A bug in Google's Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean) mobile operating system has caused the entire month of December to disappear. But fear not: Google has recognized the issue, which we hope means a fix will arrive soon.
Sorry, kids, Christmas is cancelled this year – at least, that’s what Google’s Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean) mobile operating system is telling users. As first reported by AndroidPolice on Saturday, Google accidentally left out the entire month of December in its most recent Android update. Fortunately for users, a fix is likely coming soon. (We hope.)
The absence of December in the Jelly Bean calendar is especially disruptive to the People (contacts) app, since birthdays, reminders, or any other notes related to the month of December cannot be added (since December does not currently exist). The flaw comes built in to the new Nexus 4 and Nexus 10 devices, as well as new or upgraded versions of the Nexus 7 tablet and Galaxy Nexus smartphones.
The no-December flaw was first noted in an Android bug-tracker forum on November 14. It has since been confirmed by a number of users from around the world. But it wasn’t until Saturday, November 17, that Google acknowledged that December 2012 was missing from Jelly Bean.
All said, this is a relatively minor bug – more a source of mild annoyance than catastrophic mayhem. (If, on the other hand, Apple had left out December in iOS, there would surely be nothing short of Hell to pay for the Cupertino giant.) Alas, Google’s roll-out-fix-later modus operandi has likely saved it from too much wrath, if not a dose of embarrassment.
Still, Google has yet to comment on when a fix is due. But we would guess that an update will arrive before December does.
T-Mobile is the second US carrier to unleash Android 4.1 Jelly Bean to its Galaxy S III customers. Last month Sprint started seeding the Jelly Bean update to the Galaxy S III units on its network.
The update is available OTA or from Samsung's Kies software. Users who are rooted and don't want to wait can download the update from here and then manually flash it on their devices.
The Galaxy S III will receive Project Butter for a smoother, more fluid UI performance, the improved notifications, "freestyle widgets" that automatically reorder your homescreen content before they are placed and more.
Here's a video by Samsung showcasing the various improvements. Below it is a video dedicated to the improvements and novelties in TouchWiz itself.
Now with T-Mobile on the bandwagon it seems AT&T and Verizon are lagging behind, something their customers are very vocal about in their respectful forums.
Motorola’s frameless screen sporting DROID RAZR M for Verizon Wireless has begun receiving Android 4.1 Jelly Bean over-the-air. The update has hit the baby RAZR right in line with Motorola’s promise at its launch for a timeline before the end of the year.
The Android 4.1 Jelly Bean update brings a number of software improvements to the DROID RAZR M. They include Google Now, Android Beam and NFC, and improved notifications to go with the buttery smooth menu transitions. Unsurprisingly, the new OS is dressed in Motorola’s custom UI, which adds only a few extra touches to the Pure Google Experience.
The Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 tablet launched with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich (unlike its smaller Note II sibling), but its Jelly Bean update has now started its rollout. It's the 4.1 version of Jelly Bean and not 4.2, but the differences between the two aren't major anyway.
The rollout is rather limited as of now - just in Germany as an OTA update that weighs in at 300MB.
The guys from AllAboutSamsung.de, who have already installed the update, report that it improves performance, adds the same S Pen functionality as the Note II has (e.g. the new Quick commands), adds Pop Up Play and new Mini Apps. Paper Artist is also pre-installed.
If you don't live in Germany and you just can’t wait to try out Jelly Bean on your Galaxy Note 10.1, you can grab the ROM from SamFirmware. The update brings the S Pen-enabled tablet to Android version 4.1.1 (PDA N8000XXBLJ9, CSC N8000OXABLJ9).
Keep in mind that flashing the ROM manually will void your warranty and you might brick your tablet, so proceed at your own risk.
Apple is trying to add Android 4.1, Jelly Bean, and the Galaxy Note 10.1 to yet another patent infringement court case against Samsung in California.
Apple argued yesterday that Samsung’s Galaxy Note 10.1 tablet and the Android 4.1 Jelly Bean operating system infringe on its patents and should be added to an existing California lawsuit against Samsung.
Appearing in a federal court in San Jose, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Paul S. Grewal, Apple’s lawyers sought to expand the lawsuit against Samsung with additional patent infringement claims. This follows Samsung’s attempt to add patent infringement claims against the new iPhone 5 back on October 1.
