Following the announcement of Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean) earlier this week, enthusiasts over at XDA Developers have been working their butts off to get their hands on the goods. They’ve been very successful so far. First the Android 4.2 Keyboard with gesture typing leaked, then the Camera and Gallery components arrived, and now all hell is breaking loose as the whole LG Nexus 4 system image has been posted on the Internet (see Android Task Force).
You might be wondering why this matters. Well, for starters, the first Android 4.2 devices (the Nexus 4 and the Nexus 10) won’t be arriving until November 13. Furthermore, Google has yet to open source the latest version of Jelly Bean.
This leak essentially means that hackers can get a head start on bringing Android 4.2, as well as individual features, to whatever devices they please. Developers who are itching to start working on ports no longer have to wait until Google officially updates the Android Open Source Project (AOSP). When that happens, it will still be important, but all the interested parties will already be one step ahead.
While the ROM in question is of course specifically made for the LG Nexus 4, and there are compatibility issues that will need to be overcome before anyone sees a fully working port of this dump, work has already begun. It won’t be long now before alphas and betas begin to surface for popular devices, like other Nexus products and Samsung Galaxies. I wouldn’t be surprised if stable builds arrived before the first Nexus devices.
If you prefer to try the components that came out before the system image dump, here are specific threads for the keyboard (Android 4.0+ required: general, Galaxy Note 2, Atrix 2) and camera (general).
See also – Google reveals the Nexus 4: 8GB for $299, 16GB for $349 available November 13 and Google officially announces the Nexus 10: 16GB for $399, 32GB for $499 available November 13
Image credit: Stephen Davies
Get the TNW newsletter
Get the most important tech news in your inbox each week.