Ice Cream Sandwich: A Delicious Update

Google's Android mobile Operating System has seen overwhelming popularity over the past 5 years; so much so that it has rivalled and surpassed Apple's iOS in terms of market share. There are thousands of analysts and reporters speculating on the reasons behind this, all with vastly different opinions on the matter. Personally, I believe it comes down to one pivotal aspect, which has been with Android since before it's time with Google: freedom. Unfortunately, as we all know; freedom comes with a price (perhaps not in monetary value, as is the case with many Android devices). 

Whenever you hear someone bragging about how Android is so (so, so much) better than iOS, their fundamental argument comes down to that one 7 letter word. Of course, it's a good thing to have complete control of your own device, but as I said before, there are some consequences. 

With one of Google's most recent versions of Android, they aim to keep the soul of what Android is at the forefront of their development. The OS itself seems very stable, looks amazing, and something that always draws me to a particular product, the Google Play Store is very well designed and implemented into the OS (besides some incompatibilities).

What I Like:

As Google always said with ICS, it was designed to make the most of tablets' larger screens and sometimes more processing power. I've been running ICS on my Acer Iconia for about 3 months now, and I am impressed: it's a big update from what came pre-installed on the device. 

Google has opted for a very Microsoft-esque look and feel; sharp edges, solid block colours, and a system that appears to be geared toward those who like to have complete control over the system. 

Folders on the home screen are a welcome addition. They allow the user to drag one icon on top of another to create a folder with those two - or more - apps. It's very easy and makes any home screen look much neater. This - in my opinion - is one of those small additions that makes all the difference when purchasing a device new, or upgrading older devices. 

Many of Android's built in apps have been redesigned to make them easier to use while implementing a better visual design. Contacts (or People, as it's now called) focuses more on the person them self, rather than a never-ending list of names. 

People

Favorites within People

Communicating with each contact is easier than ever: with links to phone numbers, email addresses, social networks, and other contact methods all housed within their contact card and linking to apps respective with those links. 















Another new (or updated) feature of ICS is the Camera. The new Camera app makes it much easier to point and shoot; which is arguably the main reason people have camera phones/tablets. The new panorama feature stitches amazing panoramas in seconds in surprisingly good quality. 

The new Camera app

Something that I really admire Google for implementing is the new data controls and monitoring displays housed in Settings. With a few taps, a user can easily see the amount of processing power being used on particular processes, how much memory (RAM and SSD) is in use and where, and (probably my favourite part) which apps are using data connections (both 3G and WiFi) and how much data they are consuming. 

Data usage charts and statistics

The screen above shows the user exactly how much data is being used by any app installed (including service apps), and displays the data in an easy to understand chart. For a user who has a low data cap or is just very conscious about how much data they are using, this is a fantastic addition. 

What I Don't Like:

One of Google's own apps suffers
from incompatibility

One problem that I think Android and Google will always have is incompatibilities. This is one of the main reasons I prefer iOS to Android. There's been many times where I've found a fantastic app on my Mac and want to install it on the device, only to find that it's incompatible. The reason I say Google will always have this problem is very simple: there are hundreds, if not thousands, of devices running Android, all with different specifications and different software tweaks that don't allow an app to run because of a likely trivial problem. ICS does attempt to battle this issue, however it seems to be too little too late: apps I attempted to install pre-ICS still refuse to even allow me to install them after upgrading to ICS. 

Another issue that stems from the incompatibility of software and hardware is the rollout of ICS to the thousands of vendors and providers. ICS has still not been made available by Acer Australia, and (after over a year) it should be assumed that the necessary modifications have been made to enable ICS to run on each of the providers devices: unfortunately, for many, that assumption cannot be made. Again, Google has attempted to prevent this with ICS, but it seems that their efforts have gone largely ignored. 

Overall, ICS is a great update to an operating system that has always been about the user and the users' unquestioned control over their device. Like anything with such a level of accessibility and freedom, there are some consequences that have the potential to make for serious problems within the operating system itself.