I’ve been a happy Android (Epic 4G Touch/Galaxy SII) user ever since I made the switch from WP7 (Samsung Focus). Since that time, my wife has switched to an iPhone. I was secretly jealous of features like Siri. Whenever we needed to remember to do something, I’d tell me wife to have Siri set up a reminder because it was so easy and convenient. I was still dedicated to Android because of the free mobile hotspot and turn-by-turn navigation, but I was feeling like my next phone should be an iPhone.
That all changed yesterday when I upgraded to Jelly Bean.
This was only the second time I’ve installed a custom ROM, and I was admittedly nervous. Part of the reason for my initial switch to Android was to get onto a custom ROM to unlock the free mobile hotspot. I stumbled through that, and hadn’t had problems since. I was nervous to do it again because of the satisfaction achieved in my first attempt.
I ran into some bumps along the way. Most significantly, I ran into the error described here when flashing the ROM. The solution offered by one of the replies got me over the hump, though, and it was smooth sailing from there. I’m now up and running on CM10 Alpha 5.3, which can be found here. It’s great!
Everything about Jelly Bean feels new and clean. The visuals and animations look and feel crisp and smooth. The every features like messaging, alerts, and email look better. I haven’t noticed any feature changes with those, but I also haven’t done more exploration.
What I’m most excited about is Google Now, Google’s answer to Siri. I can now ask my phone to set reminders, look-up directions, and send text messages. One of the features that Now boasts is “no digging required.” It’s supposed to learn what information I need and present it to me without asking. I’m very curious to see how this works. But for now, I’m happy with the voice search and command capabilities offered by Now. I can also hold the search button to initiate a voice command from within any screen–very Siri-like.
My allegiance and excitement have been renewed, and my gravitation toward iPhone has been killed. Sorry, Apple.
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