[Galaxy Note GT-N7000 General] kfheaven:
Google has just taken the wraps of Android Jelly Bean 4.1 live from its Google I/O 2012 keynote. Google’s Hugo Barra took to the stage to detail what we can expect inside Android Jelly Bean ahead of its mid-July rollout.

Here’s a quick overview of everything you need to know about Android Jelly Bean 4.1:

UI changes

Google's made a ton of background changes in Jelly Bean, known as Project Butter, which tweaks aspects of Android's code to make the performance of Jelly Bean's UI "buttery smooth."

Google hasn’t made any drastic changes to the overall UI inside Jelly Bean, keeping most of the design changes it implemented with Android Ice Cream Sandwich. The big changes come in how you interact with Jelly Bean’s UI.

For instance, say you want to add a widget to one of your homescreens but there’s no room. Previously this was an issue, forcing you to manually rearrange your applets – this is no longer the case.

Now all you need to do is select the widget and where you want to go and Jelly Bean will re-arrange the existent apps and widgets accordingly.

Text Input

Android Jelly Bean has improved text-input that Google claims will make typing a lot easier. The dictionary has been improved, and Jelly Bean’s stock keyboard, over time, will learn your typing habits and the words you like to use.

Voice Typing offline

Google also confirmed that it is bringing offline voice typing to Android Jelly Bean. Hugo Barra said the company has shrunk its Google Speech Recogniser down in size and squeezed it into Jelly Bean. This means you can now do speech to text without requiring a web connection.

Brail support

Android Jelly Bean also features full support for brail–– details to follow.

Camera

Within the Gallery application you can now view pictures in ‘Film Strip’ mode for faster access to your shots. To remove images simply swipe them off the screen and its deleted. Simple.

Android Beam

Android Jelly Bean features two key updates for Android Beam – Google’s wireless streaming service.

The first is the ability to send photos and videos simply by bumping two Beam devices together.

You can now also pair a Jelly Beam handset with a NFC-enabled speaker simply by tapping the two things together.

Notifications

Perhaps the biggest change in Android Jelly Bean lies in the notifications drop down menu.

Now you can respond to calls and emails directly from within notifications. It also links with third party applications, like Foursquare, so you can like a friend’s check-in directly from inside notifications without having to open the application itself.

Say you’ve got a meeting, but you’re running late. Well now you can send a group email to everybody at the meeting from notifications to inform them of where you are – it’s even got prepared messages in case you’re in a real hurry.

Search

Google has also heavily updated search on Android Jelly Bean.

Search within Jelly Bean is now done through an overhauled UI and, most importantly, features Knowledge Graphs. Now, when you search for, say, ‘The Films of Angelina Jolie,’ Google Search displays a results on a card complete with a beautiful UI.

Google Now

Google Now is the big one though. This is a system wide update based on your location, search history and personal preferences. With Google Now, when you search it delivers results that are tailored to your locations, previous searches and personal preferences.

For instance, Google Now knows your regular commute to and from work. But say you’re going the long way around, but didn't realise. Google will now show you a quicker way via its Maps application.

Another example: say you’re waiting for a train and want to know when the next one is due. Simply ask Google Now and it well tell you – this also applies to buses, and other forms of public transport.

Release date

Android Jelly Bean will be available in mid-July, initially shipping to Galaxy-brand handsets.