This is Google's Nexus 7 Tablet.

If you thought we had heard the last from Mountain View at their I/O conference, then you were very wrong. Yes Google announced Jelly Bean, the newest version of their mobile operating system, (read about it here) but there is yet more to learn.

You may be familiar with Google's Nexus range of phones. A Google-specified set of handsets, designed to showcase the best 'vanilla' version of Android, without the turgid crapware or ham-fisted skin that often comes with the green robot. The set of phones has been very successful, and successfully serves as a flagship model for the Android march.

But what about tablets? Well El Goog has struggled in this particular area, with almost all the Android tablets struggling to gain traction in an iPad dominated world. There have been complaints of sluggishness, poor battery life and a Marketplace almost totally devoid of tablet apps.

The only exception to this has been Amazon's Kindle Fire. Whoch has carved out a niche for itself as a cheap as chips, Amazon centric entertainment 7 incher. Well get ready, because Google has just killed the Kindle Fire. Behold: the Nexus 7 tablet.

BEAUTIFUL, CHEAP AND QUALITY HARDWARE

The new tablet is made by Asus, which you may know from the keyboarded Transformer series, and is actually a really nice machine. It's thin and light, and the back is made from some sort of material that feels really nice. It reportedly feels like a mix between rubber and leather, a sensation which helps to create a premium finish for what is definitely a budget tablet.

Around the front is a very luxurious 7 inch IPS screen, and while the resolution can't quie match in iPad 3 in terms of sheer pixel pushing, it's bright and sharp enough to provide a comfortable experience when sucking down the Google koolaid.

Inside the tablet is a quad-core Tegra 3 proccessor, and performance is reportedly very snappy indeed. The chips inside make use of the new enhancements in Android 4.1's 'Project Butter' to ensure that everything launhces and runs quickly and smoothly.

Speaking of Android 4.1, there have been several nice updates to the Google Play store. You can now buy magazines to read on your phone or tablet, and TV episodes are now available for renting or buying.

But what makes this tablet special is not it's hardware, or software, or anything available on the Play store. It's the price. At just £159 for the 8GB version of this tablet, the Nexus 7 offers amazing value. It has comparable or better specs to many current £400+ tablets, at a price that rivals the Amazon Kindle Fire. Watch out guys, Google means business now.

 

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All the best features of Android Jelly Bean

The first day of Google I/O 2012 was without doubt a busy one. With several hardware announcements and some really nice pieces of software, Google has more than fought its corner amidst opposition from Apple and Microsoft this month. But the main announcement of Day One was an update to the mobile operating system, Android 4.1. 4.1 carries on the tradition of sickly sweet dessert names, by carrying the moniker 'Jelly Bean'.

So, what are the new features coming to Android? Look no further!

PROJECT BUTTER -

Project Butter is Google's attempt to, quite frankly, make Android suck less. Have you ever felt like your Android phone is sluggish, laggy or otherwise dissappointing in performance? Well then Project Butter could prove to be your answer. The Android team have added several technologies to the underlying code of Andoid in an attempt to speed up the way the operating system runs.

And according to initial reports, it seems to have worked. Some beta testers are saying that the new engine makes old apps 'look and feel like Slow-motion', and Google has confirmed that every app will now run at a blistering 60 fps. It's not clear, however, if developers will have to update their apps to take advantage of Thsi new speed boost. Regardless, it's nice to see the big G working to deal with some of the worst Android gripes.

IMPROVED KEYBOARD - WITH VOICE!

In Jelly Bean, the stock UI keyboard has been given a nice update. Making use of Google's amazing semantic search and prediction abilities, the new keyboard is smarter and slicker. While it doesn't look a whole lot different, the feel of using it appears to be much more like a cross between BBOS10's predictive text and the Android tweak Swiftkey.

Also added to the new keyboard is the ability to dictate text without the need for an Internet connection. With Android 4.1, you will be able to compose emails or text documents with your voice, even while your phone is locked in the takeoff curse of Airplane mode.

CAMERA APP UPDATES

Androids stock camera app has also been given a nice update, with some quick shooting features. The interface is identical to ICS, but users now have the ability to pinch back and visit a film strip to review their shot photos and videos.

ANDROID BEAM

Google has given thier NFC sharing app a little bump, with the ability to share videos wirelessly. It is also possible to pair your Android device with an NFC equipped set of Bluetooth speakers.

NOTIFICATIONS have also been updated with a slightly nicer interface, including thumbnails and larger text previews.

However the most exciting features to hit Android Jelly Bean are the last 2, Knowledge Graph Search and Google Now.

Together, these features basically form Google's response to Siri on iOS. With Knowlege graph, you cause your voice to Google questions and be answered with a response. What makes it even more powerful is that these answers are actually pooled from Google search results, meaning they are accurate and (usually) reliable.

The second part is the most exciting. Google Now is an online service that tracks your behaviour to work out what you are are doing, where you are, and what you might want to know. The service might sound a little creepy - it taps into your app data, contacts and search history - but the benefits could be amazing. Examples include your phone automatically working out where you work, the public transport times and then automatically calculating and telling you when you need to leave your house in order to make the bus or train. If it works, it will be astounding stuff.

All in all, Android Jelly Bean looks like another great update for lovers of Google's little green robot. There are plenty of other features, such as web controls for updating and uninstalling apps, but there is plentry of time for you to hear about them, as it's unlikely you'll be seeing Jelly Bean anytime soon. The update has only been confirmed for Nexus devices and the Motorola Xoom, which is a 'Google Experience' device.

 

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