Android 4.1 Jelly Bean proven carrying rough but working code for multi-user support (video)

[![Android 41 Jelly Bean proven carrying rough but working code for multiuser support video][1] ][2]

If there's ever been a persistent gripe among families sharing mobile devices, it's been the absence of multiple user profiles -- hand that [iPad][3] or [Nexus 7][4] to Junior and you may have to play a spot-the-differences game when it comes back. Some long overdue testing of previously found code references in [Jelly Bean][5] shows that Google, at least, has explored ending that anxiety over who uses the family gadgets. Command-line code in [AOSP-based versions][6] of Android 4.1 will let you create a separate guest profile, complete with its own lock screen security, home screen layout and limited settings. To say that the code is unpolished would be an understatement, however. Apps and even some notifications cross over from the main account, which could prove more than a little embarrassing if the hardware is left in the wrong hands. At least it's easy to revert back, as the instructions (and video after the break) show. The real challenge will be waiting to see when -- or really, if -- Google gets to finishing multi-user code and turns that Nexus 7 into the communal tablet we want it to be.

[Continue reading _Android 4.1 Jelly Bean proven carrying rough but working code for multi-user support (video)_][2]

Filed under: [Cellphones][7], [Tablet PCs][8], [Software][9]

[Android 4.1 Jelly Bean proven carrying rough but working code for multi-user support (video)][2] originally appeared on [Engadget][10] on Fri, 03 Aug 2012 11:47:00 EDT. Please see our [terms for use of feeds][11].

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