More Jelly Bean and a new family of Nexus

While Hurricane Sandy was wrecking havoc on the East Coast of America, those of us on the other side of the pond were left disappointed when Google had to cancel a press event in New York. But fear not -- for Google has managed to release new details on a new version of Android and a new family of Nexus of devices that are available right now, by press time.

Android 4.2 - still called "Jelly Bean"

Android 4.2 is a new version of Android, still called Jelly Bean (after Google’s propensity to name Android versions alphabetically after deserts), that brings incremental changes to keep Android ahead of its competition. The version sees improvements in its camera, security and usability features among many others. Of interest to most users would be the camera and usability enhancements.

Camera Enhancements and Photo Sphere

If you’ve ever seen those Google Street View cars ply along the roads taking sneaky photos of unsuspecting pedestrians for publication on Google Maps, you might be glad to know that you can also do that now in Android 4.2.

you can use the same technology that powers the Street View cameras in your phone

Dubbed “Photo Sphere”, you can use the same technology that powers the Street View cameras in your phone to take 360 degrees panorama shots worthy of your non-Android friends’ envy. If you count yourself as an expert photographer, you can even upload them to Google Maps for sharing with the rest of the world. The camera interface has received a new interface that allows you quick access to camera settings. Of course, this new update also comes with the obligatory increase in the number of filters available that allow people to further “instagram-ise” their photos without needing to use Instagram.

Usability Enchancements

Google Now, the software that makes use of the tons of data that Google has on you to provide you with useful and timely live information, has been updated to make use of even more of your data -- your emails! Google Now will now remind you of any flight checkins, hotel checkins and even delivery timings. This is not a new feature for Android 4.2 per se as it’s available for (the few) Android 4.1 devices out there as well.

Google Now will now remind you of any flight checkins, hotel checkins and even delivery timings

Android 4.2 also introduces several usability enhancements to bring about extra polish to the interface and keep Android in front of competition. Quick settings is now available in the notification shade that allows you to access frequently used settings. This can be activated by a button in the notification shade or by swping down the notification shade with two fingers. Widgets can now be placed on the lock screen, allowing you quick access to information without unlocking the phone. The default Android keyboard now has “Swype” features allowing you to slide your fingers across the keys to type. Multiple user profiles are also available on Android tablets.

Family of Nexus Devices

It may be well and nice that Android 4.2 has some new exciting features but, as carriers and Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) like to do what they do best, many phones might never see the update. This is why Google has the Nexus series of devices that allow you to experience the purest Android version that will receive any updates to Android first. And for the first time, Google has announced a family of Nexus Devices that are “worthy of the Nexus name”. There is the Nexus 4, 7 and 10 for a 4 inch phone, 7 inch tablet and the 10 inch tablet respectively. They are available now on Google Play store for very competitive prices. The unlocked 16GB version of Nexus 4 is available for just £279. The Nexus 4 has received very positive reviews from major news outlets. The Nexus 10 sports an impressive 2560 x 1600 pixels screen that puts the iPad’s retina display to shame, in terms of hard numbers at least.

The Nexus 10 sports an impressive 2560 x 1600 pixels screen that puts the iPad’s retina display to shame, in terms of hard numbers at least.

While consumers drool over the devices, Google has strategic reasons for introducing the whole host of Nexus devices. The first reason is to cater to enthusiasts who like to have the unadulterated Android experience while having any updates pushed to them first. Think of these devices like the devices Apple releases - first class citizens in terms of software treatment. The Nexus programme has always been envisioned to be the hardware benchmarks for the other OEMs to follow. By having stellar hardware with a good software experience, Google hopes to spur the OEMs to produce hardware that match and exceed that of the Nexus devices. It also hopes that OEMs will be motivated to provide updates in a timely manner and not to bog down their devices with additional software that will hamper the user experience. Most importantly, the new Nexus devices hope to spur the development of tablet applications for the Android platform. As Tim Cook very nicely pointed out in his iPad Mini keynote, the tablet application ecosystem on Android is atrocious. After releasing the Nexus 7 earlier this year, there has been an increase in the number of developers adapting their applications to the 7 inch form factor. Google hopes that this will happen again as high quality 10 inch tablets enter the market and set a trend. As the 7 inch applications work well on the 10 inch screens, Google is looking to the Nexus 7 and the Nexus 10 as “bootstraps” for more tablet applications.

Future Nexus and Key Lime Pie

With the holiday season upon us, Google is hoping that more consumers will buy Android devices, especially the tablets. With Android phones already dominating the smartphone market, Google is eyeing the tablet market with great interest, seeing that Apple has held its dominance with the iPad for quite a while.

Google is eyeing the tablet market with great interest

The new Nexus devices look great, in terms of performance, usability and aesthetics. We can only wait with bated breath to see what they have in store next year with a whole new series of Nexus devices and the next version of Android slated to be called “Key Lime Pie”.