What is Android?

What is Android?

Mainly, Android is a Linux-based operating system that is designed for touch screen mobile devices such as Smart phones and tablet PC. Telecom companies devoted to advancing open standards for mobile consortium of hardware, software, and: developed by Android that Google originally backed up financially, was purchased in 2005, later, Android is the Open Handset Alliance with the establishment, a device which was announced in 2007. The first mobile phone with Android was sold in October 2008.

Android is an open source, Google is publishing the code under the Apache license. Generous and open-source license code, you can change the software freely, developer enthusiasts device manufacturers, wireless carriers and is dispersed. In addition, Android has a large community of developers ("apps" below) has written applications that extend written in a customized version of the Java programming language, primarily the function of the device. There is a screen of approximately 800,000 Android apps, in October 2012, the estimated number of applications has become downloaded, and 25 billion from the main App Store Google Play, Android.

These factors, Android is the technology you need can be customized for high-tech device, at low cost, the operating system of lightweight without Smartphone platform that has been most widely used in the world, with Symbian, passing in the fourth quarter of 2010 one developed from scratch, which is allowed to be the software of choice for the enterprise. As a result, even though it is designed mainly for mobile phones and tablets, the television electronics, and other game machine, it is he is looking for additional applications. As a basis for project-driven community to bring Android to the device or to add new features for advanced users further, was released to run other operating systems formally, the open nature of Android, an open source has encouraged a large community of developers and enthusiasts to use the code.

Active devices and 500 million per day, with 1.3 million activations, Android has had a market share of 75% of Smartphone worldwide in the third quarter of 2012. Between technology companies, as part of the "Smartphone" so-called, the success of the operating system has become the target of patent litigation.

Logo of Android operating system is the apple green robot that has been designed by California-based graphic designer Irina Pembroke.

Company	Google
Developer	Open Handset Alliance  Android Open Source Project
Programmed in	C, C++, Java
OS family	Unix-like
Working state	Current
Source model	Open source
Initial release	September 23, 2008
Latest stable release	4.2.2 Jelly Bean / February 11, 2013