If you were one of the many who funded OUYA and have been sitting on pins and needles waiting for tangible progress updates, you just received them in spades. The fledgling console builder is on track with its Engineering Verification Test phase (you're looking at a board sample here) and should not only deliver the initial developer kits in December, but include a pleasant surprise in the process -- the Android-based platform will be built around Jelly Bean rather than the originally promised Ice Cream Sandwich. Programmers who just have to start right away have likewise been given a head start on hardware expectations. They'll have free rein over as much as a 1080p screen for their free-to-play games, although they'll have to toss aside familiar Android tropes like back and menu keys, notifications and fallbacks for hardware keyboards. The distinctive trackpad is likewise just a single-touch affair. To us, though, knowing that the console is finally taking shape just might be enough to tide us over until the March launch.

Filed under: Gaming

OUYA upgrades to Jelly Bean, gives early hardware details to game developers originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 31 Oct 2012 16:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.