Report: Android 4.2 devices spotted in server logs
updated 10:32 pm EDT, Sun October 7, 2012
Galaxy Nexus, Nexus 7, unknown device said to have been spotted
It's been only a few months since Google unveiled Android 4.1, but the search giant appears to be readying the next version of its Android operating system for release. This according to tech blog Android Police, which claims to have seen devices running Android 4.2 popping up in its server traffic logs. According to a post on the site, at least four devices have shown up in the logs running version 4.2: the Samsung-built Galaxy Nexus, the Asus-built Nexus 7, a phone currently codenamed "Occam," and an as yet unknown device that could be a new tablet from Google-owned Motorola.
The Nexus 7 and the Galaxy Nexus are both shown running "J" builds of Android, with the version number given as 4.2. Google's OS naming scheme progresses alphabetically -- Gingerbread, Honeycomb, Ice Cream Sandwich -- and the J build name seems to signify that version 4.2 will remain under the Jelly Bean nomenclature, likely meaning that it will be an incremental update.
The third device showing up under Android 4.2 appears under the name "Occam." The site's authors believe Occam to be some sort of Android smartphone, given that it shows up with a "mobile" browser agent, whereas Android tablets typically lack that designation.
The fourth device shows up under the codename "manta." Reportedly, Motorola devices in development are named after various forms of aquatic life, so some have proposed that this device might be a new tablet from Motorola, though this remains conjecture.
The site's authors admit that their user logs could have been spoofed, but it is not entirely out of the question for Google to roll out an incremental update to Jelly Bean, being that version 4.1 is now several months old. Should these new devices prove real, it is likely that they would be additions to Google's Nexus line, which is typically the first to receive Android updates. Rumor has it that the next generation of Nexus devices will debut either late into October or early into November. Those rumors have also pegged the new devices as running Android 4.2.
