What Does Android Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS) Mean?
Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS) is a code name for the 4.0 version of the Android open source mobile operating system. The system debuted in November 2011 on the Samsung Galaxy Nexus smartphone. Ice Cream Sandwich follows a number of dessert-themed updates for Android, including Cupcake (v1.5), Donut (v1.6), Eclair (v2.0), FroYo (v2.2), Gingerbread (v2.3) and Honeycomb (v3.0).
Ice Cream Sandwich is designed to unify the functionalities of Android's previous mobile operating system (Gingerbread) with Honeycom, its tablet OS.
Techopedia Explains Android Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS)
Ice Cream Sandwich introduced several new/updated features to Android phones, including:
- A sleeker interface that's easier to navigate
- A panorama camera mode feature, including built-in software that provides instructions to the photographer
- Built-in photo editing tools
- A reworked application for smartphone contacts
- Enhanced features for Gmail
- Visual voice mail
- A security feature that allows users to unlock their phones via facial recognition (although Android developers say this feature is still in its preliminary stages and therefore unreliable)
- Android Beam, a feature that uses near-field communications to transfer maps, contact information or apps between two Android phones in close proximity to one another.
