New Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich Features That Make Your Phone a Joy to Use

A complete and harmonious combination of two substances can create a finished and beautiful result. In like manner, the natural sweetness of Android 3.0 Honeycomb and the crispy layers of Android 2.3 Gingerbread have resulted in a new, tastier treat for Android smartphones and Android tablets–Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich.

Google has been aiming to unite the multiple Android versions into just one version so that one and only one Android runs on whatever device–be it an Android smartphone, Android tablet, Android portable media player, Android TV, Android watch, or wherever else the little green robot can make waves.

What glad tidings does Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS) bring to its users? What better experiences can we expect from it? Read on to know more about how Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich is being actual to Google’s description of it: “the best Android we’ve ever made yet.”

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Multi-tasking Button

Android 4.0 includes a virtual button that allows you to browse and instantly switch to recently used apps. The list displays thumbnail images of apps–instead of just icons–so you can see which parts of the apps are currently working in the background.

And, if you want to throw away or discard an item on the list, flick the thumbnail to remove it from the list.

Instant Screenshots with Button Press

There are many instances in which you’d like to share what is currently displayed on your screen with others. There are also times when you need to save a screenshot for later use. In previous versions of Android, you could take screenshots by installing apps for that purpose. In Android 4.0, it’s a built-in feature.

By holding the Power and Volume Down buttons together, your Android smartphone lets you capture screen images instantly.

Improved Notification Bar

There are several improvements that Google has made to the Notification Bar in Android 4.0. For instance, it can now be pulled down from the Lock Screen. Another is that you can discard items from the list of notifications by simply clicking an item to the right. This means that you can remove items on the Notification Bar one by one.

In previous versions of Android, you either clear all notifications with one tap or leave all of them untouched.

The Notification Bar no longer shows a grid layout of recently used apps. Instead, in Ice Cream Sandwich, those apps are shown as a vertical-scrolling strip of app thumbnails. You can also directly control music playback right on the Notification Bar.

Improved Text and Voice Input

The stock keyboard in Android 4.0 has been given more love. It is now faster and more responsive compared to previous versions of Android. The suggestion strip is more accurate now and also includes an in-line spell checker. With one tap, you can select suggested words or add new comments to the dictionary.

Copy-and-paste functionality has also been made easier. Just tap and hold down on the selected word and drag the handles to highlight the chosen words. Then you can select “Copy and Paste” from the popup menu or simply remove the highlighted chunk of text to wherever you wish to insert it.

Google has also incorporated voice-to-text input in Ice Cream Sandwich. Just speak, and the phone converts your spoken words into text. It’s a great way to quickly and effortlessly “type” text. With Ice Cream Sandwich, voice input is more accurate and can also translate expressions into symbols