Android 4.1 Jelly Bean

Google took the wraps off of the latest version of its operating system, Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, at its annual developer conference Wednesday.

Set to come to the Nexus series and the Motorola Xoom in mid-July, the OS is being born into a world where its predecessor -– Ice Cream Sandwich -– still hasn’t made its way onto most Android handsets.

Technically just an incremental update to the OS, Jelly Bean adds a number of welcome features and enhancements that make Android feel like a whole different animal.

Smooth Operator

With Jelly Bean, Google is incorporating something called Project Butter. Designed to help improve the performance of Android, Project Butter makes everything you do run a little smoother and faster – like butter.

It’s a noticeable difference, and really cleans up the Android experience, making it much more fluid and enjoyable.

The enhanced predictive keyboard in Jelly Bean does a noticeably better job determining what you meant to type on it. Just like in Ice Cream Sandwich, selections of words show up on the screen, but it does a much better job at determining the word you meant than its predecessor.

Over time, the keyboard can also get to know you and common mistakes you make – so if you have large fingers and always hit the button beside the one you were actually aiming for, Jelly Bean will figure it out and will suggest the word you meant to type. If you’ve been using Swiftkey, then the experience will be a lot similar to what you’re used to. If you’re used to using Android’s stock keyboard: you’re going to love the improvements.

Just the Right Size

Widgets within Jelly Bean can be resized to be any size you want them to be, and will automatically adjust themselves based on what’s around them. So, for instance, if you want to drop a large widget down on the screen where there’s already a few app icons, those icons will move out of the way -– say from the top of the screen to the bottom or vice versa — to make room.

If you want to get rid of something, it can be removed from the screen by swiping it off.

Beam Me Up

Android Beam also saw a slight update in Jelly Bean, adding the ability to transfer pictures and videos between phones via NFC.

First offered in Ice Cream Sandwich, Android Beam already allowed you to share things like web pages, contacts, directions, and apps by tapping together two phones.

Google Voice Search

Taking a page from Siri, Google now offers voice search capabilities similar to Apple's virtual assistant. The search incorporates in Google’s Knowledge Search, so for many searches you’re going to get more detailed answers than Siri is capable of. For other searches; however, Siri currently can do a little better than Google.

Google Now

For instance, we asked Siri on an iPhone 4S and Google on a Galaxy Nexus where we could find good Pad Thai for lunch. Google provided us with one result, while Siri gave us 21 in the area sorted by rating. In contrast, when asked when the next Giants game was: Siri looked in our calendar for the word “Giants” and when she couldn’t find it gave up. Google on the other hand knew we were looking up the San Francisco Giants – presumably because we were in SF at the time of the search and it's baseball season – and then told us when the next game was as well as what the score was for the last game played in the series. Pretty slick.

Google Now is perhaps the most impressive new feature coming to Jelly Bean, and the creepiest. Once you opt in, Google Now keeps track of what you do on your phone, and then displays beautiful cards with information on them pertaining specifically to you.

For instance, Google Now knew that I had been searching for when the next Giants game was, so once that was completed, it displayed the score. In addition to sporting event info, the cards will also tell you the weather based on your current location, remind you of your next appointment, and keep track of travel information such as when you can catch the next train home or whether a flight you’re taking is delayed.

You can also get information about nearby places, and get traffic information for your drive home. When traveling, the cards will show you what time it is back home, help with currency conversions, and offer translation help when you’re somewhere that speaks a different language.

Notifications

Notifications are also seeing an overhaul in Jelly Bean. Each notification can be expanded and collapsed from the notification tray, and most offer the ability to do things directly from the tray.

For instance, when you miss a call you are now given the option to message the caller or call that person back from within notifications. You can also do things like preview emails.

The end result is that everything is a bit easier to get to and more intuitive. While I didn’t really feel hassled launching individual applications to do things before, I definitely noticed and appreciated the ability to do them directly from notifications now.

Taking Life Offline

Google is bringing voice dictation and Maps offline with Jelly Bean. While you won’t be able to send an email somewhere you don’t have service, you could dictate one to your phone to send once you do.

Likewise, the OS now allows you to download and save maps, something Google announced in June and also made available to other versions of Android — version 2.2 and above — last week through a Maps update. Unlike some other offline map services, however, you’ll have to decide in advance which portion of the map you want to download and make available without a connection: something you’re likely to not know until you’re, well, without a connection.

SEE ALSO: Meet the Future of Google Maps

The idea is great, but the execution just isn’t there. Chances are good you’re not going to know you need an offline map until you need one, and by then it would be too late. We’d love to see Google instead offer the ability to download larger portions of maps –- say an entire state – to use while offline so you don’t have to plan so heavily in advance.

The Best Android Yet

Android continues to mature with each update, and Jelly Bean is no exception. The OS offers a noticeable improvement in performance over Ice Cream Sandwich, while adding some helpful features in the process.

It will be interesting to see how the update process works as far as Jelly Bean coming to other smartphones besides the Nexus series. With most phones still lagging behind with Gingerbread, it may be some time before we’ll see most of these features make their way to the general Android lineup.

What do you think about Jelly Bean? What feature are you most looking forward to in the update? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.