The judge has not issued a ruling yet.
Most notable among Apple’s claims is the inclusion of Google’s Android 4.1 operating system, also known as Jelly Bean. Apple insisted that the Galaxy Nexus is the only phone with Jelly Bean that it is seeking to add to the patent complaint, for now. The implications of this are serious for Google and it’s the first time that Apple has included the Android platform specifically in its cases against Samsung.
It seems the Cupertino-based company is also now looking to add devices with a stylus, such as the Galaxy Note 10.1, and Apple’s attorney mentioned adding a further 17 devices that could use a stylus, but don’t ship with one.
A couple of weeks ago we saw the first Android 4.1 Jelly Bean ROM for the Samsung Galaxy Note leak, version N7000XXLS2, but now SamMobile claim that they have the real deal straight from Samsung's servers and that the previos ROM was a system dump.
The update brings the original Galaxy Note to Android 4.1.1 and gives it the latest TouchWiz with all the bells and whistles. The ROM also has basic support for Air View (detecting the S Pen from a distance and triggering previews), but that isn't ready just yet.
Before you flash N7000XXLS2 on your Note, have a look at this video N7000XXLS7, which some lucky guy in France who got the update early. It updates the phablet to Android 4.1.2 and enables Multi-View just like on the new Note II.
The video is quite long (and in French), but here are the juicy bits - flashing the ROM at 4:00, you can see the Jelly Bean version at 7:30 and 16:50, Multi-View is shown off at 9:00 and texting works too (13:00), suggesting it's a fully featured ROM.
You can't flash this ROM has yet as it still hasn’t made its way to XDA. On the upside, LS2 is from October 9 (nearly a month ago), so Samsung should be testing a newer version internally (possibly the LS7) and the update should be nearly ready (the Galaxy S II update should arrive at the same time too).
Android distribution numbers for October are in and Ice Cream Sandwich and Jelly Bean are still short of the reach Google might have hoped for.
At merely 2.7%, Android 4.1 Jelly Bean usage has jumped just 0.9% compared to September, 2012. The OS debuted exactly 6 months ago, and despite Samsung and HTC's best efforts to update their high-end devices, Jelly Bean is still to get proper traction.
Ice Cream Sandwich distribution is also on the rise clocking in at 25.8%, almost 2 points up from last month. With most manufacturers having completed their scheduled ICS updates, we don't expect this number to continue to climb. Especially with the majority shifting their attention to Jelly Bean.
Finally, Gingerbread is continuing to drop from 55.8% in September to 53.9% in October. With most devices comprising this number being low-end droids that would never see an update in their life, this number isn't likely to plummet anytime soon.
For more details and data, click on the source link below.
Ice Cream Sandwich used to be the new kid on the block, but it's been usurped by the likes of Android 4.2: Jelly Bean as the OS to have on the likes of the Samsung Galaxy S3 and Google Nexus 4.
However, loads of users are still waiting for their Ice Cream Sandwich update, and Google told us that this is one of the biggest overhauls of the operating systems since it unleashed the Android project three years ago - and there's certainly a lot to plough through.
From enhanced contact menus to improved keyboards and NFC capabilities, even the most ardent Android users will have to spend some time getting used to the new OS if they've never been Android 4 - so let's dive in.
Interface
The most noticeable change with Ice Cream Sandwich is the interface - it might follow the same principles as the Android of old, but the way it's used is radically different in a number of ways.
Firstly, Android 4.0 is designed to work without buttons. However, it's clear that notion has died, as physical buttons are still everywhere over a year on... so don't worry if you're a fan of a good home button.
Now to navigate around, you're offered three softkeys: Back, Home and Multi-tasking (or Recent Apps). The latter is particularly new for phones, and comes from the Honeycomb UI - basically a set of thumbnails that show recently opened apps.
Here's the new part: swipe sideways to shut down an application, which will greatly help reduce the battery consumption of your phone if there's something silently updating in the background.
The Home and Back buttons are the same as they've always been, but no longer have a 'long press' function attached... so you can't automatically call up the keyboard, for instance.
