User:Steel/ICS

Android 4.0.x "Ice Cream Sandwich"

Default homescreen for Ice Cream Sandwich running on a Galaxy Nexus
Developer	Google
Source model	Open source
Released to manufacturing	November 19, 2011 (2011-11-19)
Latest release	4.0.4 / March 29, 2012 (2012-03-29)
Update method	Various, mostly OTA
Kernel type	Linux
License	Apache License 2.0 Linux kernel patches under GNU GPL v2
Preceded by	Honeycomb
Official website	Official website

Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich is the ninth and most recent major release of the Android operating system for mobile devices such as smartphones and tablet computers. It was officially announced by Google at an event in Hong Kong on October 19, 2011, and the SDK, based on Linux kernel 3.0.1, was released on the same day. The source code was released on November 14, 2011, and the first Ice Cream Sandwich device, the Galaxy Nexus, shipped on November 17, 2011.

The previous version, 3.0 Honeycomb, was released only for tablets, so Ice Cream Sandwich was the first release for smartphones since 2.3 Gingerbread in 2010. It aimed to bring the updated features and 'holo' holographic theme from Honeycomb to smartphones to unify the phone and tablet branches of Android into a single OS again.

Features

(Note to self: sources - )

In addition to the holo theme from Honeycomb, Ice Cream Sandwich brought to phones the virtual buttons within the user interface (UI), which are present when the device has no front hardware or capacitive buttons. The interface changes further include a custom-designed Roboto font, and a new launcher with more intuitive folder creation, a persistent search bar, and other miscellaneous improvements.

Blah blah more important new features here.

Numerous features that were previously only available through third party apps or hacks and tweaks were built into Android with this release, including a data monitor to manage cellular internet usage and the ability to take screenshots. Other new features include face unlock, which uses the device's front camera (if present) and face recognition software to only unlock the device in the presence of its owner; and improved OpenGL support for hardware acceleration of the UI.

Changelog

Version	Release date	Features
4.0.1	October 19, 2011	Virtual buttons in the UI, in place of capacitive or physical buttons Separation of widgets in a new tab, listed in a similar manner to apps Easier-to-create folders, with a drag-and-drop style A customizable launcher Improved visual voicemail with the ability to speed up or slow down voicemail messages Pinch-to-zoom functionality in the calendar Integrated screenshot capture (accomplished by holding down the Power and Volume-Down buttons) Improved error correction on the keyboard Ability to access apps directly from lock screen Improved copy and paste functionality Better voice integration and continuous, real-time speech to text dictation Face Unlock, a feature that allows users to unlock handsets using facial recognition software New tabbed web browser, allowing up to 16 tabs Automatic syncing of browser with users' Chrome bookmarks A new typeface family for the UI, Roboto Data Usage section in settings that lets users set warnings when they approach a certain usage limit, and disable data use when the limit is exceeded Ability to shut down apps that are using data in the background Improved camera app with zero shutter lag, time lapse settings, panorama mode, and the ability to zoom while recording Built-in photo editor New gallery layout, organized by location and person Refreshed "People" app with social network integration, status updates and hi-res images Android Beam, a near-field communication feature allowing the rapid short-range exchange of web bookmarks, contact info, directions, YouTube videos and other data Support for the WebP image format Hardware acceleration of the UI Wi-Fi Direct 1080p video recording for stock Android devices
4.0.2	November 28, 2011	Fixed minor bugs on the Verizon Galaxy Nexus, the US launch of which was later delayed until December 2011 For Canadian consumers, 4.0.2 reportedly created a bug on the Galaxy Nexus that crashed the application market when users attempted to view details of any Android application. It also inadvertently reduced the NFC capabilities of the Nexus phone
4.0.3	December 16, 2011	Number of bug fixes and optimizations Improvements to graphics, databases, spell-checking and Bluetooth functionality New APIs for developers, including a social stream API in the Contacts provider Calendar provider enhancements New camera apps enhancing video stabilization and QVGA resolution Accessibility refinements such as improved content access for screen readers
4.0.4	March 29, 2012	Stability improvements Better camera performance Smoother screen rotation Improved phone number recognition

Reception

Critical reception

Ice Cream Sandwich was well received, with reviewers appreciating the much needed updates for smartphones, which hadn't seen a significant update since the previous year's Gingerbread, and for refining and fixing the interface and features introduced to tablets with Honeycomb. Anandtech regarded the holo theme and overhauled user interface as a sign of Android maturing and finding its own style and identity, rather than just being a copy of Apple's iOS. Such comments were widespread, with Techradar praising it as slicker and more intuitive. The ability to take screenshots was considered long overdue.

Blah blah more critical reception here. [1] [2] [3] [4]

Conversely, face unlock was thought to be somewhat gimmicky and unreliable, especially when it was fooled by a photograph shortly after Google stated that it couldn't.

Market adoption

Six months after its release, Ice Cream Sandwich had reached only 7.1% of Android devices. This contrasts with the previous smartphone release, Gingerbread, which reached 24% in a similar timespan, and rival iOS 5 which reached 38% within a few weeks. The reason for the slow uptake was blamed on Android hardware fragmentation, because the official Google release must be extensively tweaked and modified by device manufacturers to work properly on different chipsets and other hardware, and also the lengthy testing that manufacturers and network operators conduct before updates are released to users. Even hobbyist ROM developers such as the CyanogenMod team, who are usually able to release unofficial updates quickly due to the lack of red tape compared to an official update, had trouble releasing stable ROMs quickly due to the significance of the changes between Ice Cream Sandwich and its predecessor 'Gingerbread.

External links

• Official website