Android is a software platform and operating system for mobile devices, based on the Linux kernel, developed by Google and later the Open Handset Alliance. It allows developers to write managed code in the Java language, controlling the device via Google-developed Java libraries.Applications written in C and other languages can be compiled to ARM native code and run, but this development path is not officially supported by Google.
The unveiling of the Android platform on 5 November 2007 was announced with the founding of the Open Handset Alliance, a consortium of 48 hardware, software, and telecom companies devoted to advancing open standards for mobile devices. Google released most of the Android code under the Apache license, a free-software and open source license.History
In July 2005, Google acquired Android, Inc., a small startup company based in Palo Alto, CA, USA. Android's co-founders who went to work at Google included Andy Rubin (co-founder of Danger), Rich Miner (co-founder of Wildfire Communications, Inc.), Nick Sears (once VP at T-Mobile), and Chris White (one of the first engineers at WebTV. At the time, little was known about the functions of Android, Inc. other than that they made software for mobile phones. This began rumors that Google was planning to enter the mobile phone market, although it was unclear what function it might perform in that market.
At Google, the team, led by Rubin, developed a Linux-based mobile device OS which they marketed to handset makers and carriers on the premise of providing a flexible, upgradeable system. It was reported that Google had already lined up a series of hardware component and software partners and signaled to carriers that it was open to various degrees of cooperation on their part.
More speculation that Google would be entering the mobile-phone market came in December 2006. Reports from the BBC and The Wall Street Journal noted that Google wanted its search and applications on mobile phones and it was working hard to deliver that. Print and online media outlets soon reported rumors that Google was developing a Google-branded handset.More speculation followed reporting that as Google was defining technical specifications, it was showing prototypes to cell phone manufacturers and network operators. As many as 30 prototype phones were reported to be operating "in the wild."
In September 2007, InformationWeek covered an Evalueserve study reporting that Google had filed several patent applications in the area of mobile telephony.
Open Handset Alliance founded
| "Today's announcement is more ambitious than any single 'Google Phone' that the press has been speculating about over the past few weeks. Our vision is that the powerful platform we're unveiling will power thousands of different phone models." —-Eric Schmidt, Google Chairman/CEO |
On 5 November 2007, the Open Handset Alliance, a consortium of several companies which include Google, HTC, Intel, Motorola, Qualcomm, T-Mobile, Sprint Nextel and NVIDIA, was unveiled with the goal to develop open standards for mobile devices. Along with the formation of the Open Handset Alliance, the OHA also unveiled their first product, Android, a mobile device platform built on the Linux kernel version 2.6.
On 9 December 2008, it was announced that 14 new members would be joining the Android project including: Sony Ericsson, Vodafone Group Plc, ARM Holdings Plc, Asustek Computer Inc, Toshiba Corp and Garmin Ltd.
Google Chairman and CEO Eric Schmidt took some time in the official press release to dispel all previous rumors and speculation about the existence of a stand-alone Google phone.
Open source
Since 21 Oct 2008, Android has been available as open source. Google opened the entire source code (including network and telephony stacks), which had previously been unavailable, under an Apache license.
With Apache License, vendors are free to add proprietary extensions without submitting those back to the open source community. While Google's contributions to this platform are expected to remain open-sourced, the branches could explode using varieties of licenses.
Android had been criticized for not being all open-source software despite what was announced by Google. Parts of the SDK are proprietary and closed source and some believe this is so that Google can control the platform. The Android Software Development Kit License Agreement states that:
3.2 You agree that Google (or Google's licensors) own all legal right, title and interest in and to the SDK, including any intellectual property rights which subsist in the SDK. Use, reproduction and distribution of components of the SDK licensed under an open source software license are governed solely by the terms of that open source software license and not by this License Agreement. Until the SDK is released under an open source license, you may not extract the source code or create a derivative work of the SDK.
However, Google has since announced that all parts of the OS will be released under the Apache License where applicable and under the GPL elsewhere.
Features
Current features and specifications:
| Handset layouts | The platform is adaptable to larger, VGA, 2D graphics library, 3D graphics library based on OpenGL ES 1.0 specifications, and traditional smartphone layouts. |
|---|---|
| Storage | The Database Software SQLite is used for data storage purposes |
| Connectivity | Android supports connectivity technologies including GSM/EDGE, CDMA, EV-DO, UMTS, Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi. |
| Messaging | SMS and MMS are available forms of messaging including threaded text messaging. |
| Web browser | The web browser available in Android is based on the open-source WebKit application framework. |
| Dalvik virtual machine | Software written in Java can be compiled into Dalvik bytecodes and executed in the Dalvik virtual machine, which is a specialized VM implementation designed for mobile device use, although not technically a standard Java Virtual Machine. |
| Media support | Android supports the following audio/video/still media formats: MPEG-4, H.264, MP3, AAC, OGG, AMR, JPEG, PNG, GIF. |
| Additional hardware support | Android can utilize video/still cameras, touchscreens, GPS, accelerometers, and accelerated 3D graphics. |
| Development environment | Includes a device emulator, tools for debugging, memory and performance profiling, a plugin for the Eclipse IDE. |
| Market | Similar to the App Store on the iPhone, The Android Market is a catalog of applications that can be downloaded and installed to target hardware over-the-air, without the use of a PC. Originally only freeware applications were supported. Paid-for apps have been available on Android Market since 19 February 2009. |
| Multi-touch | Android has native support for multi-touch but the feature is disabled (possibly to avoid infringing Apple patents on touch-screen technology). An unofficial mod has been developed that enables multi-touch. |
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