First impressions of the Jelly Bean update for the Samsung Galaxy Note

Samsung have started rolling out the Android Jelly Bean update for the original Galaxy Note. The update takes the N7000 version of the phone to Android 4.1.2 and brings a lot of new features. I received the 500mb update today and it feels like a major update to the OS. The update introduces the new Jelly Bean features like Google Now (which I a big fan of) and a smoother UI thanks to Project Butter.

Also in the updated version of TouchWiz (Samsung’s UI layer) and many of the features on the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 and S3 are in the update. The notification area has been updated and can be customised, there is a new on screen keyboard and there are now two screen modes, there is the standard mode now called Basic and an Easy Mode that setups the screens and widgets in a way that is simple for new Smartphone users.

There are also new widgets and the new Multi-view where you can split the screen to have multiple apps running on the screen at once. S Memo has been replaced with S Note which is a richer note taking app. There is now a Blocking Mode where it will disable inbound calls, notification, and alarms inside a set time range. There is an allowed list that you can have the phone still notify you of even when it’s in Blocked Mode.

There is a new Smart Stay mode uses the camera to track your eyes and can do things like keep the screen when you looking at the phone

Also when I opened the Dropbox app it gave me another 48 GB of storage, this was an offer that launched with the Note 2 and S3 so it’s nice to see Note owners get the two year option.

It’s impressive that Samsung continue to update the Note, when I first got the phone it was running Gingerbread and in the last year it has had the ICS update and now Jelly Bean. The update has given the phone a new lease of life to the phone.

Split Screen Mode

Google Now

New Home Screen modes

Blocking Mode

Smart stay