Samsung Offering Android Jelly Bean Update For Galaxy Note 10.1 and Galaxy Tab 2

Samsung has a treat for Galaxy Note 10.1 and Galaxy Tab 2 owners heading into the weekend. It's Jelly Bean (Android 4.1), now available for both devices as an over-the-air (OTA) update or as a manual download/install through the mobile device maker's free Kies software. No matter how you install it, the long-awaited Jelly Bean update is a sweet upgrade over Ice Cream Sandwich (Android 4.0.x) for a pair of products that have been on the market for a few months now.

In addition to Jelly Bean, Galaxy Note 10.1 owners are also treated to a Premium Suite upgrade with improved S Pen support and the ability to easily open and resize multiple apps so that they're viewable across the display layered on top of each other, Samsung says.

Galaxy Note 10.1

"Samsung’s Galaxy Note 10.1 created a new category by delivering content creation capabilities in addition to content consumption," said Mike Abary, senior vice president of consumer IT product marketing, Samsung Electronics America. "However, we always strive to deliver unexpected value to our customers. By providing not just Jelly Bean, but dramatic improvements to the multitasking and S Pen features on the devices, we’re ensuring that the Galaxy Note 10.1 remains at the forefront of innovation."

The Multi Window feature referenced above is a potential boon to productivity, much in the same way tiled applications in Windows makes multitasking easy. Using "Cascade View," Galaxy Note 10.1 owners can freely resize, move, and pin selected applications in multiple views, running them at the same time or operating from the home screen.

S Pen

As for the S Pen, here are a few new tricks included in the update:
  • Now you can write directly on your emails, send a handwritten note, or sign every email with your signature.
  • Circle big events or mark them in any way directly on your calendar. Write tasks directly on the S Planner calendar, just like you would on any ordinary paper calendar.
  • Unlock and wake up your Galaxy Note 10.1 simply by removing the S Pen. When you pull out your S Pen, the screen wakes up unlocked with and ready to perform your intended task (open shortcut or S Pen apps).

Pretty neat, eh?