Android (Operating System)

Android (operating system)
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This article is about the operating system. For other uses, see Android (disambiguation).
Android
Android 2.3 "Gingerbread"

Company / Google Inc.,
developer Open Handset Alliance
C (core),[1] C++ (some third party
Programmed in
libraries), Java (UI)
Working state Current
Source model Free and open source software
Initial release 21 October 2008 (2008-10-21)
2.3.2 (Gingerbread) Build:
Latest stable release GRH78C[2] / 21 January 2011; 13 days
ago (2011-01-21)[2]
ARM, MIPS, Power Architecture,
Supported platforms
x86[3][citation needed]
Kernel type Monolithic (modified Linux kernel)
Default user
Graphical
interface
Apache 2.0 (Linux kernel patches are
License
licensed under GPL v2[4])
Official website android.com
Android is a mobile operating system initially developed by Android Inc. Android was bought
by Google in 2005.[5] 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.[6][7] The Android Open Source Project (AOSP) is tasked with the maintenance and further
development of Android.[8]
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.[9][10]
Android has a large community of developers writing application programs ("apps") that extend
the functionality of the devices. There are currently over 200,000 apps available for Android.
[11]
Android Market is the online app store run by Google, though apps can be downloaded from
third-party sites (AT&T permits third-party apps only on their Aria phone [12]). Developers write
primarily in the Java language, controlling the device via Google-developed Java libraries.[13]
Python, Ruby and other languages are also available for Android development via the Android
Scripting Environment.
The unveiling of the Android distribution on 5 November 2007 was announced with the
founding of the Open Handset Alliance, a consortium of 79 hardware, software, and telecom
companies devoted to advancing open standards for mobile devices.[14][15] Google released most
of the Android code under the Apache License, a free software and open source license.[16]
The Android operating system software stack consists of Java applications running on a Java-
based, object-oriented application framework on top of Java core libraries running on a Dalvik
virtual machine featuring JIT compilation. Libraries written in C include the surface manager,
OpenCore[17] media framework, SQLite relational database management system, OpenGL ES 2.0
3D graphics API, WebKit layout engine, SGL graphics engine, SSL, and Bionic libc. The
Android operating system consists of 12 million lines of code including 3 million lines of XML,
2.8 million lines of C, 2.1 million lines of Java, and 1.75 million lines of C++.[18]
Contents
[hide]
• 1 History
○ 1.1 Acquisition by Google
○ 1.2 Open Handset Alliance
○ 1.3 Licensing
○ 1.4 Update history
• 2 Features
• 3 Hardware running Android
• 4 Software development
○ 4.1 Software development kit
○ 4.2 Android Market
○ 4.3 App Inventor for Android
○ 4.4 Android Developer Challenge
○ 4.5 Google applications
○ 4.6 Third party applications
○ 4.7 Native code
○ 4.8 Community-based firmware
• 5 Marketing
○ 5.1 Logos
○ 5.2 Typeface
○ 5.3 Market share
○ 5.4 Usage share
• 6 Linux compatibility
• 7 Claimed infringement of copyrights and patents
• 8 See also
• 9 References
• 10 Bibliography
• 11 External links
History
Acquisition by Google
In July 2005, Google acquired Android Inc., a small startup company based in Palo Alto,
California, USA.[19] Android's co-founders who went to work at Google included Andy Rubin
(co-founder of Danger),[20] Rich Miner (co-founder of Wildfire Communications, Inc.),[21] Nick
Sears (once VP at T-Mobile),[22] and Chris White (headed design and interface development at
WebTV).[23] At the time, little was known about the functions of Android, Inc. other than that
they made software for mobile phones.[19] This began rumors that Google was planning to enter
the mobile phone market.
At Google, the team led by Rubin developed a mobile device platform powered by the Linux
kernel which they marketed to handset makers and carriers on the premise of providing a
flexible, upgradable 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.[24][25][26] More speculation that Google's Android would be
entering the mobile-phone market came in December 2006.[27] 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.[28] More speculation followed reporting that
as Google was defining technical specifications, it was showing prototypes to cell phone
manufacturers and network operators.
In September 2007, InformationWeek covered an Evalueserve study reporting that Google had
filed several patent applications in the area of mobile telephony.[29][30]
Open Handset Alliance
Main article: Open Handset Alliance
"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, former Google Chairman/CEO[6]
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.[6] 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.[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.[31][32]
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)[33] under an Apache License.[34] Google also keeps the reviewed
issues list publicly open for anyone to see and comment.[35]
Update history
It has been suggested that this section be split into a new article. (Discuss)
Android has seen a number of updates since its original release. These updates to the base
operating system typically fix bugs and add new features. Generally each update to the Android
operating system is developed under a code name based on a dessert item. The code names are in
alphabetical order.
1.0 Released 23 September 2008[36]
On 9 February 2009, Android 1.1 update for Android was released for T-
Mobile G1 Only. Included in the update were:[37]
• Multiple resolved issues

