Android 4.1 Upgrade Starts Going Out to the Samsung Galaxy S III

Samsung had a problem when it introduced its new flagship smartphone in the spring -- just a few weeks after the debut of the Samsung Galaxy S III, Google unveiled Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean). Since then, the S. Korean company has been scrambling to get caught up.

Today, Sammy began remedying that. An upgrade to Google's latest operating system version has started going out for this popular model. Currently it's only available in a single country -- Poland -- but that's just the start of a process that will eventually bring the new version to users around the world.

Samsung hasn't laid out a timetable for this, so users will have to be content with the vague comment that the release of Android 4.1 upgrades will "vary by market and wireless carriers' requirements."

In the U.S., the carriers will have final control on when this upgrade is available, as they always test an operating system upgrades extensively before putting it into the hands of users.

What's New

Brighthand provided an overview of Android 4.1 shortly after it was unveiled. Some of the highlights include Google Now, which tries to be a pro-active digital assistant, informing users of the information they want before they know they need it. This includes traffic and weather information, and much more.

The Notification system has been redesigned to be more interactive, and Google's developers made the user interface faster.

Good for Android

Since Android 4.1 was unveiled in June, only 1.2% of smartphones with Google's OS have installed it. Primarily, this is because of the slow pace at wich Android upgrades typically go out -- many devices have only just recently received upgrades to Android 4.0.

The percantage of adoption is sure to go up when a very popular model like the Samsung Galaxy S III gets its version. 

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