Android 4.0: the Google delight

More than a Cupcake, Donut, Eclair, Gingerbread and Honeycomb, and more than a tasty name, Android Ice Cream Sandwich (v 4.0.) is the OS that wants to merge the smartphone market and the tablet market under one roof. In fact, Android 4.0. merges the features of Android 2.3.3 (Gingerbread) with the functionalities of Android 3.2 (Honeycomb), plus it adds up a new set of updates. So no more applications that are only compatible with one device, now Android 4.0. provides developers and users an unique platform for both smartphones and tablets.

Also, as the company has mentioned, Android 4.0. is here to: "Enchant me, Simplify My Life, and Make Me Awesome." - I have to admit, this sounds pretty good.

Released on October 19, together with Galaxy Nexus smartphone, Ice Cream Sandwich proves to be worthy of its dual name: enhanced user interface, better speed and performance, plus a set of new functionalities that aim the multi-touch use (not to worry - the buttons on your smartphone will continue to function once the update takes place). Among the most noticeable functionalities/updates you'll find:

The notification bar and menu styles have been improved
- you can now re-size widgets
- virtual buttons and system bars take the place of hard buttons (Home, menu, etc.)
- on the lock screen you can also find a camera button

Enhanced navigation and organization
- for navigation there is available swiping left-right
- the home screen can be customized
- apps can be organized into folders (just by using drag-drop)
- a favorite tray can be filled with favorite shortcuts, folders and other items just by dragging (Note: this is available for smartphones and other small screen devices)

Improved camera functionalities
- extra photo editing tool are available: red eye removal, cropping, etc.
- you can use the zoom-in functionality while recording
- you can share pictures with 3rd party applications
- native panorama functionality is now available

Keyboard updates
- version 4.0. comes with an enhanced spellchecker, a new set of dictionaries, better word suggestion and error correction

Additional features
- face unlock is available for unlocking your device
- animated dragging and dropping are available for cut/copy/paste funcitonality
- quick answer functionality allows you to send a template text in response, when you are too busy to answer a phone call

Meant to be a friendly OS, Android 4.0. features basic functionalities in order to be accessible and easy to navigate. However, this has also a downside: it limits the usage of native applications.

Speaking of apps, at least in theory, the same application could be used comfortably on both smartphone and tablet. For users this means paying once for the same app, while for developers this means less implementation and fewer updates needed. I'm really looking forward to test this functionality and see what challenges it poses.

Far from being a perfect OS, Android ICS is one of the most intuitive and easy-to-use operating systems, and if it continues to team up with the right hardware devices, then success is guaranteed.

For sure, next year, more HTC and Motorola devices will benefit from the ICS upgrade, or will be released with Android 4.0. OS incorporated.

Update: Since October, 2011, other two versions were released: v.4.0.2 (November, 2011) and v.4.0.3 (December, 2011), which brought a series of bug fixes and some enhancements to existing functionalities.