• API changes
1.1 • Maps adds details and reviews
• Screen timeout longer when using speakerphone
• "Show" & "Hide" Dialpad included in-call menu
• Support for saving attachments from MMS
• Support for marquee in layouts
On 30 April 2009, the official 1.5 (Cupcake) update for Android was released.
[38][39]
There were several new features and UI updates included in the 1.5
update:[40]
• Ability to record and watch videos through camcorder mode
• Uploading videos to YouTube and pictures to Picasa directly from the
1.5 (Cupcake) phone
Based on Linux • A new soft-keyboard with text-prediction
Kernel 2.6.27
• Bluetooth A2DP and AVRCP support
• Ability to automatically connect to a Bluetooth headset within a certain
distance
• New widgets and folders that can populate the Home screens
• Animated screen transitions
1.6 (Donut) On 15 September 2009, the 1.6 (Donut) SDK was released.[42][43] Included in
Based on Linux the update were:[41]
Kernel 2.6.29[41] • An improved Android Market experience
• An integrated camera, camcorder, and gallery interface
• Gallery now enables users to select multiple photos for deletion
• Updated Voice Search, with faster response and deeper integration
with native applications, including the ability to dial contacts
• Updated search experience to allow searching bookmarks, history,
contacts, and the web from the home screen
• Updated technology support for CDMA/EVDO, 802.1x, VPNs, and a
text-to-speech engine
• Support for WVGA screen resolutions
• Speed improvements in searching and camera applications
• Gesture framework and GestureBuilder development tool
• Google free turn-by-turn navigation
On 26 October 2009, the 2.0 (Eclair) SDK was released.[45] Changes include:[46]
• Optimized hardware speed
• Support for more screen sizes and resolutions
• Revamped UI
• New Browser UI and HTML5 support
• New contact lists
• Better contrast ratio for backgrounds
• Improved Google Maps 3.1.2
2.0 / 2.1 (Eclair)
Based on Linux • Microsoft Exchange Server by Exchange ActiveSync 2.5 support
Kernel 2.6.29[44] • Built in flash support for Camera
• Digital Zoom
• MotionEvent class enhanced to track multi-touch events[47]
• Improved virtual keyboard
• Bluetooth 2.1
• Live Wallpapers
The 2.0.1 SDK was released on 3 December 2009.[48]
The 2.1 SDK was released on 12 January 2010.[49]
2.2 (Froyo)[50] On 20 May 2010, the 2.2 (Froyo) SDK was released.[50] Changes included:[51]
Based on Linux • General Android OS speed, memory, and performance optimizations[52]
Kernel 2.6.32 [51]
(2.2.2 latest • Additional application speed improvements courtesy of JIT
release) implementation[53]
• Integration of Chrome's V8 JavaScript engine into the Browser
application
• Increased Microsoft Exchange support (security policies, auto-
discovery, GAL look-up, calendar synchronization, remote wipe)
• Improved application launcher with shortcuts to Phone and Browser
applications
• USB tethering and Wi-Fi hotspot functionality
• Added an option to disable data access over mobile network
• Updated Market application with batch and automatic update
features[52]
• Quick switching between multiple keyboard languages and their
dictionaries
• Voice dialing and contact sharing over Bluetooth
• Support for numeric and alphanumeric passwords
• Support for file upload fields in the Browser application[54]
• Support for installing applications to the expandable memory
• Adobe Flash 10.1 support[55]
• Support for extra high DPI screens (320 dpi), such as 4" 720p[56]
On 6 December 2010, the 2.3 (Gingerbread) SDK was released.[57] Changes
included:[58]
• Updated user interface design
• Support for extra-large screen sizes and resolutions (WXGA and
higher)[56]
• Native support for SIP VoIP telephony
• Support for WebM/VP8 video playback, and AAC audio encoding
• New audio effects such as reverb, equalization, headphone
virtualization, and bass boost
2.3 • Support for Near Field Communication
(Gingerbread)[57] • System-wide copy–paste functionalities
Based on Linux
Kernel 2.6.35[58] • Redesigned multi-touch software keyboard
• Enhanced support for native code development
• Audio, graphical, and input enhancements for game developers
• Concurrent garbage collection for increased performance
• Native support for more sensors (such as gyroscopes and barometers)
• A download manager for long-running downloads
• Improved power management and application control
• Native support for multiple cameras
• Switched from YAFFS to the ext4 filesystem[59]
3.0 (Honeycomb) On 26 January 2011, a preview of the 3.0 (Honeycomb) SDK was released.
[60]
Changes include:[61]
• Optimized tablet support with a new user interface
• Three dimensional desktop with redesigned widgets
• Refined multi-tasking
• Browser enhancements including tabbed web pages, form auto-fill,
bookmark syncing with Google Chrome, and private browsing
• Support for video chat using Google Talk
• Hardware acceleration
• Support for multi-core processors
Ice Cream
Possible mid-2011 release.[62]
Sandwich[62]
Features
Current features and specifications:[63][64][65]
The Android Emulator default home screen (v1.5).
Architecture Diagram
Handset layouts The platform is adaptable to larger, VGA, 2D graphics library, 3D graphics
library based on OpenGL ES 2.0 specifications, and traditional smartphone
layouts.
Storage SQLite, a lightweight relational database, is used for data storage purposes
Android supports connectivity technologies including GSM/EDGE, IDEN,

