The latest update for Google’s open source Android software has been nicknamed “Ice Cream Sandwich”. Version 4.0 of the mobile phone software is believed to be surfacing in October or November of 2011. There are some impressive new features in this update that may further chip away at Apple’s dominance of the smartphone market. Currently over 100 million activated Android phones are out in public, with 400,000 new devices being activated each day. A new Verizon smartphone called the “Droid Prime”, is speculated to be introduced in the next 2 months, sporting the latest version of this open sourced platform.
Google has stated that this release is the most ambitious to date and will add a long list of new feature for users and developers to tear into.
New features for “Ice Cream Sandwich” will include:
– Facial tracking Software
– Movie Rental Service
– Integration with the Cloud Based Music Service “Google Music”
– The ability to take Panoramic Pictures
– Resizeable Widgets
– Commitment to Software Updates on all major phone providers
Facial Tracking
As far as we know this type of tracking does not include facial recognition, but may be used by the internal camera to focus on the subject of a photo.
This “facial tracking” feature was demonstrated at Google I/O 2011 with Virtual Cam Operator Application. This app had the ability to automatically focus on any person who begins speaking. This feature can be used when taking video or still pictures. If the subject stops speaking and another subject starts, the application will switch focus to the new speaker.
Movie Rentals
The updated OS will ship with an application used to rent and watch movies. These rentals can be streamed or downloaded for a 30 day period. The price of rentals start at $1.99 and can be watched across all Android based devices. So, if you rent a movie on your home computer, you will also have the ability to watch it on your mobile phone or tablet.
The Google Music Service
“Google Music” is a cloud based service that lets you upload your entire collection of music to Google’s servers. This gives consumers the ability to stream their music anywhere on any Android based device. It is compatible with Itunes playlists and will track all of the songs you’ve listened to. These playlists are synced automatically, so worrying about uploading files isn’t an issue. Google Music will also download your recently played music for use offline.
Up to 20,000 songs can be uploaded. As soon as a new song is added to your computer, it will automatically be added to your online collection. A feature called “Instant Mix” also can be used to create playlists that of similar music styles.
Here are some of the negatives and positives of cloud based music services:
Postives:
– no storage space needed
– music streaming on all android devices including phone, tablet, and laptops.
– no more lost music due to hard drive failure
– it’s FREE
Negatives:
– service interruption
– no streaming to non-android based devices
– It is free, but you pay for it by giving Google access to all your personal information to better serve you ads
As new versions of Android come online, we can see that Google is looking to provide open source software that can be used across all devices including tablets, smart phones, and laptops. This is helpful to developers as they can create applications that can be used on many different types of devices, with less time in development.
The SDK for Ice Cream Sandwich is currently not available, but Google has published technical guidelines to help developers design for this updated platform. ICS’s release date hasn’t been made final, but Google has been providing tips for developers to help prepare for this transition. The date for ICS’s arrival is suspected to be timed as an answer to the release of the iPhone 5. Some experts feel like this ambitious version of Android may help provide stiffer competition to the currently dominant iphone.
James is a writer and programer for the website ChronicFatigueTreatments.com. This website is centered around topics like fatigue, insomnia, fatigue causing infections, and supplements.
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