It's the start of the month, and you know what that means: Google spills the (jelly) beans on how its Android operating system breaks down. And Jelly Bean has jumped a few per cent.
It now accounts for 45.1 per cent of all Android devices. That's up 5 per cent on last month. Google counts Android 4.1 and 4.2, but strangely omits 4.3, which is the latest build. Maybe it's too minimal to register...
Read the full story here... Source: CNET
Android 4.1.2 will be pushed to devices in phasesDroid Bionic users can expect an OTA starting Monday, changing software build numbers to 98.72.22.XT875. This is Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean, and comes with some nice goodies. Google Now with its predictive search and voice commands will be included. Expandable notifications will now be accessible, letting users control music, return calls and texts, and even manage email from the notification panel. The Jelly Bean keyboard brings better dictionaries, as well as voice typing that works without a data connection.
Some Motorola-specific enhancements include better Mobile Hotspot connectivity, an updated 'Back Up Assistant Plus' and new Visual Voicemail, along with improved voice and data reception quality. The OS also gets a little lighter, with Sling and MOG apps being removed by default.
As the OTA update starts hitting devices next week, things will be quite busy in the forums. Be sure to post your findings after you give Jelly Bean a spin.
[Source: AndroidCentral]
LG's Optimus L9 is getting the jump to Android Jelly Bean. The phone launched last year, running Ice Cream Sandwich. Jelly Bean will mean anyone using an L9 can take advantage of features like Google Now and Google's Advanced Voice Search.
According to the XDA Developers Forum, the update is available now in Australia, Thailand, Germany, the Baltic countries, Spain, Italy, France, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Greece and Hungary. The UK isn't mentioned, but given how many European countries are, I reckon we Brits should have the update imminently.
If you're using an L9, hit the update button and let me know if anything happens.
The L9 leaked over the summer, but didn't go on sale until near the end of the year. It's good to see LG not leaving its more affordable devices out of updates, as Jelly Bean will give the device a new lease of life. It'll also save you upgrading to a phone that runs the latest version of Android out of the box.
The L9 is the flagship of LG's budget L range, sitting above the L7, L5 and L3. It's powered by a dual-core 1GHz processor, with 1GB of RAM and a 2,150mAh battery. It also totes a 4.7-inch screen.
Keen to steal Samsung's thunder, LG announced some new eye-tracking smart phone tech this week, though it won't come to the L9. This pauses videos when you look away, and starts them playing again when it detects you're watching, much like on the Galaxy S4. Pretty nifty. The feature is called Smart Video, and will debut on the super-sized LG Optimus G Pro.
LG also employed some other techniques to try and steal some of Samsung's limelight this week.
[Source: CNET]
Another month, another collection of Android adoption data shows Jelly Bean’s slow march toward bigger marketshare. During a two week period ending on March 4, data reflects a jump up to 16.5 percent distribution compared to 13.6 percent in February. That’s actually a pretty big jump, owing in part to manufacturers pushing out updates and more recent phones releasing with the latest OS.
Gingerbread, which still dominates, fell slightly, as did Ice Cream Sandwich, but not by much. The leap is promising, and it’s great that all phones we’ve seen announced this year are coming with Jelly Bean outright. Gingerbread is still an imposing number, and will likely continue to be for awhile. Probably even during Key Lime Pie and beyond.
[Source: TechnoBuffalo]
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Following Sony's official announcement yesterday, British network O2 has revealed that it's now pushing out the Xperia T Jelly Bean update. As well as bringing the device up to Android 4.1.2, the upgrade brings various Sony software improvements, including new music player, gallery and video apps, and some tweaks to the stock launcher.
It's a quick turnaround for O2, which in the past has spent weeks certifying major Android OS updates for its branded devices. If you've got an O2-branded Xperia T, head to Settings > About > Software Updates to grab the latest OTA.