Connectivity
CDMA, EV-DO, UMTS, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, LTE, and WiMAX.
SMS and MMS are available forms of messaging, including threaded text
Messaging messaging and now Android Cloud to Device Messaging Framework (C2DM)
is also a part of Android Push Messaging service.
The web browser available in Android is based on the open-source WebKit

Web browser layout engine, coupled with Chrome's V8 JavaScript engine. The browser
scores a 93/100 on the Acid3 Test.
While most Android applications are written in Java, there is no Java Virtual
Machine in the platform and Java byte code is not executed. Java classes are
compiled into Dalvik executables and run on the Dalvik virtual machine.
Java support
Dalvik is a specialized virtual machine designed specifically for Android and
optimized for battery-powered mobile devices with limited memory and CPU.
J2ME support can be provided via third-party-applications.
Android supports the following audio/video/still media formats: WebM, H.263,

H.264 (in 3GP or MP4 container), MPEG-4 SP, AMR, AMR-WB (in 3GP
Media support
container), AAC, HE-AAC (in MP4 or 3GP container), MP3, MIDI, Ogg
Vorbis, WAV, JPEG, PNG, GIF, BMP.[65]
RTP/RTSP streaming (3GPP PSS, ISMA), HTML progressive download

(HTML5 <video> tag). Adobe Flash Streaming (RTMP) and HTTP Dynamic
Streaming are supported by the Flash 10.1 plugin.[66] Apple HTTP Live
Streaming
Streaming is supported by RealPlayer for Mobile[67] and planned to be
media support
supported by the operating system in Android 3.0 (Honeycomb).[61] Microsoft
Smooth Streaming is planned to be supported through the awaited port of
Silverlight plugin to Android.
Additional Android can use video/still cameras, touchscreens, GPS, accelerometers,

hardware gyroscopes, magnetometers, proximity and pressure sensors, thermometers,
support accelerated 2D bit blits (with hardware orientation, scaling, pixel format
conversion) and accelerated 3D graphics.
Includes a device emulator, tools for debugging, memory and performance

Development profiling. The integrated development environment (IDE) is Eclipse (currently
environment 3.4 or greater) using the Android Development Tools (ADT) Plugin. The
programming languages are Java and C/C++.
The Android Market is a catalog of applications that can be downloaded and

