Ice Cream Sandwich should have been when it first launched for Android phones and Android tablets six months ago. This performance boost is due to Project Butter, a processing framework designed to improve responsiveness, smooth out animations and reduce latency.

I compared the Galaxy Nexus running Jelly Bean to my own personal Galaxy Nexus (running Ice Cream Sandwich) and noticed the difference almost immediately. There is basically zero lag when opening applications, and scrolling between different home screens is amazingly smooth. The phone's user interface looks basically the same, but there have been little animations thrown in that give it a more polished look.

Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean): Animations

In Jelly Bean, every time you open an app, you get one of these brief animations that quickly zoom in on the app you just tapped. Is it superfluous? Sure. But it's the little details like this that make Jelly Bean more pleasant to use. There are a few other minor user interface tweaks, such as bigger, easier-to-tap icons.

The notification tray got a minor facelift, but the important change is in the notifications. You can expand certain notifications by using various two-finger gestures, allowing you to see more information at a glance.

Not all applications support this feature when I tried it out, but all of the pre-installed Google apps work. In fact, while writing this story, I received a Calendar alert telling me that I was going to be late to an event. When I went to the notification bar to see what the alert was concerning, I was able to see the name of the event (part of it anyway), the time and location, as well as a brief note describing the event.

Below that was a button that allowed me to "snooze" the alert, which I did without ever having to leave the notification pane. It's a smarter way of making notifications less intrusive, and I hope that third-party developers take advantage of this new feature.

Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean): Camera app

The Camera app also gained a few new tricks, with new animations that occur every time you take a picture. Once you've taken a few shots, you can swipe the camera screen away to bring up your camera roll and view the images you have in your Gallery. This is much better than what we had in Ice Cream Sandwich, where you had to exit the Camera app to see photos you had previously taken.

Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean): Mobile search

Google went all out when it came to mobile search on Jelly Bean.

You can access the new Google Now page at any time by swiping upwards on the Home icon in the navigation bar. Initially your Google Now page will be very plain, showing you places nearby that you might be interested in visiting as well as the local weather (which it gets by using your phone's GPS).

The more searches you do on your phone, the more Google Now will meet your needs.

To test this out, I searched for several things related to baseball and a sports section appeared on my Google Now page. If you don't like a section, you can turn it off from the settings menu. It's a very visual way of displaying basic information and it worked well--but I feel like it could do more with the information, and I hope Google Now continues to expand.

Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean): Voice search

Voice Search has a much cleaner interface. You can now do voice input when you don't have a connection, and asking basic questions like "What's the capitol of Spain?" will bring up a card with an answer to your query.

If you aren't satisfied with your answer or if you want to know more, you can swipe away to the card to get to the familiar Google Search results screen. I tried asking a few questions and, after Google finally began to recognize my voice, I was able to get answers to almost everything I asked.

Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean): What Google did wrong

While many things in Jelly Bean look and work well, I encountered a few quirks.

I noticed a strange ghosting, particularly while scrolling, that wasn't present in Ice Cream Sandwich. My guess is that this is the result of several new API's in Jelly Bean that are meant to smooth out text and graphics (to make them use less memory), but it's something that's noticeable when scrolling through webpages and other text-heavy content.

Another problem I found is one that's plagued Android for some time now: Fragmentation. With so few devices currently on Ice Cream Sandwich - and with many more phones currently waiting for their update - it seems unlikely that most phones out today (aside from the Galaxy Nexus and Nexus S) will get the Jelly Bean update.

Our Verdict

Jelly Bean may have solve a lot of performance issues in Android, but fragmentation will continue to be a problem. It seems unlikely that many developers will take advantage of any of Jelly Bean's new features, especially when most of their users will still be running Android Gingerbread or below.

Google chrome now available for iOS

Google just announced that they have launched their web browser Google Chrome for iOS, still using apple’s WebKit Browser engine.  The interface is pretty much similar to that of the desktop version.

Also, it will be with all of its desktop features that includes web history, incognito mode and synchronization  of tabs. People are saying that it is slower than Apple’s Safari due to lack of Google’s V8 JavaScript engine.

