Jelly Bean

Cupcake, Donut, Eclair, Froyo, Gingerbread, Honeycomb, Ice Cream Sandwich..I'm hungry already and that's before we reach the latest iteration, Jelly Bean. For those of you not sure what I'm jabbering on about, I'm not on a sugary high, these are the various versions of Google's Android operating system through the years.

Jelly Bean has just been released and although it looks very nice, has perhaps not brought the most groundbreaking advancements people were hoping for. Here's our round-up of the top 8 features;

1. Chrome - This is now the default browser installed for Jelly Bean. A welcome addition as this delightful browser syncs between your computer and phone perfectly. It is also lighting quick and easy to use. 
2. Offline voice - This allows you to dictate to your phone without the need for an internet connection. 
3. Google Now - Has big potential; Swipe up from the bottom of the screen and you get some 'tiles'. These give you information based on what you search for/is in your calendar/where you are. Say you've got a flight, it'll keep you updated on the status of the flight and traffic to the airport, nudging you when you need to leave. Or if you're waiting on a train, it'll let you know when it's due. Watch this space. 
4. Speed boost - Apparently the system now works at 60 frames per second. I hear that's good, so good that at times Google staff called this 'Project Butter'. 
5. Better notifications - Another step further, notifications give more detail such as the subject line of your email. This can be expanded using a two-finger gesture (presumably not a rude one). 
6. Widgets - The placement of widgets has had an overhaul making it easier to piece together your home screen. 
7. App updates - This is a clever one; instead of downloading the entire app again when updating, your phone will just download the updated code saving you bandwith and making downloads faster. 
8. Improved search - Similar to Siri, your phone will now give you answers to questions (typed or asked) rather than a list of results. Of course, if you still want your long list a simple swipe to the left and your results pop-up. Handy. 

When will you get it then? Well the trio of Google phones/tablets (Nexus S, Nexus 7, Xoom) will get updated around the middle of July. Fingers crossed for more info for the rest of Android devices. I'd expect the S3, One X etc. to not be far behind. And after Jelly Bean? Well we know it's alphabetical, so something beginning with K? Odds on are Key Lime Pie (KLP), but I'd like something a little more adventurous, perhaps Kiwi Mousse Cake? Kit Kat Bonanza? 

Nexus 7

It's here! The Nexus 7 was released last night amongst a host of other Google goodies (more on that in another post).

Pretty much as expected:

• 7 inch 1280x800 HD screen
• Scratch resistant glass
• 1.2mp front facing camera (no back camera)
• NFC
• Jelly Bean 4.1 operating system
• 1.3ghz Tegra 3 processor
• £159 (8gb) or £199 (16gb)

Already hailed as the best Android tablet to exist this really has hit it off. Due to be available from the middle of July, mine is already pre-ordered! It's so good that I've already managed to convince 2 other people that they should be buying one! 

There really appear to be no drawbacks on this one. Some might complain it doesn't have a back camera, but if you use a tablet for taking pictures you shouldn't be allowed one anyway. 7inches looks like it could be the Goldilocks of the tablet World with it sitting perfectly in one hand (at 340 grams), yet still big enough to watch a film on comfortably. The addition of the latest version of Android also makes it a must-have, where it zips through while multi-tasking with no lag. 

All in all, this is pinched the market from right under the Kindle Fire's nose as they have been slow off the mark getting it shifted to the UK. It will be one heck of a tablet and one of the most exciting bits of kit I've been looking forward to getting in a long time! 

Pancake Time

Yum-yum!

Mozilla hasn't had the best time of it recently, most of it's funding comes from Google and this looks to be coming to a close soon - no surprise as Chrome has overtaken both Firefox and IE to be the most used browser. So, what's the plan for the internet giant after Fox comes crashing down? Another big idea named after a delicious sweet snack is what - Pancake!