Market
installed to Android devices over-the-air, without the use of a PC.
Android has native support for multi-touch which was initially made available
in handsets such as the HTC Hero. The feature was originally disabled at the
Multi-touch kernel level (possibly to avoid infringing Apple's patents on touch-screen
technology).[68] Google has since released an update for the Nexus One and the
Motorola Droid which enables multi-touch natively.[69]
Supports A2DP, AVRCP, sending files (OPP), accessing the phone book
(PBAP), voice dialing and sending contacts between phones. Keyboard, mouse
Bluetooth and joystick (HID) support is available through manufacturer customizations
and third-party applications. Full HID support is planned for Android 3.0
(Honeycomb).[61]
The mainstream Android version does not support video calling, but some
handsets have a customized version of the operating system which supports it,
Video calling
either via UMTS network (like the Samsung Galaxy S) or over IP. Video
calling through Google Talk is planned for Android 3.0 (Honeycomb).
Multitasking Multitasking of applications is available.[70]
Google search through Voice has been available since initial release.[71] Voice
Voice based
actions for calling, texting, navigation etc. are supported on Android 2.2
features
onwards.[72]
Android supports tethering, which allows a phone to be used as a

Tethering wireless/wired hotspot. Prior to Android 2.2 this was supported by third-party
applications or manufacturer customizations.[73]
Hardware running Android

Main article: List of Android devices
The Android OS can be used as an operating system for cellphones, netbooks and tablets,
including the Dell Streak, Samsung Galaxy Tab and other devices.[74][75] The first commercially
available phone to run the Android operating system was the HTC Dream, released on 22
October 2008.[76] In early 2010 Google collaborated with HTC to launch its flagship[77] 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.[78]
Software development
It has been suggested that this section be split into a new article. (Discuss)
Early Android device.

