What is android?
Android is a stack of software for
mobile devices which has Operating System, middleware and some key
applications. The application executes within its own process and its own
instance of Dalvik Virtual Machine. Many Virtual Machines run efficiently by a
DVM device. DVM executes Java language’s byte code which later transforms into
.dex format files.
World is contracting with the
growth of mobile phone technology. As the number of users is increasing day by
day, facilities are also increasing. Starting with simple regular handsets
which were used just for making phone calls, mobiles have changed our lives and
have become part of it. Now they are not used just for making calls but they
have innumerable uses and can be used as a Camera , Music player, Tablet PC,
T.V. , Web browser etc . And with the new technologies, new software and
operating systems are required.
Operating Systems have developed a
lot in last 15 years. Starting from black and white phones to recent smart
phones or mini computers, mobile OS has come far away. Especially for smart
phones, Mobile OS has greatly evolved from Palm OS in 1996 to Windows pocket PC
in 2000 then to Blackberry OS and Android.
One of the most widely used mobile
OS these days is ANDROID. Android is a software bunch comprising not only
operating system but also middleware and key applications. Android Inc was
founded in Palo Alto of California, U.S. by Andy Rubin, Rich miner, Nick sears
and Chris White in 2003. Later Android Inc. was acquired by Google in 2005.
After original release there have been number of updates in the original
version of Android.
What are the features
of Android?
·
Components can be reused and replaced by the
application framework.
·
Optimized DVM for mobile devices
·
SQLite enables to store the data in a structured
manner.
·
Supports GSM telephone and Bluetooth, WiFi, 3G
and EDGE technologies
·
The development is a combination of a device
emulator, debugging tools, memory profiling and plug-in for Eclipse IDE.
Android is a
powerful Operating System supporting a large number of applications in Smart
Phones. These applications make life more comfortable and advanced for the
users. Hardwares that support Android are mainly based on ARM architecture
platform. Some of the current features and specifications of android are:
Features and Specification:
·
Apllication framework
·
Dalvik virtual machine
·
Integrated Browser
·
Optimized graphics
·
SQLite
·
Media support
·
GSM Technology
·
Bluetooth,EDGE,3G.Wi-fi
·
Camera,GPS,Compass etc.,
Android comes
with an Android market which is an online software store. It was developed by
Google. It allows Android users to select, and download applications developed
by third party developers and use them. There are around 2.0 lack+ games, application
and widgets available on the market for users.
Android
applications are written in java programming language. Android is available as
open source for developers to develop applications which can be further used
for selling in android market. There are around 200000 applications developed
for android with over 3 billion+ downloads. Android relies on Linux version 2.6
for core system services such as security, memory management, process
management, network stack, and driver model. For software development, Android
provides Android SDK (Software development kit). Read more about open source
software.
Applications:
These are the basics of Android
applications:
• Android applications are composed of one
or more application components (activities, services, content providers, and
broadcast receivers)
• Each component performs a different role
in the overall application behavior, and each one can be activated individually
(even by other applications)
• The manifest file must declare all components
in the application and should also declare all application requirements, such
as the minimum version of Android required and any hardware configurations
required
• Non-code application resources (images,
strings, layout files, etc.) should include alternatives for different device
configurations (such as different strings for different languages)
Google,
for software development and application development, had launched two
competitions ADC1 and ADC2 for the most innovative applications for Android. It
offered prizes of USD 10 million combined in ADC1 and 2. ADC1 was launched in
January 2008 and ADC 2 was launched in May 2009. These competitions helped
Google a lot in making Android better, more user friendly, advanced and
interactive.
Other Mobile Operating Systems
There are different other Mobile
operating systems also present in market in competition with Android. Apple's
iOS and Windows Phone give strong competition to Android. A simple comparison
between features and specifications of latest version of Android and other
Operating Systems can be seen in the table given below.
Android:
·
Open
source
·
Google
·
Multi tasking
·
Multi touch interface
·
Chrome / Webkit Browser
·
Over the air updates
Iphone OS:
·
Closed source
·
Apple
·
No multi tasking
·
Multi touch interface
·
Safari / Webkit Browser
·
Sync/patch updates
Windows Phone7:
·
Closed
interface
·
Microsoft
·
Restricted multi tasking
·
Multi torch interface
·
Internet Explorer
·
TBA
SYMBIAN:
·
Open Source
·
Nokia
·
Visual multi tasking
·
Multi touch
·
Mozilla Browser
·
Sync / patch OTA
A large no of mobile companies are
using Android. A list of companies supporting Android in their hardware is:
·
Acer Inc
·
ALCATEL ( TCL corporation )
·
Bluelans Communications
·
NCE casio Mobile Communications
·
Cherry Mobile
·
CSL
·
Dell
·
Garmin
·
Geeks Phone
·
General Mobile
·
High screen
·
HKC
·
HTC coroporation
·
Huawei
·
I-mobile
·
Lenovo
·
LG
·
Motorola
·
Samsung
·
Sony Ericsson
·
Videocon
·
ZTE
Android's Latest:
Android is still updating. The recent version of Android
(Honey comb 3.1) has very advanced features and updated applications which are
optimized for use on larger screen devices. These applications are mentioned
below:
Browser: Android's new version includes a number of new
features for simple, fast and convenient browsing with the Quick UI controls.
It also supports popular web standards like CSS 3D, Animations and CSS fixed
positioning to all sites, mobile or desktop. It also supports playback of HTML5
video content. To make it better and convenient to manage favorite content,
users can now save a web page locally for offline viewing, including all
styling and images.
