releases lly Bean update as Nexus 4, 10 hit shelves

BY GreenBot Staff

Published 13 Nov 2012

Android 4.2 started rolling out for ’s Galaxy Nexus smartphone Nexus 7 tablet on Tuesday, the same day the Nexus 4 phone Nexus 10 tablet go on sale featuring the latest version of the OS.

’s Nexus line of devices is the first to receive the update to Android 4.2 lly Bean, other manufactures are yet to give specifics on when they will release the upgrade.

lly Bean brings an overhauled camera app with a new user interface. Most of the camera options menus are hidden from the main screen can be accessed from a radial menu. The oto Sphere feature is also new, akin to Microsoft’s otosynth, which takes photos of your surrounding stiches them in a 360-degree panoramic feature. It’s a good feature, but your results will vary.

The stock keyboard in Android 4.2 now features gesture typing, much like the Swype app. You glide your finger over the letters in order to form words, lift after each word, the keyboard will let you pick from a set of predicted words. Gesture typing is available for the smartphone tablet versions of Android. You will also find that you can now have widgets on the lock screen for messaging calendar.

Android 4.2 also brings an exclusive feature for tablet owners, namely multiple users. Each user can have a personalized home screen, wallpaper, widgets, apps games, as well as individual high scores levels. You can switch between users without having to log in out.

Other changes in lly Bean include improved notifications, which you can swipe down from the top of the screen on phone. On tablets, the notifications the settings panel are split up on the top corners of the screen. A two-finger gesture will also bring up quick access to device settings, including brightness, -Fi Bluetooth.

For an in-depth look at Android 4.2, see the lly Bean review.