The early feedback on developing applications for the Android platform was mixed.[79] Issues
cited include bugs, lack of documentation, inadequate QA infrastructure, and no public issue-
tracking system. (Google announced an issue tracker on 18 January 2008.)[80] In December 2007,
MergeLab mobile startup founder Adam MacBeth stated, "Functionality is not there, is poorly
documented or just doesn't work... It's clearly not ready for prime time."[81] Despite this,
Android-targeted applications began to appear the week after the platform was announced. The
first publicly available application was the Snake game.[82][83] The Android Dev Phone is a SIM-
unlocked and hardware-unlocked device that is designed for advanced developers. While
developers can use regular consumer devices purchased at retail to test and use their applications,
some developers may choose not to use a retail device, preferring an unlocked or no-contract
device.
Software development kit
The Android software development kit (SDK) includes a comprehensive set of development
tools.[84] These include a debugger, libraries, a handset emulator (based on QEMU),
documentation, sample code, and tutorials. Currently supported development platforms include
computers running Linux (any modern desktop Linux distribution), Mac OS X 10.4.9 or later,
Windows XP or later. The officially supported integrated development environment (IDE) is
Eclipse (currently 3.4, 3.5 or 3.6) using the Android Development Tools (ADT) Plugin, though
developers may use any text editor to edit Java and XML files then use command line tools (Java
Development Kit and Apache Ant are required) to create, build and debug Android applications
as well as control attached Android devices (e.g., triggering a reboot, installing software
package(s) remotely).[85]
A preview release of the Android SDK was released on 12 November 2007. On 15 July 2008,
the Android Developer Challenge Team accidentally sent an email to all entrants in the Android
Developer Challenge announcing that a new release of the SDK was available in a "private"
download area. The email was intended for winners of the first round of the Android Developer
Challenge. The revelation that Google was supplying new SDK releases to some developers and
not others (and keeping this arrangement private) led to widely reported frustration within the
Android developer community at the time.[86]
On 18 August 2008 the Android 0.9 SDK beta was released. This release provided an updated
and extended API, improved development tools and an updated design for the home screen.
Detailed instructions for upgrading are available to those already working with an earlier release.
[87]
On 23 September 2008 the Android 1.0 SDK (Release 1) was released.[88] According to the
release notes, it included "mainly bug fixes, although some smaller features were added". It also
included several API changes from the 0.9 version. Multiple versions have been released since.
[89]
Enhancements to Android's SDK go hand in hand with the overall Android platform
development. The SDK also supports older versions of the Android platform in case developers
wish to target their applications at older devices. Development tools are downloadable
components, so after one has downloaded the latest version and platform, older platforms and
tools can also be downloaded for compatibility testing.[90]
Android applications are packaged in .apk format and stored under /data/app folder on the
Android OS (the folder is accessible to root user only for security reasons). APK package
contains .dex files[91] (compiled byte code files called Dalvik executable), resource files, etc.
Android Market
Main article: Android Market
Android Market is the online software store developed by Google for Android devices. An
application program ("app") called "Market" is preinstalled on most Android devices and allows
users to browse and download apps published by third-party developers, hosted on Android
Market. As of December 2010[update] there were about 200,000 games, applications and widgets
available on the Android Market, with an estimated 2.5 billion total downloads.[92]
Only devices that comply with Google's compatibility requirements are allowed to preinstall
Google's closed-source Android Market app and access the Market.[93] The Market filters the list
of applications presented by the Market app to those that are compatible with the user's device,
and developers may restrict their applications to particular carriers or countries for business
reasons. [94]
Google announced the Android Market on 28 August 2008, and it was available to users on 22
October 2008. Support for paid applications was available from 13 February 2009 for US and
UK developers,[95] with additional support from 29 countries on 30 September 2010.[96]
Users can install apps directly using APK files or alternative app markets, including:[97]
• Andspot
• Handango
• GetJar
• SlideMe
• AndAppStore
• AndroLib
• AppBrain
App Inventor for Android
Main article: Google App Inventor
On 12 July 2010 Google announced the availability of App Inventor for Android, a Web-based
visual development environment for novice programmers, based on MIT's Open Blocks Java
library and providing access to Android devices' GPS, accelerometer and orientation data, phone
functions, text messaging, speech-to-text conversion, contact data, persistent storage, and Web
services, initially including Amazon and Twitter.[98] "We could only have done this because
Android’s architecture is so open," said the project director, MIT's Hal Abelson.[99] Under
development for over a year,[100] the block-editing tool has been taught to non-majors in computer
science at Harvard, MIT, Wellesley, and the University of San Francisco, where Professor David
Wolber developed an introductory computer science course and tutorial book for non-computer
science students based on App Inventor for Android.[101][102]
Android Developer Challenge
Main article: Android Developer Challenge
The Android Developer Challenge was a competition for the most innovative application for
Android. Google offered prizes totaling 10 million US dollars, distributed between ADC I and
ADC II. ADC I accepted submissions from 2 January to 14 April 2008. The 50 most promising
entries, announced on 12 May 2008, each received a $25,000 award to fund further development.
[103][104]
It ended in early September with the announcement of ten teams that received $275,000
each, and ten teams that received $100,000 each.[105] ADC II was announced on 27 May 2009.[106]
The first round of the ADC II closed on 6 October 2009.[107] The first-round winners of ADC II
comprising the top 200 applications were announced on 5 November 2009. Voting for the
second round also opened on the same day and ended on November 25. Google announced the
top winners of ADC II on November 30, with SweetDreams, What the Doodle!? and
WaveSecure being nominated the overall winners of the challenge.[108][109]
Google applications
Google has also participated in the Android Market by offering several applications for its
services. These applications include Google Voice for the Google Voice service, Sky Map for
watching stars, Finance for their finance service, Maps Editor for their MyMaps service, Places
Directory for their Local Search, Google Goggles that searches by image, Gesture Search for
using finger written letters and numbers to search the contents of the phone, Google Translate,
Google Shopper, Listen for podcasts and My Tracks, a jogging application.
In August 2010, Google launched "Voice Actions for Android",[110] which allows users to search,
write messages, and initiate calls by voice.
Third party applications
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,[92] with over 1
billion downloads. This is up from 70,000 in July 2010.[111][112]
Obstacles to development include the fact that Android does not use established Java standards,
i.e. Java SE and ME. This prevents compatibility among Java applications written for those
platforms and those for the Android platform. Android only reuses the Java language syntax, but
does not provide the full-class libraries and APIs bundled with Java SE or ME.[113] However,
there are multiple tools in the market that provide J2ME to Android conversion services, which
enable the developer to convert Java into Android. Companies like Myriad Group and UpOnTek
provide these services.[114][115][116]
Developers have reported that it is difficult to maintain applications on multiple versions of
Android, owing to compatibility issues between versions 1.5 and 1.6,[117] especially the different
resolution ratios in use among various Android phones.[118] Such problems were pointedly
brought into focus as they were encountered during the ADC2 contest.[119] Further, the rapid
growth in the number of Android-based phone models with differing hardware capabilities also
makes it difficult to develop applications that work on all Android-based phones.[120][121][122][123] As
of August 2010, 83% of Android phones run the 2.x versions, and 17% still run the 1.5 and 1.6
versions[124]
Native code
Libraries written in C and other languages can be compiled to ARM native code and installed
using the Android Native Development Kit. Native classes can be called from Java code running
under the Dalvik VM using the System.loadLibrary call, which is part of the standard Android
Java classes.[125][126]
Complete applications can be compiled and installed using traditional development tools.[127] The
ADB debugger gives a root shell under the Android Emulator which allows native ARM code to
be uploaded and executed. ARM code can be compiled using GCC on a standard PC.[127]
Running native code is complicated by the fact that Android uses a non-standard C library (libc,
known as Bionic). The underlying graphics device is available as a framebuffer at
/dev/graphics/fb0.[128] The graphics library that Android uses to arbitrate and control access to
this device is called the Skia Graphics Library (SGL), and it has been released under an open
source license.[129] Skia has backends for both win32 and Unix, allowing the development of
cross-platform applications, and it is the graphics engine underlying the Google Chrome web
browser.[130]
Community-based firmware
There is a community of open-source enthusiasts that build and share Android-based firmware
with a number of customizations and additional features, such as FLAC lossless audio support
and the ability to store downloaded applications on the microSD card.[131] This usually involves
rooting the device. Rooting allows users root access to the operating system, giving more control
over their environment variables. In order to use custom firmwares the devices bootloader must
be unlocked. Rooting alone does not allow the flashing of custom firmware. Modified firmwares
allow users of older phones to use applications available only on newer releases.[132]
Those firmware packages are updated frequently, incorporate elements of Android functionality
that haven't yet been officially released within a carrier-sanctioned firmware, and tend to have
fewer limitations. CyanogenMod and VillainROM are two examples of such firmware.
On 24 September 2009, Google issued a cease and desist letter[133] to the modder Cyanogen,
citing issues with the re-distribution of Google's closed-source applications[134] within the custom
firmware. Even though most of Android OS is open source, phones come packaged with closed-
source Google applications for functionality such as the application store and GPS navigation.
Google has asserted that these applications can only be provided through approved distribution
channels by licensed distributors. Cyanogen has complied with Google's wishes and is
continuing to distribute this mod without the proprietary software. He has provided a method to
back up licensed Google applications during the mod's install process and restore them when it is
complete.[135]
Marketing
Android robot logo

