Little Improvements Make Ice Cream Sandwich Better

Ice Cream Sandwich (courtesy of Android Guys)

Many of you Android users have Ice Cream Sandwich on your smartphone or tablet already, while others are still hesitant about whether or not to download it.  I installed this Android version (4.0.4) this past Saturday, and I couldn't be happier with it.  There are a bunch of small changes that makes Ice Cream Sandwich users feel like they own a new device - and I have included a few of the little tweaks that help to simplify and enhance my smartphone experience.



SCREENSHOTS
How many times have you looked online and seen funny pictures of iPhone text message screenshots, only to wonder if you could do that on an Android?  Well, now you can!  Simply hold down both the power and volume down buttons simultaneously and your device will indicate that it took a screenshot.  They are stored in your media gallery in their own folder, giving you quick access to them for sharing.

Lock Screen Options

Photo from Android.com

With older Android platforms, users could only swipe to unlock their phone (or change it from being silenced to having volume on).  Ice cream sandwich offers a couple more options to help you save time.  You can swipe in four different directions to either unlock the phone, go to the camera, open the phone dialer, or go to your text messaging window.  When receiving a call, you can also swipe in different directions to quickly answer, ignore, or send a text reply to a caller.  They have also added the option to use face recognition technology to unlock your phone.  The forward-mounted webcam detects your face before letting you access any of the phone functions.  I haven't used this feature yet, but it is great for users who are conscious of other people having access to their device.

Browser upgrade
The new Android Browser offers a ton of additional features - making it more personalized and similar to a desktop browser.  Users can instantly sync their Google Chrome bookmarks to their device, giving them the ability to jump to pages quickly.  They can also save pages for later - giving them the ability to view content when they do not have a network connection.  Users are also given the option to manage preferences for websites individually - including the option to view all websites on their desktop versions instead of the mobile sites.

Android Browser

Website accessibility has also improved considerably.  Users can not only override default text sizes, but they can increase the browser's zoom levels.  One of my favorite things about the browser is a rather subtle change - giving users the ability to invert the browser color scheme.  It probably conserves a tiny bit of battery power doing this, and for me, it is also easier on my eyes.  And yes, I took the screenshot to the left!

New voice input features
Android.com describes their new voice input engine as a continuous "open microphone" feature that "lets you dictate the text you want, for as long as you want, using the language you want.  You can speak continuously for a prolonged time, even pausing for intervals if needed, and dictate punctuation to create correct sentences.  As the voice input engine enters text, it underlines possible dictation errors in gray.  After dictating, you can tap the underlined words to quickly replace them from a list of suggestions."

Improved text input
One of the biggest improvements (in my opinion) to Ice Cream Sandwich is the text input.  There is a soft keyboard that makes texting a lot quicker (and accurate).  There are more heuristics for handling common errors when typing.  One big change is their word suggestion strip that only shows three words at a time.  I used to make mistakes when typing text messages, accidentally bumping one of the words in the strip.  Unfortunately, this would cause me to save misspelled words in the user dictionary once in a while.  The new spell checker locates and underlines errors and suggests replacement words.  In order to save these words to the dictionary, you have to click on it twice to add it - saving users an unnecessary headache.

Camera capabilities
The Camera application now gives "continuous focus, zero shutter lag exposure, and decreased shot-to-shot speed to help capture clear, precise images" (android.com).  There is also stabilized zoom that allows you to zoom how you want, even while recording video.  While recording video, you can take snapshots - simply by tapping the screen as the video is recording.  The camera also introduces a single-motion panorama mode (it works great).  You just start an exposure and move slowly from side to side to capture as wide of a perspective as needed.  It then assembles the continuous imagery in one photo.

Control over data
I am still fortunate to have unlimited data, but Ice Cream Sandwich gives users who are on tiered or metered data plans new functionality.  In the Settings app, you can view charts to see how much data has been used on each network type.  You can also set warning levels or even disable mobile data as you get closer to your quota!

Final thoughts
Those are just SOME of the many changes that Ice Cream Sandwich has made, but they are ones that are definitely a step up in my opinion.  I encourage you guys to check out more of the features by browsing online and downloading the update on your device.  It uses slightly more battery power than previous versions, but the benefits are more than worth it.

Share your thoughts about Ice Cream Sandwich in the comments!