Android Power – Google Revolution

Today Android has become a possible contender to major market players Windows & Apple especially in the smart phones section. It is the revolution launched by Google Inc to grab a respective market share & erode a sheer dominance of the Windows OS. Android is a mobile operating system initially developed by Android Inc. Android was bought by Google in 2005. Android is based upon a modified version of the Linux kernel. Google and other members of the Open Handset Alliance collaborated on Android’s development and release. The Android Open Source Project (AOSP) is tasked with the maintenance and further development of Android.The only disadvantage to it is that It is still at an initial stage with fews infancies & stabilities but it has given the edge to lot of mobile phone manufacturers to provide better options & applications developed by them for their users.

Handset Alliance & Market Development: On the 5th of November 2007 the Open Handset Alliance, a consortium of several companies which include Texas Instruments, Broadcom Corporation, Google, HTC, Intel, LG, Marvell Technology Group, Motorola, Nvidia, Qualcomm, Samsung Electronics, Sprint Nextel and T-Mobile 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 PacketVideo, ARM Holdings, Atheros Communications, Asustek Computer Inc, Garmin Ltd, Softbank, Sony Ericsson, Toshiba Corp, and Vodafone Group Plc.The new developments are now taking place in terms with Samsung Tab, Dell Streax, & other devices Like Micromax Android. In early 2010 Google collaborated with HTC to launch its flagship Android device, the Nexus One. This was followed later in 2010 with the Samsung-made Nexus S. The world’s first TV running Android, called Scandinavia, has also been launched by the company People of Lava. In Q4 2010 the Android O.S. was the world’s best-selling smartphone platform, dethroning Nokia’s Symbian from the 10 year top position, according to Canalys. With the growing number of Android handsets, there has also been an increased interest by third party developers to port their applications to the Android operating system. As of December 2010, the Android Marketplace had over 200,000 applications.

Versions of Android: 2.0/2.1 (Eclair), 2.2 (Froyo), 2.3 (Gingerbread), 3.0 (Honeycomb), Ice-cream sandwich,

Licensing: With the exception of brief update periods, Android has been available under a free software / open source license since 21 October 2008. Google published the entire source code (including network and telephony stacks) under an Apache License. Google also keeps the reviewed issues list publicly open for anyone to see and comment.

This new Google’s invention has taken a market like storm creating new waves of cut throat competition & fine edge technologies between the giants like MS, Apple, Google & many more.