Logos
The Android logo was designed with the Droid font family made by Ascender Corporation.[136]
Android Green is the color of the Android Robot that represents the Android operating system.
The print color is PMS 376C and the RGB color value in hexadecimal is #A4C639, as specified
by the Android Brand Guidelines.[137]
Typeface
The custom typeface of Android is called Norad, only used in the text logo.[138]
Market share
Research company Canalys estimated in Q2 2009 that Android had a 2.8% share of worldwide
smartphone shipments.[139] By Q4 2010 this had grown to 33% of the market, becoming the top-
selling smartphone platform. This estimate includes the Tapas and OMS variants of Android.[9]
In February 2010 ComScore said the Android platform had 9.0% of the U.S. smartphone market,
as measured by current mobile subscribers. This figure was up from an earlier estimate of 5.2%
in November 2009.[140] By the end of Q3 2010 Android's U.S. market share had grown to 21.4
percent.[141]
In May 2010, Android's first quarter U.S. sales surpassed that of the rival iPhone platform.
According to a report by the NPD group, Android achieved 25% smartphone sales in the US
market, up 8% from the December quarter. In the second quarter, Apple's iOS was up by 11%,
indicating that Android is taking market share mainly from RIM, and still has to compete with
heavy consumer demand for new competitor offerings.[142] Furthermore, analysts pointed to
advantages that Android has as a multi-channel, multi-carrier OS, which allowed it to duplicate
the quick success of Microsoft's Windows Mobile.[143]
In early October 2010, Google added 20 countries to its list of approved submitters. By mid-
October, purchasing apps will be available in a total of 32 countries.[144] For a complete list of
countries that are allowed to sell apps and those able to buy them see Android Market.
As of December 2010[update] Google said over 300,000 Android phones were being activated
daily,[145] up from 100,000 per day in May 2010.[146]
Usage share
Data collected during two weeks ending on January 4, 2011

