The Motorola Droid Razr HD and the Droid Razr Maxx HD will receive an Android 4.1 Jelly Bean update possibly sometime next week, Verizon Wireless has confirmed. The update is expected to be rolled out in phases, so it could take longer for some Razr users to receive it.
Jelly Bean will be made available to the aforementioned devices as an OTA update. The carrier has revealed that the OS upgrade can be done in either of two ways – manually, or server initiated, which is another way for saying automatically; when it actually becomes available, that is.
Let us take a quick look at what Jelly Bean brings to the table. To start off with, it improves on the Ice Cream Sandwich OS, making the user experience smoother. There is Google Now, a new Google search experience, which delivers relevant information taking into consideration the time as well as a user’s location.
It introduces various ‘cards.’ A Weather card displays local weather details, while users can check on traffic updates and alternate routes to get to their destination via the Traffic card. Other cards like the Sports card which allows receiving live score updates, are also on the table.
The Transit card comes in handy when taking public transport and the Places card brings up information on nearby restaurants, bars and other interesting spots. Google Now even provides updates to things like flight delays and helps users to translate words into local languages while traveling.
The update further adds a slightly upgraded notification panel, which allows replying via messages and returning missed calls directly. There is even a new keyboard which helps predict and correct words, to enhance typing.
The service provider hasn’t elaborated on its rollout plans or specified a release date for the upgrade, but as mentioned above, is scheduled to make it available beginning next week. In contrast, the Droid Razr M from the carrier started receiving the latest Google OS in early November.
The Jelly Bean update for the Motorola Droid Razr HD and the Droid Razr Maxx HD from Verizon Wireless is about 276MB in size. Once downloaded, users will have to confirm installation, and if all goes well, will have Android 4.1 running on their devices.