[Source: AndroidCentral]
It's official: BlackBerry 10's Android runtime layer will be updated to Jelly Bean. Reports of the announcement, which should please users looking to shore up the platform's app selection, surfaced this morning, apparently stemming from the company's developer-focused BB Jam Europe event in Amsterdam. We've since reached out and received confirmation that it is indeed true, although no timetable has yet to be announced. In the meantime, current Z10 owners can continue to sideload Gingerbread-based apps -- which the runtime layer currently supports -- while they wait for those big name, third-party apps to land in the BlackBerry World store.
[Source: Engadget]
Acer is expanding its tablet lineup with a new budget-minded 7-inch slate running Jelly Bean. The Iconia B1-A71 pairs a dual-core 1.2GHz processor from Mediatek with 512MB of RAM for a machine that certainly wont set any benchmark records, but wont hurt any wallets either. The rest of the specs, like the WSVGA screen, 8GB of storage and lone 0.3-megapixel camera are certainly also helping keep costs down. At 11.3 ounces and 11.3mm thin it's a pretty svelte device, especially considering its expected starting price of under $150. Sadly there's no concrete time frame for release.
[Source: Engadget]
If you’re still grasping onto the glory days of Samsung’s Galaxy S II, your commitment to the almost two year-old device will soon pay off in a big way. Support pages for Android 4.1 Jelly Bean have appeared on the company’s Korean website, meaning users can probably expect the OS to hit the device relatively soon—though how soon is unclear.
In any case, the update is set to arrive through Samsung’s KIES, and bring along the expected Jelly Bean smoothness along with a few of the company’s built-in features like Smart Stay. The support document warns that the incoming upgrade will actually lower your internal memory by 1 full GB (from 12GB to 11GB), so be mindful of that when the upgrade actually starts rolling out.
Hopefully carriers here in the states can do all the necessary testing rather quickly so that Galaxy S II owners can grab the software sooner rather than later.
[Source: TechnoBuffalo]
The last time we checked out Google's Android Device Dashboard, penetration of the latest version had reached 1.8 percent of active hardware. A couple of months later and Android 4.1 / 4.2 Jelly Bean is accounting for more than 10 percent of devices that accessed Google Play in the last 14 days. The share of Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich devices also grew to represent 29.1 percent of active hardware, and while 2.3 Gingerbread still has the largest slice, it slid below half to 47.6 percent. That means developers can more confidently taking advantage of the latest APIs, but while the environment is much improved over when thedashboard launched in 2009, those fragments still mean some hard choices on exactly what to target with apps. Hit the source link for a larger look at the current numbers.
[Source: Engadget]
Sony's chimed in with an update regarding Jelly Bean upgrades for its 2012 Xperia models, and the Xperia T, TX and V are right on time, set to receive Android 4.1 beginning in February and March. Xperia P, J and Go owners will see Google's latest confection-themed OS land on their devices starting at the end of March, while those who call the Xperia S, SL, Ion and Acro S their daily drivers will receive the update in the weeks after. Unfortunately for the Xperia U, Miro, Tipo, and Sola, Hirai and Co. have seen fit to keep the hardware on a steady diet of Ice Cream Sandwich.
[Source: Engadget]
All it took was two months and a weekend. True to its word from this past Friday, Verizon's begun rolling out the much anticipated Android 4.1 update to both the Droid RAZR HD and Droid RAZR Maxx HD. As our tips box can attest, OTA update notifications are slowly, but surely hitting users' devices, bringing with it Project Butter, Google Now and ISIS enhancements. But don't fret if you're not seeing anything just yet -- Big Red's noted that Jelly Bean will arrive "in phases," so you'll have to practice some patience. Or continue to mash that system update button. Your choice.
[Source: Engadget]
Sprint's the first US carrier to get the long-awaited Jelly Bean (Android 4.1) upgrade to the Samsung Galaxy S III. Featured as an OTA update, your device may start seeing it as early as today. Don't worry too much if this doesn't happen right away; experience has shown us that these large-scale OTA rollouts can be a lengthy process spanning the course of a couple weeks. Feel free to shout out in the comments if your device has already prompted you for the update. The press release is found below.
[Source: Engadget]