The latest Transformer to sidle out of the ASUS pad stable is the ASUS Transformer Pad Infinity. As you probably know, I’ve been playing around with it for a while now and have found the experience very pleasant indeed. Now this particular Transformer, due out at the end of August 2012, comes loaded with Android Ice Cream Sandwich or Android 4.0.3 which was, until recently the absolutely most recent version of the Android OS.
Now that Android Jelly Bean, or Android 4.1, has started rolling out to devices across the UK, you can rest assured that this slick new interface will be updated on the ASUS Transformer Pad 300, Transformer Pad Infinity and the Transformer Prime over the coming months. And that is an official statement from ASUS HQ themselves, confirming what we already suspected – that ASUS will continue to update its products efficiently. It is no small relief, especially since Jelly Bean has a variety of features that make it very covetable indeed and ASUS have a superb track record in getting updates out quickly.
One thing that all the reviewers and tech lovers out there seem to agree on is how smooth this version of Android happens to be. Words like “buttery” and “silky” are thrown about the geek web with alarming regularity and have quite honestly made me crave popcorn in a nightie.
Android Jelly Bean caters for visually disadvantaged users with Gesture Mode to reliably navigate the UI using touch and swipe gestures as well as audio input, along with some additional improvements and tweaks in the Accessibility department. I am personally impressed with the support for Braille.
Android Beam allows instant sharing of photos and videos alongside phone pairing to Bluetooth devices, improved performance that includes faster boot times and response time when switching between apps, and more reactive touch responses. You can see the full official breakdown here, and you can enjoy a very entertaining and in-depth analysis of Android Jelly Bean at TechRadar here.
I can’t help but bite my knuckles just a teensy bit when I imagine how well the powerful hardware built into the ASUS Transformer Infinity is going to work with the additional tweaks and fixes offered by Android Jelly Bean. It’s going to be a beautiful thing, I just know it…
Mrs Mario
Mrs.Mario is a freelance journalist who loves to write about anything and everything. She accidentally fell into the cauldron of technology about eight years ago and has been slowly simmering in there ever since. She’s a geek but still has tons to learn about the wonderful world of technology. She also suffers from a rare disease known as “need to game” that demands it’s sufferers play at least one videogame a week. So far, she’s been coping with her ailment admirably.