If you move into something media-ish, such as watching a movie or browsing the web like a pro, these three buttons shrink down to tiny dots, so you've got more of the screen to look at. However, remember what each dot does, as pressing it will take you home/open the recent apps etc and you might not want to.
For Android fans, this presents something of an issue: with the menu button gone, you'll have to hunt around the screen for three vertical dots which have taken its place. However, these can be anywhere, so sometimes you'll get distracted trying to work out how on earth to alter settings.
The multi-tasking pane also seems an odd choice for one of three buttons - it used to be you could access this functionality by long-pressing the home key, and it makes more sense to keep this and then have the multi-tasking slot taken up by a menu key.
However, despite the odd placement, the multi-tasking pane is cool - simply swipe horizontally on any open app to shut it down, in a similar way to the Cards system on webOS - it certainly helps keep open applications under control.
The home screens are once again limited to five, but this time there's no option to get rid of those you don't want. It's not a huge issue to some people, but with the expandable widgets and loads of apps you'll be looking to download, we'd have expected more.
This isn't the case with most other phones, which will extend it to at least seven screen, but Google likes to be stingy.
There's a plethora of tiny tweaks and changes to the Android OS that we were impressed with, ranging from the Tron-like blue theme that pervades throughout the OS to the ability to unlock the phone simply by using your face.
The latter security option is more novelty than anything else, with Google outlining at the start that it's not meant to be 100% secure.
We also found a few issues with getting it to recognise our face in varying light levels, or even working out which bit of the picture was a face - not the most effective for unlocking your handset, but when it works it's a great party trick.
This has been updated in Android Jelly Bean to include blink detection, but you sadly won't have this option if you're stuck on Ice Cream Sandwich.
The notifications bar has been given a functionality overhaul to now include larger information slots - if it's a contact that's sending you a message or a missed call, their contact photo will now appear too, which is a nice touch.
And sometimes you want to get rid of some notifications, but not others - this has been taken care of by allowing you to swipe away the updates about apps and messages you don't care about, making it easy to maintain your info bar.
Settings has also been given a spot in the notifications pane, meaning no matter where you are in the OS you can always duck out and tinker with the phone - this is excellent news for some applications that need GPS or Wi-Fi enabled swiftly.
However, we would have though Google would have copied the likes of Samsung here and offered one-tap switching to these elements - it works really well on most phones, so we're surprised by its omission.
The other new addition is the dock at the bottom of the screen - this stays on every home screen, and like iOS can be altered to contain the applications you like to tap away at the most.
Folders are more iOS-like too, with users given the ability to drag and drop icons on top of one another from the home screen to create bundles of apps which you can simply rename. Given Apple's ire about Google 'stealing' certain elements of its UI, we can't help but think this created a little more angst down on Infinite Loop.
Google is clearly also thinking about giving users more ability to enjoy apps than ever before by putting a link to the Market in the top right hand corner of the menu screen, which we really liked as it meant we always knew we could quickly update our app catalogue when needed.
The other big change is widgets have been brought to the fore: you can now look at each one on the menu screen without having to actually select it - this really helps when a new application you've downloaded has an associated widget and you're wondering whether to waste time popping it on the home screen.
Overall, we love what Google has done with the Ice Cream Sandwich UI. It's nothing mind-blowing, but the little touches here and there will add to user delight, and that's what's needed to chip away at those that are dyed-in-the-wool iPhone users.
The Android 4.1 Jelly Bean update for the HTC One X recently started rolling out and it brings a good performance boost with it. One of our readers (thanks, Safal) sent in screenshots of some benchmarks he ran on a JB-running One X.
SunSpider • Quadrant * AnTuTu
The web browser saw the biggest boost and it’s the area where the HTC One X most needed one. The old results just weren't fit of its quad-core flagship status. A slight boost in AnTuTu and Quadrant point to an overall performance increase too.
Here's how the updated phone stacks up against its ICS-running self and other high-enders.