Google unveils Nexus 7 for $199

Yes, it is unbelievable. Google just unveiled their new tablet in collaboration with the Taiwan giant ASUS just for $199. It is a powerful machine that was launched to rival Kindle fire and apple’s new iPad.  Running on upcoming Android OS v4.1 Jelly Bean, it has a 7” 1280×800 HD display and a battery life up to 8-hours of active use.

With a powerful quad-core Tegra 3 processor, 1GB RAM  and a 12-core GPU, it would deliver brilliant performance and graphics.

It is designed for Google play, that now features eBooks, Songs, Magazines, Movies, TV-shows and more than 600,000 apps and games.

It also has Bluetooth, Front facing camera (1.2 megapixels) and Android Beam.

It has 2 different models, one the 8GB version that costs $199 and the 16GB version that costs about $249.

Also, if you preorder the tablet, you would receive $25 of free credit to spend on Google play and a free copy of transformers: Dark of the moon.

Rating: 5/5. we surely think that this machine is amazing.

LG Optimus 4X HD

LG recently unveiled its latest Optimus Android smartphone , the Optimus 4x HD. LG expects it to give its hi-end smartphone manufacturing counterparts at Apple and Samsung a run for their money. The 4x has literally everything you will want for your smartphone, from a top notch camera, to a fast processor, to great graphics.. and to anything you can literally even think of.

Camera

It has an 8 Mega Pixel front camera, with 1080p HD recording and a 1.3 Mega Pixel front camera, also with HD video capture.

Processor & UI

It is propelled with a Quad Core 1.5GHz NVIDIA Tegra 3 processor, which will certainly give users a super fast interface. LG has also given it their latest Optimus 3.0 UI, which seems to be highly intuitive and user-friendly.

Display

As the name says, it has a 4.7″ HD-IPS  display and  720×1280 resolution, with 312 pixels per inch.

Battery

 As the specs demand, it has a 2150 mAh battery, which will provide at least 24 hrs backup with moderate to heavy use.

Conclusion

LG has already launched the 4x in Europe and Asia, but has yet to be launched in the US. So, if you are looking for a high-end smartphone, the 4x certainly demands a look at. Priced at USD 733 in the European markets, you will certainly have to dig deep into your pockets to get one!!

Android App Review | Go Launcher EX

I’ve been using Go Launcher Ex as my default launcher for quite some time now, and finally think of myself to be capable enough to write a review on it.

I have installed it on my LG Optimus Black (GingerBread 2.3) , in place of LG’s default Optimus UI. Having tried out various other launchers available on the Playstore, like the Launcher Pro etc. I can confidently say that this is one of the better launchers available for Android. It has a good looking home screen..

Also it has a handy options menu, with a number of commonly used links.

The preferences menu is one of the features, which sets it apart from the rest. 

On the whole, I highly recommend this Launcher, which is sure to win your heart after just minutes of use, and moreover it’s free!

App. Manager

Go Launcher EX Search App

Go Launcher EX Settings Menu.

Go Launcher EX Home

Go LauncherEX Settings Menu.

Microsoft Surface

The new Surface tablet has been released by Microsoft. And is it good? You bet it is.

This new and bold venture by Microsoft has the typical MS experience. It runs on the Windows 8 pro and windows RT systems.

The main aim of surface is, however, to rival apple’s ipad.  Despite being a tablet, it can cater to the needs of an ipad-type tablet, as well as a laptop PC. Although much has not been released by MS Inc. about Surface™,its release on Monday revealed it was much more like apple, with the over hyping by analysts, luminous keyboard and incredible usefulness.

Infact, Surface™ not only takes on ipad but also ultrabook, due to its dual Tablet-Pc persona.

Since users have already become used to the “touch” interface of apple, MS Inc. seems to be targeting the business part. “The Absence of a camera, the physical keyboard and Ms office seem to target the business segment” wrote Mr Jeronimo of IDC.

The world of technology is one in which someone can be left behind in a moment’s notice (Apple?). Although it may seem both astounding and unbelievable that anyone can take on apple’s ipad, we’ll say that it seems likely that Surface™ can.

Cons:  Although it is too early to speak of cons, one seems to be that it has no cellular connectivity

Rating:   4/5 .We genuinely feel Surface is awesome.

Final review:  Surface can make an impact on your desk space, although it remains to be seen if it can truly combat  ipad.