Android (operating system)
Android is a
Linux-based operating system for mobile devices such as smartphones and tablet
computers. It is developed by the Open Handset Alliance, led by Google, and
other companies.
Google
purchased the initial developer of the software, Android Inc., in 2005.The
unveiling of the Android distribution in 2007 was announced with the founding
of the Open Handset Alliance, a consortium of 86 hardware, software, and
telecommunication companies devoted to advancing open standards for mobile
devices. Google releases the Android code as open-source, under the Apache
License. The Android Open Source Project (AOSP) is tasked with the maintenance
and further development of Android.
Android has
a large community of developers writing applications ("apps") that
extend the functionality of the devices. Developers write primarily in a
customized version of Java. Apps can be downloaded from third-party sites or
through online stores such as Google Play (formerly Android Market), the app
store run by Google. In October 2011, there were more than 500,000 apps
available for Android, and the estimated number of applications downloaded from
the Android Market as of December 2011 exceeded 10 billion.
Android was
listed as the best-selling smartphone platform worldwide in Q4 2010 by Canalyswith
over 300 million Android devices in use by February 2012. According to Google's
Andy Rubin, as of December 2011, there were over 700,000 Android devices
activated every day.
History Foundation
Android,
Inc. was founded in Palo Alto, California, United States in October, 2003 by
Andy Rubin (co-founder of Danger), Rich Miner (co-founder of Wildfire
Communications, Inc.), Nick Sears (once VP at T-Mobile), and Chris White
(headed design and interface development at WebTV) to develop, in Rubin's words
"...smarter mobile devices that are more aware of its owner's location and
preferences". Despite the obvious past accomplishments of the founders and
early employees, Android Inc. operated secretly, revealing only that it was
working on software for mobile phones. That same year, Rubin ran out of money.
Steve Perlman, a close friend of Rubin, brought him $10,000 in cash in an
envelope and refused a stake in the company.
Acquisition by Google
Google
acquired Android Inc. on August 17, 2005, making Android Inc. a wholly owned
subsidiary of Google Inc. Key employees of Android Inc., including Andy Rubin,
Rich Miner and Chris White, stayed at the company after the acquisition. Not
much was known about Android Inc. at the time of the acquisition, but many
assumed that Google was planning to enter the mobile phone market with this
move.Speculation about Google's intention to enter the mobile communications
market continued to build through December 2006.
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Release date
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Key features added
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Version name
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Android
4.0.4
|
2012
Mar 28
|
·
stability improvements
·
better camera performance
·
smoother screen rotation
|
Ice
Cream Sandwich
|
|
Android
4.0.3
|
2011
Dec 16
|
·
Social stream API in Contacts provider to show updates
associated to your contacts
·
Video stabilization and QVGA video resolution API access
·
Accessibility API refinements for screen readers
·
Calendar provider updates
|
Ice
Cream Sandwich
|
|
Android
4.0.2
|
2011
Nov 28
|
Minor
fixes
|
Ice
Cream Sandwich
|
|
Android
4.0.1
|
2011
Oct 19
|
·
Facial recognition (Face Unlock)
·
UI use Hardware acceleration
·
Better voice recognition (dictating/Voice typing)
·
Web browser, allows up to 16 tabs
·
Updated launcher (customizable)
·
Android Beam app to exchange data through NFC
·
Resizable widgets
|
Ice
Cream Sandwich
|
|
Android
3.2.6
|
2012
Feb 15
|
Minor
fixes
|
Honeycomb
|
|
Android
3.2.4
|
2011
Dec 15
|
Added
"Pay as you go" for tablets
|
Honeycomb
|
|
Android
3.2.2
|
2011
Sep 30
|
Minor
fixes
|
Honeycomb
|
|
Android
3.2.1
|
2011
Sep 20
|
·
Android Market updates including easier automatic updates
·
Google Books updates
·
Wi-Fi improvements
·
Chinese handwriting prediction improved
|
Honeycomb
|
|
Android
3.2
|
2011
Jul 15
|
·
Optimizations for a wider range of tablets
·
Compatibility display mode (zoom for fixed-sized apps)
·
Media sync from SD card
|
Honeycomb
|
|
Android 3.1
|
2011
May 10
|
·
UI improvements
·
Open Accessory API
·
USB host API
·
Mice, joysticks, gamepads... support
·
Resizable Home screen widgets
·
MTP notifications
·
RTP API for audio
|
Honeycomb
|
|
Android
3.0
|
2011
Feb 22
|
·
Multi core support
·
Better tablet support
·
Updated 3D UI
·
Google Talk video chat
·
Google eBooks
·
"Private browsing"
|
Honeycomb
|
|
Android
2.3.7
|
·
Google Wallet support for the Nexus S 4G
|
Gingerbread
|
|
|
Android
2.3.6
|
·
Voice search issue fixed
|
Gingerbread
|
|
|
Android
2.3.5
|
2011
Jul 25
|
·
Improved network performance for the Nexus S 4G
·
Fixed Bluetooth issues on the Samsung Galaxy S
·
Gmail app. improvements
|
Gingerbread
|
|
Android
2.3.4
|
2011
May 10
|
·
Open Accessory API
·
Voice or video chat using Google Talk
|
Gingerbread
|
|
Android
2.3.3
|
2011
Feb 9
|
·
NFC API improvements (peer to peer communication...)
|
Gingerbread
|
|
Android
2.3
|
2010
Dec 6
|
·
Updated UI
·
WebM video playback capability
·
Improved copy/paste
·
Social networking features
·
Near Field Communication support
·
Native VoIP/SIP support
·
Video call support
|
Gingerbread
|
|
Android
2.2
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2010
May 20
|
·
Speed improvements
·
JIT implementation
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USB Tethering
·
Applications installation to the expandable memory
·
Upload file support in the browser
·
Animated GIFs
|
Froyo
|
|
Android
2.1
|
2010
Jan 12
|
·
Updated UI
|
Eclair
|
|
Android
2.0.1
|
2009
Dec 3
|
Eclair
|
|
|
Android
2.0
|
2009
Oct 26
|
·
HTML
·
Digital zoom
·
Microsoft Exchange support
·
Bluetooth 2.1
·
Live Wallpapers
·
Updated UI
|
Eclair
|
|
Android
1.6
|
2009
Sep 15
|
·
Gesture framework
·
Turn-by-turn navigation
|
Donut
|
|
Android
1.5
|
2009
Apr 30
|
·
Bluetooth A2DP, AVRCP support
·
Soft-keyboard with text-prediction
·
Record/watch videos
|
Cupcake
|
|
Android
1.1
|
2009
Feb 9
|
Banana bread
|
|
|
Android
1.0
|
2008
Sep 23
|
Apple
pie
|
|
|
Android
0.9
|
2008
Aug 18
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