AnTuTu
Higher is better
Samsung Galaxy Note II 13562
HTC One X (Tegra 3, JB) 12932
Samsung Galaxy S III (JB) 12288
Meizu MX 4-core 11820
LG Optimus 4X HD 11735
HTC One X (Tegra 3) 11633
LG Optimus G 11226
Quadrant
Higher is better
LG Optimus G 7439
HTC One X (Tegra 3, JB) 6822
HTC One X (Tegra 3) 5952
Samsung Galaxy Note II 5916
Samsung Galaxy S III (JB) 5375
Meizu MX 4-core 5170
LG Optimus 4X HD 4814
SunSpider
Lower is better
Apple iPhone 5 915
Samsung Galaxy Note II 972
Motorola RAZR i XT890 1059
HTC One X (Tegra 3, JB) 1117
Samsung Galaxy S III (JB) 1192
Meizu MX 4-core 1312
LG Optimus G 1353
LG Optimus 4X HD 1446
HTC One X (Tegra 3) 1468
The Jelly Bean-running HTC One X gets ahead of a Jelly Bean-running Samsung Galaxy S III, at least in these benchmarks, and makes it very competitive with the LG Optimus G (which has a next-gen Snapdragon S4 Pro chipset but ICS is keeping it back).
Note that we're talking about the regular One X here, not the zippier One X+ and its overclocked Tegra 3 chipset (it will launch with JB out of the box too).
According to Android Central the Taiwanese firm has confirmed that owners of the international version of the One X in Europe and Asia will start seeing the update pop up on their devices over the next few days.
A report from September claimed that we'd see the Android 4.1 upgrade arrive on the One X in October, as HTC looks to keep up with its biggest rival the Samsung Galaxy S3, which has recently received the sweetly named software.
Smoother and faster
The update will be available over the air (OTA), meaning you won't need to plug your One X into your computer to download and install Jelly Bean, but due to the size of the file you'll need to hop onto a Wi-Fi network and make sure your battery isn't too low.
Android Jelly Bean is a smaller update than Ice Cream Sandwich, bringing incremental upgrades to the Google platform, the most noticeable of which is Project Butter, which aims to deliver a smoother and faster user experience.
We're waiting for official word from HTC to confirm which regions can expect the update and when, and we'll update this article once we hear back.
We've also contacted the UK networks to find out their plans on the HTC One X Jelly Bean update, but we're still waiting to hear back from all of them.
The General manager of HTC North Asia, Jack Tong announced at a press event that the Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean update will start rolling out for the One X today. He also said that the One S will also be graced with the firmware update, but didn't specify a time frame.
The new firmware update will not only bring the One X to the latest Android release (not counting Monday's Google announcement, of course), as well as the latest Sense UI version.
Jack Tong also mentioned the One X+ and One S SE updated edition, which will hit shelves in Asia on October 30. No other markets were mentioned, but we recon they shouldn't be too far behind the schedule.
According to SamMobile, the company plans to extend the reach of the multi-window functionality recently included in the Galaxy Note II.
Multi-window is really a neat feature as it allows for true mobile multi-tasking; not just the ability to switch seamlessly between apps, but to use two apps at the same time.
For example, users can browse the internet using Chrome and send an email using Gmail while both apps are displayed in a split screen.
Welcome addition
The multi-view feature would be a welcome addition for Galaxy S3 owners, given the abundance of screen real estate offered by the 4.8-inch Super AMOLED HD device.
SamMobile claims that the update will arrive by the end of the year and also bring with it some minor stability improvements.
Will Google's special event on Oct. 29 see the announcement of some new Jelly Bean features that could also hitch a ride with this rumoured S3 update?
Sprint is releasing the Android 4.1.1 Jelly Bean update to its Galaxy S III as we speak. The update is carried out over the air to consumers and each device that receives it will download it automatically.
Users will get Project Butter for a buttery-smooth UI, Google Now, expandable and actionable notifications in the Notification Area, the improved widget placing on any icon-ridden homescreen and lots of improvement and tweaks.
Galaxy S III owners in Europe have already received their Jelly Bean updates and now it's time for those in US to get the same treatment. Updates for the other carriers should come in the following weeks, or dare we say, days.
We've got a dedicated review of Jelly Bean on the Galaxy S III, which you should totally check out.
The new version of Google's OS will launch soon under the guise of Android 4.2 – but it will still be called Jelly Bean.
This means the change will be more of a refining evolution of the platform, rather than bringing multiple new features – we'll have to wait for Android 5.0 (Key Lime Pie) before we get anything ground breaking.
