Walk through Google Android 4.0 (aka Ice Cream Sandwich)

1 of 72

  • Android 4.0 launched on the Galaxy Nexus and will eventually be coming to some existing devices. It is a much more consistent and attractive OS than previously seen on the Android platform.

    Check out my full ZDNet Smartphones & Cell Phones post with some thoughts on Ice Cream Sandwich and a video walkthrough of the new OS.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • Home screen with widgets, software buttons, and more.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • There is a Gmail widget available for Android 4.0.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • Shortcuts, widgets, and the Google search bar

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • You can see all of your notifications in the drawer and then even slide them off individually to hide them.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • The lock screen can be setup with a slider.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • You can slide to unlock your phone and when a call comes in you can answer, hang-up, or send a text message.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • The application launcher puts everything in alphabetical order with 20 apps on a page.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • Google has a cool animation that "pulls up" the next page from deep to the front.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • Widgets are part of the application launcher and can be accessed by swiping from left to right or by just tapping widgets.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • There are several different sizes of widgets on the Galaxy Nexus.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • It is easy to create folders on the home screen and after you create a folder then you can customize the name of the folder.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • Here you can see the games folder with several games installed. Whatever shortcut you place in the top left will appear on the folder.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • Most settings are consolidated in one area of the operating system.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • There is a cool utility for monitoring your data usage.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • There are several settings available for you to access.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • Scrolling down the list of settings reveals a few more options.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • There is a battery utility to help you monitor your battery usage.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • Tapping the graph shows you more detail, including when I started charging it back up again.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • The dialer is modern looking with large buttons.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • Google search bar status shows lots of different results.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • The task switcher uses cards, similar to webOS.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • The Google folder is preloaded on the Galaxy Nexus.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • You can add accounts to your Galaxy Nexus, including Twitter, Exchange, and Gmail. The Facebook account does NOT work at this time.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • Exchange is supported out of the box in ICS.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • You can compose email in Exchange with dynamic integration of the GAL

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • There are several account settings in Exchange on teh Galaxy Nexus.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • Here you can see a sample of the text messaging app in ICS.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • Gmail is obviously optimized on the Galaxy Nexus.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • Gmail works well in landscape orientation too.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • Menu options in Gmail

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • There are several general preferences within Gmail.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • Favorites in the People utility look strange because they have different display resolution settings.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • Google Maps is also understandably excellent in ICS.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • Google Labs items can be added in Google Maps.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • You can tap the right upper icon to change the view of your map.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • The calendar utility lets you choose different calendars to use.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • There is a downloads utility where you can see what you have downloaded through the browser.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • Google + on ICS is a solid experience.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • The Android Market that is loaded on the device is the latest client available.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • The Gallery utility is slick and fast.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • When you tap on a photo you will see thumbnails for other photos and the ability to share or access the menu in the upper right.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • Here you can see the menu options for the Gallery.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • There are several different effects settings in the photo editor.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • A simple tap gives you access to different effects.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • Some of the effects really make photos look great on Android devices.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • In addition to color effects there are other editing tools available.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • Pictures look great on the Galaxy Nexus.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • The typical sharing tools you have come to expect are present.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • Here you can see the basic camera software present in ICS.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • There are some funny video effects present in ICS. While not particularly useful, then can be fun.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • My daughter doesn't really have big eyes, but the software makes it appear this way.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • There are also some background options, including this space one.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • Time lapse intervals can be selected for this effect.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • By default the Galaxy Nexus is set to 720p, but goes up to 1080p.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • The Movie Maker app is present on ICS.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • The bookmarks in the web browser have small thumbnails.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • Browser history is shown here.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • The web browser looks great on the large screen of the Galaxy Nexus.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • There are several menu options in ICS.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • There are several settings within the web browser.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • These are the general settings in the browser.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • There are several privacy & security settings available in the web browser.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • Web browser accessibility options let you customize the readability.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • There are advanced settings in the browser too.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • You can use Face unlock to secure your device and this is the start screen.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • Here I am setting up my device for Face unlock.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • The keyboard is quick and easy to use.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • The keyboard works well in landscape orientation too.

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  • Ice Cream Sandwich gallery image 1

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

  •  

    Ice Cream Sandwich gallery image 2

     

    Caption by: Matthew Miller

1 of 72

Android 4.0 launched on the Galaxy Nexus and will eventually be coming to some existing devices. It is a much more consistent and attractive OS than previously seen on the Android platform.

Read More Read Less

Android 4.0 launched on the Galaxy Nexus and will eventually be coming to some existing devices. It is a much more consistent and attractive OS than previously seen on the Android platform.

Check out my full ZDNet Smartphones & Cell Phones post with some thoughts on Ice Cream Sandwich and a video walkthrough of the new OS.

Caption by: Matthew Miller

1 of 72

Related Topics:

Mobile OS Enterprise Software Developer Mobility Security Innovation
Add Your Comment
Add Your Comment

Related Galleries

    • 1 of 3