Much energy has been expended over the last days, weeks and months about Google's rumored 'Nexus' branded tablet that we're expecting to see unveiled tomorrow at the opening of Google I/O in San Francisco. But as exciting as the supposed Asus hardware partnership is, as psyched as I am to get a 7 inch tablet with a Tegra 3 processor, IPS 1280 x 800 Gorilla Glass covered display, as jazzed as I am about making my first purchases with the built-in NFC and gaming with that 12 core GeForce GPU...the single biggest thing that's really going to make this 'Nexus 7' tablet different than all other Android tablets that have come before is....Android 4.1, 'Jelly Bean'.
This will be afterall a 'Nexus' device and as such will be the first shipping tablet with Google's latest and greatest OS, Jelly Bean. Now, Jelly Bean is not expected to be as huge an upgrade over its predecessor as Ice Cream Sandwich was over Honeycomb, and we don't have anything 'in stone' about what features and additions to expect in the new version of the OS. But after a bunch of research and perusing the web we've come up with a few things that we're looking out for as 'probable' Jelly Bean enhancements. So let's have a quick look, shall we?
One of the biggest rumors about 'Jelly Bean' is that it will have Google's voice activated personal assistant technology, code named Majel, as part of the OS. An obvious competitor to the popular Apple voice guidance system Siri, Majel is expected to show off Google's ability to integrate their prowess with search along with voice recognition and 'intelligent' interaction. As an interesting 'factoid', the project is named after Majel Barret-Roddenberry, the wife of famous Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry.
Another rumor about 'Jelly Bean' might solve one of the biggest 'problems' that many have pointed to that have held back the Android tablets from world domination. That is of course the subject of 'fragmenting' of the OS with too many versions on too many different models and causing all kinds of havoc and confusion for developers. A big rumor has it that Google might be handling all OS updates from now on, thereby ensuring that all devices are 'up to date' with the latest and the same level of OS and drivers. While this would be a complicated undertaking it could go a long way in creating the stability and consistency that Android tablets need to jump to the next level of adoption.
Another rumor has to do with the web browser on Android browser being changed to 'Chrome'. There has been a 'Chrome Beta for Android' available for awhile now and many believe it is faster and more efficient than the current browser. This seems to be a 'no brainer' as a better browsing experience would certainly be one of the most appreciated and most common uses of Android tablet owners.
Other 'improvements' of 'Jelly Ben' might be minor interface and driver enhancements for the OS that might cater to specialized applications such as pen based apps, battery life improvement and improved photo, video and camera support or audio enhancements. Of course everything above is pure speculation but we don't have much longer to wait to find out what's really in store for us in either Jelly Bean or the new Nexus 7 Tablet. Google I/O begins tomorrow, Wednesday, June 27th.
With all the chatter and excitement revolving around Google's first 'Nexus' branded tablet that has circulated in the blogosphere over the last few weeks and months, not a lot of attention has been paid to what may be the single biggest factor
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