Android we all know has come a long way in a very short period in the technology of mobile devices in recent times. Arguably a lot would attribute this to the open source policy which it has imbibed. The latest addition to its flavor is the “Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich”. Things you need to know about the “Ice Cream Sandwich” is that, its a combination of the best Google mobile OS for phones and tablet interface; namely Android 2.x Ginger bread and Android 3.x Honeycomb.
Android Ice Cream Sandwich aka Android ICS offers a massive array of improvement bringing the best of both Gingerbread and Honeycomb while providing a raft of new innovations.
Google claims Android ICS is built on what people loves most about Android. Things like easy notification (which Apple has now included in IOS 5.0), customizable home screens, widgets, easy multitasking (this can be a pain with Apple) just to mention a few.
Most issues have being address. Examples are keyboard and dictionaries, improvement with copy and paste, data logging and warning etc.
“Error correction and word suggestion are improved through a new set of default dictionaries and more accurate heuristics for handling cases such as double-typed characters, skipped letters, and omitted spaces. Word suggestion is also improved and the suggestion strip is simplified to show only three words at a time.”
“To fix misspelled words more easily, Android 4.0 adds a spell-checker that locates and underlines errors and suggests replacement words. With one tap, users can choose from multiple spelling suggestions, delete a word, or add it to the dictionary.” Now Apple needs to catch up here.
There are also a lot of upgrades down to enhance better animation and an entirely new typeface.
You can find the Android ICS on Samsung Galaxy Nexus which was released in September by Samsung and I am sure the likes of Sony Ericsson would follow shortly.
One major advantage of this OS combination is developers would find it easier to optimize tablet application for phone and vice visa (Apple has to catch up here as well). This would enhance the Android market a lot more, allowing users to be able to choose for a wider range of application without waiting endlessly.
If you considering upgrading the OS of your device to Android ICS, its worth to know that not all device would be able to do so. It’s good to see Sony Ericsson confirm “all” their 2011 phones will get ICS. They can’t say better than that, their 2010 phones were barely equipped to get Froyo or Gingerbread. Of the HTC phones, nothing is clear yet. But what is clear is if you have invested in Desire S or Incredible S you would have to invest in a new phone.
Personally, one thing I would desire Google get right, is the battery issue irrespective of the screen size. This has been the minus for Android platform and most times I say to myself that Android is not for the Africa market. Have you used any of the Android devices before? We will like to hear your experience with using Android. We do hope someone in Google is reading.
Have a great day.
Image Source: http://www.nugrahajawa.com/a-glimpse-of-android-2-4-or-ice-cream-sandwich/