But until that fateful day, we'll at least get a few more Android features to play with as Google brings another iteration to its OS – read on to find out more over what we can expect from the launch:
Android 4.2 name
Well, we'll be honest: we already covered this in the strapline here. It's going to be called Jelly Bean, so those that were waiting for information on Android Key Lime Pie will be sorely disappointed.
However, that does mean that some new cool features are on the way in the new update, and let's be honest, if you're disappointed that a name hasn't changed for a version of Android you should probably take a step back, look at life's priorities and go work for a charity for a bit.
Android 4.2 features
From what we can discern from the font of vague knowledge (the internet rumour spewer) Android 4.2 is going to have a new button in the notification bar to allow access to quick settings.
This was previously a second drop down from the notification area, but it seems this has evolved to just be a single button that leads to a zone where you can perform quick functions like turning on and off Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and Flight mode.
If we're honest, it's not overly exciting as all the Android skins around have this feature already embedded, with the likes of Samsung's TouchWiz giving you access right from the notification bar itself.
As we said this feature is evolving all over the place, so don't be surprised if it changes again before the Monday launch – or gets dropped altogether.
The other relatively large change looks set to be to the Gallery app, which will see the UI become a bit more open and surrounded by white frames, in a bid to make Android look that little bit more professional once more. It could be that fewer photos are displayed on the screen at once though, in a manner similar to Google+, which may not please those that love more information on the screen at once.
And a more recent placeholder from UK retailer The Carphone Warehouse outed another new feature: a 360 degree camera app, which will presumably lead to loads of blocky and confusing pictures from friends on Facebook, with the odd one with astonishing clarity thrown in by a professional.
According to Android Police, which got a chance to tear down an early build of Android 4.2, there were also big changes to the Gallery and Camera icons, replaced by something that looks a lot more like Instagram, but these were proved to be placeholders.
However, this does strongly hint that Android 4.2 is also going to come with revamped icons for these apps, which will excite approximately 32.6% of Android users, we predict.
Another change in Android 4.2 will be more minor and will let you dismiss your data counter when you get warned you're heading close to the limit you pre-set… usually this remains and you're forced to change the limit to remove it, but now you can accept the warning like an adult (ie forget about it until it's too late, and blame someone else).
Android 4.2: multiple user accounts
Something that appeared on the Sony Xperia Tablet S that got tongues wagging was the ability to set multiple user accounts in the same way as Windows allows now.
This means users can set the apps they want for their own accounts, handy in the case of a family tablet. Android Police again was the detective here, noting that some apps required permissions for different users on the same device, so this will be a key area in the tablet area especially.
And on that subject, parental controls will be built right into the system as well, meaning you can change the level of interaction each person has on the tablet - for instance, stopping downloads from the Play Store or working out which apps should be restricted for each person.
Android 4.2 release date
Here's the main problem with Android in our eyes: users can't generally get their hands on it for bloody ages after announcement. Just look at the amount of phones still rocking Gingerbread (Android 2.3), which was released years ago, and you can see we're not optimistic that the newest version of Android will be available any time soon.
However, that said at least there will be flagship devices available sporting the new software sooner rather than later, with 31 October already being mooted as the shipping date of the new version of the Nexus 7 which you'd think would have Android 4.2 on board.
At the very least the new Google Nexus 4 and Nexus 10 will both be rocking the new software and have been strongly tipped to launch in early November to catch the Christmas rush. And with Android 4.1's launch Google promised that it was working with manufacturers to get the software to them ahead of time for easier deployment... could we see such a thing happen already?
Android 4.2 launch
The Android 4.2 launch has been set for 29 October, with Google promising a fancy event to live stream the launch of the three new devices set to support the new OS in multiple locations across the globe.
We're pretty sure there will be devices rocking the fancy new version of the software at these events, so we'll be able to bring you our early thoughts on whether it's something you should bug your network for as soon as our toned, lithe fingers can bash out the letters.
Android 4.2 review
And then, of course, we've got the main event: our Android 4.2 review. We'll be working as fast as possible to bring you our preview, as we mentioned above, and then as soon as we get a full review unit we'll update you with our multi-page full review, taking the new OS apart and seeing what treats is has on offer.
