UPDATED 11:33 EDT / OCTOBER 22 2012

Upcoming Android Jelly Bean 4.2 Goes Toe-to-Toe with iOS 6

Google is said to be unveiling a new version of Android Jelly Bean at their October 29 Android event in New York.   Android 4.2 was previously thought as a different version all together, Key Lime Pie, which is expected to be released next year.

A brief refresher: Android 4.1 Jelly Bean was officially announced during this year’s Google I/O event back in June.  Jelly Bean is found in a small population of Android devices, suffering from the same slow rollout as other Android updates, reiterating Android’s ongoing issue of fragmentation.  But with Android 4.2 as an upgrade to the current version, it may have an easier time making its way through the Android ecosystem.

We may hear more about Android 4.2’s place in the ecosystem next week at Google’s Playground event, as Kristen Nicole notes on this morning’s News Desk program (full video below).  Several new Android devices are expected to debut at the NYC event,  including a 10-inch tablet by Samsung that will feature the newest version of Jelly Bean. And it seems Android is looking to match some of the features that rolled out with iOS6 several weeks ago.

According to Android Police, the rumored 4.2 version will have a new version of Gmail with pinch-to-zoom, swipe to archive/delete, revamped attachments and even more features.  There will be a new pull-down bar for Quick Settings which can be accessed by a two-swipe action so you can edit your phone’s settings with just a few moves.

Security for JB 4.2 has been revamped with Security-Enhanced Linux, which is a set of kernel add-ons and user-space tools first started by the NSA that brings mandatory access control to Linux, so user programs and system servers only run with the minimum amount of privileges they need to function.  You also have the option of having your Virtual Private Network always activated, so even if you’re using a public WiFi network, you’ll be safe from hackers and malware attacks.  Aside from the SELinux security update, Jelly Bean 4.2 will also feature premium SMS confirmation so malware can’t easily hijack your phone bill.

But the interesting add ons are the new icons for Calendar, Camera and Gallery.  The Gallery will now feature a Polaroid-y icon and even the photos in the Gallery will appear like a Polaroid photo, white borders and all.  A Google Music app is also said to be appearing in the newest Android version as they roll out the service to more markets.

And if your Android device is a “family device” you’ll be happy to know that Android 4.2 supports multiple users so you can create multiple use accounts for every family member.  The best part about this is that each account has parental control settings so you can control which apps kids can access, and limited internet access as well.


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