History Of Android Mobile Device Platform
Android is an open-sourced stack for mobile devices that includes the operating system, key applications and middleware. Android was started by Google in 2005 when they purchased the initial developer of the software, Android Inc. When Google first purchased Android in July of 2005 there was not that much known about this small start-up company. In the industry at the time it was referred to as just a company that developed software for mobile devices, a far cry from what it is currently.
In October of 2008 the first Android based phone that appeared on the market was T-Mobile’s G1. This was a ground breaking phone that set the benchmark for it predecessors. This phone is not currently sold by the carrier. Phones to follow this include the T-Mobile MyTouch 3G in 2009, the Motorola Backflip in March 2010 to current phones like the HTC Evo 4g.
On November 5th of 2007 a multitude of companies including, Google, HTC, Motorola, Qualcom, Intel, Sprint Nextel, T-mobile and NVIDIA banded together to form the Open Handset Alliance. They announced there intentions for open standards for mobile devices. At this time they also introduced their new product, Android, a mobile device platform built on a version of Linux Kernel.
In Q4 of 2010 it’s been reported that the Android operating system was the the best selling smartphone platform on the market. Nokia’s Symbian has held that position for the last 10 years. The true power house behind Android is the Android Market. In this market you will find access to over 150,000 apps. «Apps» are applications that allow extended functionality for any given device that they’re installed on. There are many different types of apps, from Facebook to GPS, banking apps and recipe apps. Some apps can help you cook and others can help you hang a picture level. Basic Google apps include GMail, YouTube, Google talk, Google calender, Amazon MP3 store and Twitter. All of these are created by a large community of developers working everyday to make the market ever-expanding.
Android is continuing to grow and expand it’s hold in the mobile device arena. With the power of Google behind it, this platform may reach new heights in the future that we can only dream of today. Keep your eye on the new devices that are released with this Android platform. New devices are consistently popping up with this amazing platform and the new versions are rolling along as the platform continues to develop.
