Android ICS Rolling Again

Sometime back (nearly 2 months now) we put a post introducing the new Android version that may be due this summer. Code named Jelly Bean! We did mention at that time that Google is yet to roll out the ICS (currently at version# 4.0.4) to all types of devices and in more countries than it did at that time. Well, the news is that Google has announced its rolling ICS OTA updates (again) to more devices and in more countries as well.
You may remember that the OTA for version# 4.0.3 was put on hold due to the issues that users reported in bundles; especially the battery life. This was somewhere in December 2011. As a result quite a few Android users and fans were left out of the initial update season. Since then many blogs (including Google' official forums) and sites were thudded with questions and posts on what was going on and when the rollout will start again. No one seemed to have a clue and Google was mum. Neither the ones who got the OTA were happy (with the issues) nor those who didn't get the update. Questions, questions, and then a small period of silence.
If you are the one waiting, then we bring some good new for you. You should by now either already have received the OTA update or should pretty soon. Google last week officially announced that it is restarting the ICS rollout to nearly all the devices. As the word is, the update will be of the most up to date version available right now: 4.0.4

As a reminder your device needs to running on the stock build for version 4.0.3 or the Gingerbread (2.3.x) in case you still are not using ICS to receive this update. You will as usual see a OTA pop up like the image on your right. The Nexus S (GSM version) should be getting the updates first, still a doubt over the Nexus 4G version but Google hasn't said anything about a NO on this yet(nor a YES). If you are looking for a list of what's new on ICS, read on.


New Font and Spell Checker

The new font called Roboto is specially designed for high resolution screens and brings a magazine-like feel to the whole smartphone interface. Besides this new font you will see the new spell check and the word suggestion interface in your messages and everywhere else as well. As you may see on the left image, wrong spells will be red underlined and the moment you will select the word the system will present you with the spell suggestions.
You also have the option of adding this new word to dictionary in case you are not interested in the suggestive words. You all have the same way of doing this like it was in 2.3.x by double taping the word (partially visible in the image)


Notification Bar and the way to dismiss

With ICS you get a notification bar which is slightly different from the one that you were used to in earlier versions. No major changes apart from the settings button that you see besides the date. Clicking the settings button will open up the system settings for you to make any changes that you may require.
The new change you will see is the fact that you are now able to dismiss individual notifications right from this bar. So instead of  clicking a X and send all notifications away, just slide each individual notification bar towards your right to dismiss it.


Screen Captures
Major major update as far as Android users are concerned. You are now able to capture your screen and it just takes 2 sec to do it. No apps required and no extra settings. Just hold down the volume down button and the power button (both at the same time) as you are ready to take a shot. The capture is by default saved to your internal storage and you are able to view it from the notification bar, right after you capture it. Once there, just open or share as er your convenience.


Instant Voice
Still some work to do before we really start the comparison with Siri but unlike other versions of Android which support voice commands, Android 4.0.4 will not take very long to transcribe your words. Just speak it in and it instantly transforms it into text.
All dictation errors are underlined just as we showed you in the message type image above. Just tap them like you would and replace them from the suggestion list presented to you.


Android Beam
Based on NFC (Near Field Communication) it allows two Android smart phones to securely exchange Web pages, contacts, media or even applications. Once ready with the share item, just tap both smart phones (ideally back to back) and the app decides the rest. It is based on NDEF Push technology.


Mobile Chrome
The new version comes with a brand new Chrome mobile Web browser. It syncs with your

desktop or laptop Chrome bookmarks, it can save pages for offline reading, and it can open up to 16 tabs at the same time. We show you 3 tabs as they are visible in the image to your left. 
Just click on the plus sign at the top right on the screen as and when you decide to open a new tab. Closing a tab is as simple as clicking the cross on the tab itself.


Camera with Panorama Mode
ICS has some great new camera features, a brand new camera UI, options to edit your images using multiple effects right after you click them and it captures images at a ridiculously fast speeds, probably the fastest among smart phones. Don't just believe us, try it!! Video recording modes have also improved along with support for a time lapse mode and as a plus you now get the Panorama mode. Nexus S users will still fume over the nonavailability of the zoom feature. But we really are not sure how Google and Samsung could do tat w/o and hardware changes. So as it stands now, zoom will be missed badly.


Mobile Data Usage
If you are the one who uses smart phones to make extensive use of network data for streaming content, synchronizing data, downloading apps, and more, then Android has met with your needs of metered data plans in this version. Find the Mobile Data usage setting and you are on the move.
Try out the new features and let us know how you liked or disliked them. As for us, we are thrilled to have received it on nearly all devices owned by our crunchers. They sure are enjoying the update, how about you? Got it already or are still waiting, let us know in the comments!!