It was just a few months ago when Google announced Android 4.1 Jelly Bean along with Nexus 7 to demonstrate the concentration of Android on tablets and fluid functions. Now, the Mountain View company has announced another update to their mobile OS, as well as two more devices for their line of Nexus devices, the Nexus 4 and Nexus 10.
Android 4.2 has been deemed “a new flavor of Jelly Bean”, and it brings a load of new features to the platform to make it more usable and fun for users. The first big update to highlight is Miracast support for all devices running Android 4.2. Miracast allows your Google device to stream content wirelessly to an HD TV using a Miracast box or with internal support in future televisions. Next, Android 4.2 now brings swype-type keyboard to make typing much more efficient on your tablet or smartphone. Probably the biggest upgrade to the Android OS is the inclusion of multiple user accounts on one device, allowing a family to have their own custom homescreens and apps just the way they like them each time they login.
The Nexus 4 is Google next-generation smartphone in partner with LG. The Nexus branding usually means Google had a personal say in the design and development of the device in question, and guarantees the latest software for current and future updates. For hardware, the Nexus 4 has a 4.7-inch IPS (In-Planes Switching) LCD display with a resolution of 1280×768, which is fantastic for sharper colors and viewing angles.
It keeps the same 8-megapixel camera seen on the Galaxy Nexus and has a 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera for Google+ Hangouts. This new camera, along with running Android 4.2, will allow users to take full 360 degree panoramas. It now supports wireless charging as well; it joins the ranks of Nokia’s new Windows Phone 8 device, the Lumia 920. The only downside of this new device is the lack of LTE the seen in most high-end smartphones including the iPhone 5.
Finally, the Nexus 10 is the Google-branded iPad-competitor with a record WQXGA 2560×1600 resolution 10-inch screen; this is a full 330 pixels per inch! There is a dual-core Cortex A15-based 1.7GHz Samsung Exynos 5250 processor with 2GB of RAM running this mobile machine to keep it snappy with the new flavor of Jelly Bean, Android 4.2. It has dual-speakers for great audio playback to pair with the amazing viewing experience.
The device holds a 5-megapixel back camera and 1.9-megapixel front-facing camera for awesome Skype or Google+ Hangout calls. You should be able to use this new tablet all day with its 9000mAh that should give it 9 hours of HD video playback and 500 hours of standby time. Combine that with the new multi-user accounts and it could be the new family tablet to keep on the coffee table for everyone to use.
What do you think of Google’s new line of Nexus devices powered by the new flavor of Jelly Bean? Will you be picking up one for the whole family or are you waiting to buy a Windows 8 device or sticking with the Apple ecosystem?
