Software Navigation

Ice Cream Sandwich includes gorgeous virtual buttons in the system bar to let users navigate back, home and to recent apps.

If that application tray looks familiar, it’s because Google introduced it on Honeycomb tablets first to allow for better multitasking. Now you have it on the Galaxy Nexus.

ICS has resizable widgets users can move around each home screen.

From the slide lock screen, users can pull down the notifications window to check for messages.

When an incoming call arrives, users can now respond by text message without picking up the call or unlocking the device. Users will slide a control to see a list of text responses and then tap to send and end the call.

Need to know how much data youre chewing up on your Galaxy Nexus or other ICS phone? Check out these data-usage controls, which monitor total usage by network type and application.

The redesigned Android camera app is gorgeous, adding continuous focus, zero shutter lag and less shot-to-shot latency, among other perks.

Even the photo-editing utilities are refreshed.

ICS lets users take screenshots and store them locally on the phone. Then you can edit and share the screenshot in Gallery or a similar app.

Users can set their preference for Websites separately for each browser tab, save a copy for offline reading, and browse a visual list of browser bookmarks and history.

Using NFC, users can tap together two ICS-enabled phones to share files, YouTube videos, applications and other content.

ICS leverages the graphics processor and camera in phones to let users unlock their phones through facial recognition. Users may hold their devices in front of their faces to unlock, or use a backup PIN or pattern. See more ICS features here.