Ice Cream Sandwich

Burt Likko 11 Comments

My chief complaint about the new “Ice Cream Sandwich” Android 4.0 OS that recently installed itself on my phone is that it’s extremely easy to stack icons for apps on top of one another, and rather difficult to subsequently separate them.

…Oh, and the need to swipe my finger just so to answer an incoming phone call. Aside from that, it’s great. I mean, why would I want to answer phone calls with my phone. That’s not what phones are for anymore.

…Oh, and it chews up my phone’s battery about twice as fast as the old OS, which seemed to work just fine. I used to get 36 to 48 hours at a charge, now I’m down to 12-18.

…And the install seemed to wipe out all my custom ringtones. So let’s see:

  • Icons stack too easily
  • Icons don’t unstack easily at all
  • Awkward to answer phone calls
  • Wiped out old ringtones
  • Battery hog

Other than that, yeah, Ice Cream Sandwich is really cool. Totally worth the half hour it took to download and install. You’re gonna love it.

Burt Likko

Pseudonymous Portlander. Homebrewer. Atheist. Recovering litigator. Recovering Republican. Recovering Catholic. Recovering divorcé. Recovering Former Editor-in-Chief of Ordinary Times. House Likko's Words: Scite Verum. Colite Iusticia. Vivere Con Gaudium.

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11 Comments

  1. I was a bit disappointed to discover that my phone wouldn’t be getting the upgrade. Sounds like it was for the best.

    Any upsides yet?

    You might want to consider an alternative launcher (no rooting required). I use Go Launcher, though I know some people who like ADW. Go has the option of using their call-handler. You may be able to do this without installing the Launcher. (I hate their contacts manager, though).

    • Oh, and the contacts manager on Ice Cream Sandwich still won’t sort my contacts by their last names. “Natasha Likko” is an “N,” not an “L.”

      I don’t know, maybe I’ll get used to it eventually, and all the battery drainage is more installations and upgrades going on in the background. Some stuff does seem to run faster.

      • check to make sure your google stuff isn’t syncing with everything, like picasa and all that jazz, if you’re not into picasa and all that jazz.

      • I’m told by reliable sources that there are some battery saving apps that may be particularly effective at resolving the battery life problem. These sources also point out that, as someone who enjoys international travel, one of the nicer features of Ice Cream is that it means that your phone is now fully global capable.

        I suspect the other flaws probably outweigh all this, though. And yeah, the whole needing-to have-precision-accuracy-while-fumbling-with-your-phone-in-order-to-answer-a-call thing is extremely annoying.

        • I find swipe to answer really easy, but i have a gnex and they’re in the larger side.

        • The call answer thing is super-annoying.

          I’ll try to write up some advice about saving battery life: out of the box, with all the usual suspect apps installed, I ran out of battery in about 12 hours. Tweaking this and that and now it goes 2 days.

  2. As an Android developer, here are a few points to make:

    1. Thank your carrier, not Android, for your current problems. They’re all fuggin’ around in the ICS build.

    2. Get on the horn to 611 and demand a reversion until the new ICS patches come out in August from your carrier.

  3. I thought this was actually about ice cream. Now I’m sad. Soooooooooo sad.

      • My phone doesn’t even have an OS. One of the few non-internet phones still out there.

        But still… No ice cream.. I wonder how late Mr. Cone is open…

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