After much speculation, news about the eighth Android release has surfaced. It is confirmed that this one will be called Jellybean. The name goes in tandem with Google’s practice of labeling its Android versions after sweets or desserts in alphabetical order. The current one is Gingerbread for phones and Honeycomb for tablets and the future release is going to be Ice Cream Sandwich, which will be followed by Jellybean.
While the names have been confirmed for both the next releases, the version numbers are not and it is quite hard to speculate because the current ones didn’t follow any specific pattern. The only thing experts can say is that it will definitely be 2.4.x.
The new release means that Google has something innovative up its sleeve (doesn’t it always) but reports also have some bad news. When Ice Cream Sandwich was first announced it was supposed to have some revolutionizing features but these will be released only with Jellybean. This is bad news but there is nothing to be shocked about as the only new aspects of Gingerbread when it came out were a couple of small changes and the introduction of a new theme. Ice Cream Sandwich will have the same thing as well.
Visions of the prospective theme have surfaced on the internet and there are some noticeable changes in it. Firstly, the default icons have been revamped and the new design features predominantly blue color in them. The color scheme is going to be a shade of teal as opposed to the aquatic bold blue of the Honeycomb release in tablets and the striking green of the Gingerbread that all new Android phones have by default.
There will be some changes in the notification are of the phone and there is going to be some manner of an application list on the side of the screen, probably for better access. Moreover, the Gmail application will be modified and the camera will enable users to click panoramas. This has been a lacking feature in most phones and something quite disappointing but Google seems to have responded to public opinion.
It is almost confirmed that the only changes ICS will have are related to aesthetics so older Android phones can run it with ease. Among the first phones to be released with this OS is the Nexus Prime.