Granted, the Android 4.1 Jelly Bean update to the oh-so-popular Galaxy S III has been seeding at some places for more than two weeks now. But the UK owners (and those in a list of other European countries) were not lucky enough to make it in the first wave.
Starting this week though, users in UK, Ireland, France, Italy, Austria, Spain, Switzerland, and Romania are finally able to enjoy all the improvements brought by the latest Android release.
The Galaxy S III owners in the US however, are not as lucky, as there's still no certain Jelly Bean US release schedule for the Galaxy S III. All we have as a promised release date is the vague "in the coming months".
In case you're still pondering on whether the update is worth the fuss of backing up your data and reinstalling all your apps and tuning their settings, check out our Galaxy S III Jelly Bean review.
There's no time-frame for this yet, and roll-outs will vary by country.
Play 'em out, keyboard cat
Unfortunately for those of you with older Xperia phones, the Jelly Bean dream has crumbled and died.
In the same blog post, Sony announced that "after thorough evaluation, we have concluded [the 2011 Xperia portfolio] will not be upgraded beyond Ice Cream Sandwich".
There was a bit of a hoo-hah over the 2011 Xperia line-up when it appeared in July that the company had given up on them, leaving them to languish on Ice Cream Sandwich forevermore.
The cards are on the table - Sony just announced the update plan of its Xperia line. Here's the list of models that will get updated to Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and also the ones that will remain stuck with 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich.
Sony's latest high-end Xperia phones - the Xperia T, TX and V - will be updated to 4.1 Jelly Bean in mid-Q1 next year.
Next up are the global versions of Xperia S, Xperia acro S, Xperia ion, Xperia P, Xperia go and Xperia J. The release date for the update will be announced later. It's still unclear what will happen to the localized versions.
And now, the ones left behind - the whole 2011 Xperia lineup (which got updated to ICS) will not be getting Jelly Bean because Sony "would not be able to guarantee owners of these smartphones the user experience you expect and we demand".
It's a bit disappointing that the Xperia J, which has a cut-down version of the Qualcomm chipset that powers the 2011 Xperias, is getting JB but the older models are not.
As promised, a new version of iPlayer for Android has hit Google Play making the mobile catch-up TV service compatible with Jelly Bean, now known as BBC Media Player.
The app has had a behind-the-scenes overhaul to make sure it can work with both older, Flash-based Android iterations and the brave new Flash-less world that is Android 4.1.
To do this, the BBC has created the BBC Media Player app, which allows handsets to play the Flash-based video content on BBC websites through a spot of clever redirection.
Misdirection
Not all the videos across the BBC websites and iPlayer are compatible with the app just yet, although the BBC has started rolling out updates so the error messages should lessen over time.
The BBC's way of getting around Android ditching Flash is to use the Adobe Air-based Media Player app.
Unfortunately there's still no sign of iPlayer downloads coming to the Android app yet, something that iOS users have smugly been enjoying for some time now.
Android users can download the app from Google Play now.
The data-championing network took to Twitter to announce the news, tweeting: "#ThreeSoftwareUpdate Jelly Bean has arrived for #GalaxySIII users :-)".
By the looks of it the update is available over the air, meaning you won't need to dig out your USB cable and tackle the somewhat disappointing Kies desktop software.
Update time
You'll need to head over to Settings > About device > Software update on your Galaxy S3 to check if Android 4.1 has made it to you.
It won't necessarily appear today as these updates sometimes take a few days to filter through to every handset, but you should be enjoying Jelly Bean on your S3 very soon.
We've contacted the other networks about their Galaxy S3 updates, but we're still waiting to hear back from O2, Vodafone, Orange and T-Mobile.
The Asus event, which brought us the new Padfone 2 smartphone/tablet was over all too quickly and some details almost slipped through. Among them were the Jelly Bean update schedule and the keyboard dock, which wasn’t presented.
According to an Asus representative, the company plans to have the Android 4.1 update ready by November. This means that even if you are among the very first to buy it, you will only have to wait a couple of weeks to get it.
As for the keyboard dock, that's still in development too. Asus says it's trying to create the best keyboard dock possible, but didn’t commit to a time frame. Of course, there's a possibility that Asus might ax the dock, but chances of that happening are slim.
