The Android operating system is a lot like the Windows operating system you use on your PC but it is specifically developed to work on small, low power handsets like smartphones and tablets. It’s designed to run as efficiently as possible while using as little power as possible. Android Inc. got global recognition when in August 2005 Google bought out the company and then immediately announced that they will be making the operating system Open Source so that anyone can use it without having to pay for it or pay any royalties.
The Android OS is actually based on a modified version of a Linux Kernel, Linux of course already being an established open source alternative to Windows and OSX. At its most basic level, an operating system provides the layer between the hardware and the software designed to run upon it. In the case of Android it must be able to pass commands to the processor, microphone, camera, GPS, antenna, touchscreen and keypad etc.. Various applications can then be built to run on Android OS to make the device functional.
The Android operating system is an advanced piece of software and packs a big punch in a small package. It uses a lightweight relational database called SQLite to store and retrieve data for the various apps that you install and has built in playback capability for dozens of different media types including WebM, H.263, H.264, PNG, GIF, BMP. MPEG, MP3, MIDI, WAV and JPEG. In terms of connectivity it can handle all the latest technologies out of the box such as GSM, IDEN, CDMA, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and WiMax, SMS and MMS forms of messaging which makes it the ideal platform for app developers to build innovative new software.
At the time of writing, Android has overtaken virtually every other smartphone operating system available, including Apple’s iOS which powers the iPhones and Blackberry’s own OS. By the end of 2010, some 33 million smartphones had been purchased which ran a version of Android OS and research analyst NPD Group now estimates that half of all smartphone purchases are for an Android phone.
The driving factor behind this rapid take up is the open source nature of the operating system. This means that any phone, or handheld device, manufacturer in the world can download the source files, modify and customize it to their specific needs and then distribute it on handsets developed by them. The royalty free nature of Android has encouraged some of the biggest names in the smartphone industry like Samsung, LG, HTC and Motorola to build highly desirable devices using Android.
Another reason for the high demand of Android phones is that by the end of 2010 there were over 200,000 applications available for download which included everything from games to utilities, image editing to location based services. Unlike Apple’s app store, the vast majority of Android applications are free or have free versions, which in turn encourages people to use Android phones.
While Apple sells products to its customers google sells its customers to products. Android dorks are like religious zealots who resort to logical fallacies to prove their religion is better. IOS is a much more mature and stable platform than Android and therefore does everything better than any Android phone. And most loosers buy an Android just because it is cheaper and no other reason. Besides isn’t Andriod just an illegal piracy of Linux and Java and Iphone UI? People who really care about open source should hate Android just for the reason that it steals credit from Linux and Java communities.
Google fans make no mention of the fact that it remotely reads users mail and serves up ads that are correlated to the content.
Like that? I don’t. But then as Google’s Eric Schmidt put it, if you have
nothing to hide, why are you averse to having your personal files read by all
and sundry? Had someone asked Schmidt if he was willing to sleep with his
partner in public, he probably would have backed down – but then the Google
faithful only stand in awe when such pronouncements are made. For them, Google can do no wrong. Even when it sends Google Street cars to steal personal information from unsuspecting wifi users. Google has criminal charges filed against it for this.
Actually the only people who love Andriod are those who love to steal music and applications and find it difficult to do that on IOS and therefore complain
that it is a closed platform. Apple promotes innovation and rewards its
innovative developers, who have made billions while Andriod developers make
next to nothing.
Andriod is a platform by the thieves, of the thieves and for the thieves.
Wew, thats it.. Now I know about android! Thanks for sharing mate, keep it up..
I am interested in using android
agree, for future android will lead than another OS. both in technology and user.