Google Android 4.1 Jelly Bean user reviews

Pros More responsive, better graphics, and I love the improvements to the notifications.

Cons The adjustments to the keyboard take some getting used to. I haven't really used it enough to have found any major problems.

Summary It's a lot like the 2.2 to 2.3 update, not a "major" update like 2.3 to 4.0, but if your used to 4.0 you WILL see the difference.

Pros Extremely fluid transitions. Improved notifications. Still has free wifi tethering on Nexus. Enhanced mobile security. Beautiful UI. Face to unlock is more useful and secure. Improved camera app. Buttery smooth operation improves apps. GOOGLE NOW.

Cons HTC still has a better media player with Sense, but Google Play Music management online is solid- outside the phone. Camera app trails TouchWIz and Sense in features/filters. Sense lock screens are superior. Higher learning curve than competition.

Summary Jelly Bean is fluid, crash free, and very, very fast. Ice Cream Sandwich was already fast and fluid, but if you used a phone with a skin on top of it, the crashes would definitely come and eventually, you would have to do a reset. HTC Sense would rack up memory space and constantly send data back and forth unnecessarily, and of course the bloatware was present. Like all Nexus phones, Jelly Bean is pure Android, no bloat, no filler. That said, it has beautiful transitions and is polished to levels that make Gingerbread (and skins) look clunky. The expanded notifications are very helpful, although it took me a minute to figure out that you need to use TWO fingers to expand the notifications for greater depth of information. Also, the "clear all" button has changed from an "X" to some weird stacking graphic that isn't clearly apparent what it does. That brings me to the issue that Jelly Bean is STILL not as easy to use and figure out as iOS and WP7. Is it more powerful? Yes. Is it more flexible? Yes. Is it as intuitive? Absolutely not. This is NOT a smartphone for great grandpa or your 4 year old child. For those with an iQ over 90, it will be a breeze. Google still needs to make things more obvious (like with floating/disappearing LABELS).

That said, The UI is gorgeous and the polish is spot on. The multi-tasking button actually CLOSES apps now, where in the past it simply pulled them off the "recent apps" list. The notifications are superior to anything else out there as you can actually control your phone's functions like hanging up the phone or silencing alarms directly from the notification shade.

Google now is very functional, very accurate, and the voice is perfect. It's much more useful than Siri, although it lacks Siri's sarcasm and some of the pleasantries that Apple's voice command system has. It's more useful, but won't make you laugh or feel good. You'll use it more than Google's Voice Commands or Apple's Siri, since the process is very refined. The cards are clean and easy to read. One side effect is that in Google Navigation, currently Jelly Bean uses TWO voices. The clean sweet voice, and the last robotic voice. It's jarring at times, but still gets the job done. They really need to get the Google Now voice to be the only voice.

Maps is much improved, and one thing they made better was when Android is giving directions, if you have music playing at the same time, the music will dim. The only thing that doesn't quite work is that the Galaxy Nexus has a weak external speaker, so Android's voice doesn't come through very well, even with the temporary lower music volume. They need to increase her voice while they lower the music volume. Regardless, Maps/Navigation is still best in the business with 3D flyovers and Street view.

I could go on, but most of the features are covered in length in the CNET review.

One last note. Go Launcher EX works terribly with JB. It becomes laggy and sticks at points. If you want to switch up launchers, use Nova or Apex. They keep JB's buttery smooth operation and you can place widgets from the app drawer which you couldn't with Ice Cream Sandwich.

Updated on May 6, 2013

What are you talking about? "Keyboard suffers from a lack of arrows..???" Android iOS and WP7 have NEVER had that feature, but at least on Android, you can install a 3rd party keyboard to give you those functions.

Pros None I want my old phone back with Ice Cream Sandwich

Cons Disabled the free FM Tuner and replaced it with data sucking slacker. phone freezes, Alarm is not dependable, Touch screen is ridiculous, camera is horrible, the keyboard and auto spell check is infuriating. Sound quality is beyond crappy.

Summary Like the previous poster the phone updated on its own. I wish it never had. This is the worst update since windows millennium! With Ice Cream Sandwich the Electrify 2 was an awesome smart phone with Jelly Bean it is just another data sucking battery draining piece of junk. I used FM Tuner daily and it was a deciding factor for my purchasing the Motorola Electrify 2 a year ago. I think customers should be better educated on exactly how an update is going to change their device so they can make an informed decision or allow a feature to roll it back to the previous android version. Its becoming more and more evident that there is no such thing as free anymore as everything must have some level of monetation attached to it. I have advised everyone I know NOT to upgrade to Jelly Bean because all it does is riddle the phone with data sucking decay.

Pros Some graphic improvements. Bluetooth improvements (I am told). An incomplete but stable video editor. 90 degree aspect ratios allowed on videos and photos. Video GO-ICON is now LESS AMBIVALENTLY SHOWN TO BE ON..

Cons A REALLY GOOD Video editor APP (MOVIE-AID) is now USELESS. NO SPEED DIAL!!!
Previously built-in, Vid editor GONE! Very INCONVENIENT... Status check of Videos and Photos OMITS PIXEL INFORMATION DUH!!! OH..FLASH LED has spastic mind of it's OWN!

Summary I WANT MY OLD O.S. back... I am so tired of O.S. editors making things WORSE and calling it progress. Herein is one of those examples in my view.

Why should I have to toss out perfectly good Android Applications just because the Android folks want to sell another version?

Updated on Mar 30, 2013

Oh YEAH.. The Gallery APPLICATION is NOW CLUNKER than the last two.

WHY do these programmers think were all NFL bums and want NFL today hogging up all of our memory without liberty to dismiss it?

JUST WHEN THE PHOTO PANORAMA GOT GOOD THEY HAD TO GO AND DUMB IT DOWN AND REDUCE THE QUALITY of the Panoramic Photo option. Focus quality NOW STINKS...

WHY are uploads to Google Drive and others NOW SO UNRELIABLE?

Updated on Mar 30, 2013

Oh YEAH.. The Gallery APPLICATION is NOW CLUNKER than the last two.

WHY do these programmers think were all NFL bums and want NFL today hogging up all of our memory without liberty to dismiss it?

JUST WHEN THE PHOTO PANORAMA GOT GOOD THEY HAD TO GO AND DUMB IT DOWN AND REDUCE THE QUALITY of the Panoramic Photo option. Focus quality NOW STINKS...

WHY are uploads to Google Drive and others NOW SO UNRELIABLE?