Those apps you love, well Mozilla hates them.  They think they're compartmentalising the internet, making it more difficult to have a seamless experience where everything flows with interconnectivity, quite the reverse of what apps are for. Mozilla are gearing up to launch their big new project, and so far it seems exciting - doing away with URLS, tabs and even individual web pages to create a free-flowing centre of everything you could want.

Not sure what I'm talking about? Well, neither am I at this point - Mozilla are only talking in abstracts with no definite info on how this will be managed or what it'll look like. I sure am excited though, this could be the next big web stir-up, the next thing to change the face of the internet. Or, it could all fall flat on its face as nothing but conjecture and wind.

Still, keep your eye holes peeled for this one - worth taking note of!

App of the week

The stock android keyboard ain't all that bad, especially with the updated ICS version. For those of you looking for a nice uprgade though, look no further than Swiftkey3. There is a free trial version or the full version for about £1.50 (although prices vary with discounts).

So, why should you use this I hear you ask? Well, it logs into your gmail, facebook, twitter, blog posts to understand how you 'speak'. Using this it predicts what you want to say, scarily accurately. For example, if you type 'hey', it will suggest the next word as 'how's', then 'it', then 'going?'. Effectively, you can get away without typing out words at all as they are all pre-suggested there! The video below probably gives a better example! Countless other secondary features are available such as themes and haptic feedback (or not). 

Galaxy Tablet

Google is due to release it's very own tablet (think galaxy nexus, but a tablet form) on Wednesday. The rumour mills have been rife but today has seen the most convincing (and hopefully true) information drop so far.

On the grapevine, the Nexus 7, is a 7inch tablet that will be running Jelly Bean (Google IOS 4.1) on a Tegra 3 1.3ghz processor and 1GB RAM. There will be a 1280 by 800 resolution IPS display, 9hr battery and NFC support also, all built by Asus. Doesn't sound bad, does it? Certainly the vanilla version of software will be nice, along with Google promising that they will be in charge of updating software.

And the price? Around about £160. Now I've got your attention! In Amazon Kindle Fire territory, if it gets in there first then could sweep up most of the market. I know I'm certainly considering selling by Tab 10.1 and going for this instead!

We'll keep you updated as the device is released at 5.30pm on Wednesday. Until then, definitely food for thought.

Windows 8 Mobile Interface

I'm not going to lie, the Windows mobile interface is gorgeous. It's how every phone should look, but with the ease of use of iphone and the customisability of android. That would be ideal.

For those of you not familiar, Windows mobile OS is built up of tiles for your favourite apps making it easy to navigate to your top apps, with all the rest of your settings etc stored in another menu. This gives everything a sexy uniform design that fits together perfectly.

The latest Windows 8 version takes an already awesome system and takes it one step further. Live tiles that display information without having to open apps, the ability to resize tiles (a bug-bear I think most Windows users find) and different colour schemes. Kudos Microsoft, kudos.

Fifa Street Review

A bit belated (by about 2 months) but figured I'd throw up a review of Fifa Street. I'd never personally played any of the predecessors of this game, although I hear that they weren't great; poor graphics, cartoon-like gameplay and various button bashing.

That all changed with the new Fifa Street. 

EA Games tried to bring realism to this one, basing it on the same game engine as Fifa 12 bringing player likeness, a better physics understanding (bumping into players) and none of those ridiculous power-ups from the previous versions. This all combined to make a street football game where you actually feel like you know what you're doing. Fancy backheel finish? Meant that. Rainbow flick over the defender's head before chipping it to your strike partner to bicycle? Not just a fluke. 

With various game types it keeps things fresh so that you always have a different approach be it 5-a-side, 6-a-side, points for pannas (nut-megs) or skill/goal point combination games. Add this to the main game mode, where you hike about Europe in competitions, where every team you beat, you get to choose a player. In addition to these you can create your own team and players that improve as the game progresses (Euro 2012 take note). 

All-in-all this is a decent game, definitely enough to tide you over until Fifa 13 and better than the Euro 2012 download (probably about the same price now too). The fact that elements of the skill control are being brought into Fifa 13 only goes to show that the game has made an impression at HQ.