What’s new with Android 4.0

Hot on the heels of Apple’s release of iOS 5, last Wednesday Google and Samsung announced the release of the Galaxy Nexus, a platform specifically tailored to Android’s new 4.0 operating system expected out near the end of November.  If you’re thinking about developing a new mobile app for Android, there are some exciting new features you should know about that might help you increase the depth and functionality of your product.

Android’s press release boasts that the new OS will enhance those things for which it is best known: “easy multitasking, rich notifications, customizable home screens, resizable widgets, and deep interactivity.” The improved animations, a typeface optimized for high resolution screens, and the facilitation of multitasking gestures go a long way to improving the user interface and ensuring that it’s more intuitive than ever.

According to Dan Grabham of TechRadar, on the practical side Android 4.0 improved its copy and paste features, data logging and warnings, and incorporated a quicker and more efficient way to take a screen grab.  And as much as we love to laugh at the antics on sites like DamnYouAutoCorrect, it doesn’t appear as though the Androids of the near future will be contributing.  The keyboard and dictionaries have been updated, and unlike iOS’s annoying tendency to correct “errors” without being asked to do so, Android’s spell-checker is opt-in, providing suggestions from which the user can choose.

Improved functionality is useful, but the new OS wouldn’t be much fun without some sexy new toys, and this release certainly delivers.  First, there’s “face unlock,” which eliminates the tedium of sliding the bar and entering the PIN and instead allows the user to unlock the phone merely by looking at the screen.  “Quick responses” are another great feature that allow users to input pre-determined text message answers to phone calls – “I’m driving,” “I’m in the shower,” etc. – or to respond instantly to incoming calls with a pre-set list of stock responses.  This OS release also includes the Android Beam, incorporating near-field technology to allow Android users to share data merely by bumping two devices together, much like iOS’s Bump It app.

Of course, if you’re thinking about developing a mobile app for Android’s new OS, drop us a line and we’ll get you started.