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If you’ve been itching to get your hands on Android Jelly Bean since its announcement last week, the good news is that more and more options are appearing for Android fans who love to tinker.
We reported last week that an unofficial ROM for Android 4.1 Jelly Bean had leaked, making it possible for HTC One X and other Android 4.0 device users to root their phones and install the software ahead of its official release. Now we’ve learned that it’s possible for a neat feature from Jelly Bean to be installed onto non-rooted ICS phones.
Those who paid close attention to Google’s Day One presentation at last week’s I/O Developer’s Conference will probably remember a feature called Google Sound Search. It’s a widget that does the same job as Shazam and Soundhound; it listens to music playing in your surroundings and tells you what you’re listening to.
Thanks to a user (“asdfzz”) over at the XDA Developers forums, this feature is available to download and install on any Android 4.0 device without the need for a root. Simply follow the download link at the bottom of the page, download and transfer the APK file to your device and then open it to install.
Google Sound Search, or ‘Google Ears’ as Google engineers affectionately call it, installs as a widget to be placed onto your homescreen. A simple tap shows a cool black and blue equaliser as it listens, and then you’re linked in to Google Music to see the song available as a download – of course; this part doesn’t work in the UK just yet.
It’s likely that Google Sound Search will become a full-blown app in the final build of Jelly Bean, but we’ll need to wait until nearer the end of this month, when it launches, to find out. If you’re feeling experimental, the download link for ‘Google Ears’ is below.
Let us know your thoughts on our comments below or via our @Gadget_Helpline Twitter page or Official Facebook group.
Via: Engadget, MobilePhonesFan
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