How to Upgrade to Android 4.1 Jelly Bean?

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Android 4.1 Jelly Bean is the latest Android update released by Google. This OS has a number of updates that make smartphones run smoother. Some of the well received features include Google’s voice assistant called Google Now, the updated keyboard which resembles Skype and a new way to view the apps and widgets on your home screen itself. People who have used Jelly Bean on devices like Nexus wait expectantly for the update to their existing Android phones.

The mobile industry is structured in such a way that even though Google releases a new version (Jelly Bean) of the OS, it is up to the phone manufacturer to provide the update to the users. Each mobile phone manufacturer has customized the each phone model with a particular version of Android. Thus updating every phone to the latest version (Jelly Bean) of the OS means the manufacture has to customize the update for every model.

In the mobile phone industry, phones usually have a very short production life-cycle of 30 days or even lesser. So you can’t really expect the manufacturer to take the time and effort to update the software of older phones. Most industry observers note a lack of care on Google’s part to make sure that users can update to the latest version of the OS without too much of a hassle. Currently, the major manufacturers seem to be adopting a strategy of extending the update to the high-end models.

Samsung has announced updates to the Galaxy S3, and possibly the S2. LG has not yet announced the development of an update for any of its phones. It remains to be seen whether Google owned Motorola will extend the update to its latest phones like the Atrix HD and Droid Razr. HTC has announced that they will be providing the Jelly Bean update to HTC One X, XL and the One S but no date has been announced. Sony seems committed to upgrading most of its Xperia phones to the Ice Cream Sandwich distribution and not the Jelly Bean update.

A few websites do host updates that are purportedly compatible with each manufacturer. Do not be fooled by such websites. While some packages may be genuine, you will still have to install the OS manually. This may nullify your warranty, so make sure that your warranty is expired before attempting to manually install the OS.

The bottom line is, unless you are mobile phone developer do not try to custom install a version of Android 4.1 for your phone. If you go ahead and try to custom install the OS on your phone, you run the risk of losing your contacts, texts, settings, and data. What’s worse, some of your phone’s hardware functions may be unusable and any manufacturer loaded goodies or settings will not be present. Waiting for the update to hit your old phone will be a futile exercise, especially since data shows that most users still use the Gingerbread version which was released more than 2 years ago. Your best bet would be to purchase a new Android phone once your contract expires.

Category: Android