Recently Android version Jelly Bean was released. The nomenclature, as usual followed alphabetically, and was named after a food. Technically known as Android 4.2, the version announced many new features. Not that the previous version, Ice Cream Sandwich, left us much unsatisfied but the new features introduced by Jelly Bean are awesome.
The first thing is multi user facility. Till now, each Android powered device was customizable for one user only, using his Google id. Now, you can have many different user Ids, fully customized, on one Android device. If you know how a multi user Windows PC works, it is just the same, choose your user ID and the device will launch your preferences and will treat your id as the principle id. This makes sharing one device very easy. Especially tablets, which are often shared among siblings and work partners.
Wireless display is supported by default by the operating system. You can simply connect your device to a high definition display devices such as a HDTV and enjoy YouTube or any stored video. Frankly, pictures and videos, taken with high resolution camera, are better enjoyable on HD really.
This reminds me of the excellent Photo Sphere Camera facility. This is an incredible improvement and I personally am amazed about how they have managed to get it done. Simply put, your zoom or focus doesn’t make the surrounding lose anything. Your focussed object gets photographed properly while the 360 degree ambience gets captured as well. This is amazing, even the much celebrated iSight cam doesn’t have this feature.
I am not very comfortable typing on screen which brings me to the last point, gesture typing. I always end up tapping the adjacent key than the actual target key. Jelly bean is very different. Let me explain a bit. If you want to type the word FRESH, tap F and without lifting your finger, slide to R-E-S-H in that order and only those letters will get typed. No matter what you touch while sliding, only the target letters will get typed. Even the spaces are added automatically. Wonderful technology, I must say.
There are many small improvements like auto-relocating of icons on homescreen, or exchange files over NFC just by touching two devices but it may fill many pages if we start talking about those.
And, of course you get the best Google experience as this is Google’s latest and most advanced child.