Other: 0.1% of devices running obsolete versions[147]
Data collected during two weeks ending on January 4, 2011
Platform API Level Distribution

Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) 9 0.4%
Android 2.2 (Froyo) 8 51.8%
Android 2.0/2.1 (Eclair) 7 35.2%
Android 1.6 (Donut) 4 7.9%
Android 1.5 (Cupcake) 3 4.7%
Linux compatibility
Android's kernel was derived from Linux but has been tweaked by Google outside the main
Linux kernel tree.[148] Android does not have a native X Window System nor does it support the
full set of standard GNU libraries, and this makes it difficult to port existing GNU/Linux
applications or libraries to Android.[149] However, support for the X Window System is possible.
[150]
Google no longer maintains the code they previously contributed to the Linux kernel as part
of their Android effort, creating a separate version or fork of Linux.[151][152] This was due to a
disagreement about new features Google felt were necessary (some related to security of mobile
applications).[153] The code which is no longer maintained was deleted in January 2010 from the
Linux codebase.[154]
Google announced in April 2010 that they will hire two employees to work with the Linux kernel
community.[155]
However, as of January 2011, points of contention still exist between Google and the Linux
kernel team: Google tried to push upstream some Android-specific power management code in
2009, which is still rejected today.[156]
Furthermore, Greg Kroah-Hartman, the current Linux kernel maintainer for the -stable branch,
said in December 2010 that he was concerned that Google was no longer trying to get their code
changes included in mainstream Linux[157] Some Google Android developers hinted that "the
Android team were getting fed up with the process", because they were a small team and had
more urgent work to do on Android.[158]
Claimed infringement of copyrights and patents
On 12 August 2010, Oracle, owner of Java since it acquired Sun Microsystems in April 2009,
sued Google over claimed infringement of copyrights and patents. The lawsuit claims that, "In
developing Android, Google knowingly, directly and repeatedly infringed Oracle's Java-related
intellectual property."[159]
Specifically the patent infringement claim references seven patents including United States
Patent No. 5,966,702, entitled "Method And Apparatus For Preprocessing And Packaging Class
Files", and United States Patent No. 6,910,205, entitled "Interpreting Functions Utilizing A
Hybrid Of Virtual And Native Machine Instructions".[160] It also references United States Patent
No. RE38,104, ("the '104 patent") entitled “Method And Apparatus For Resolving Data
References In Generated Code” authored by James Gosling, best known as the father of the Java
programming language.[161]
In response Google submitted multiple lines of defense, saying that Android did not infringe on
Oracle's patents or copyright, that Oracle's patents were invalid, and several other defenses. They
said that Android is based on Apache Harmony, a clean room implementation of the Java class
libraries, and an independently developed virtual machine called Dalvik.[162][163][164]
The Free Software Foundation has said that Google could have avoided this suit by building
Android on top of IcedTea whose GPL license provides some protection against patents, instead
of implementing it independently under the Apache License. It has also called the suit a "clear
attack against someone's freedom to use, share, modify, and redistribute software".[165] However,
the FSF also criticized Google, writing that "It's sad to see that Google apparently shunned those
protections in order to make proprietary software development easier on Android.", and
remarking that Google had not taken any clear position or action against software patents.
See also
• Android Market
• BlackBerry OS
• Chromium OS
• Google Chrome OS
• iOS (Apple)
• List of Android devices
• List of Android OS-related topics
• MeeGo Linux
• Openmoko Linux
• Samsung's Bada OS
• Palm, Inc.'s webOS
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"Fagan’s concerns about the fragmentation of Android is being echoed by other
developers, says Sean Galligan, vice president of business development at Flurry, an
mobile app analytics company(...)"You may build an app that works perfectly with all
three firmwares, but then when you run it on carriers’ ROMs it completely blows up,"
says Fagan. "So we find ourselves having to create apps that are compatible with
multiple firmwares, multiple ROMs and multiple devices with different hardware."
121.^ "Android just reproducing Java ME's problems, now". JavaWorld. 2009-11-17.
http://www.javaworld.com/community/node/3704. Retrieved 2010-02-26.
122.^ "Android's Spread Could Become a Problem". BusinessWeek. 2009-10-15.
http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/oct2009/tc20091015_626136.htm.
123.^ "Google Android's self-destruction derby begins". InfoWorld. 2010-02-22.
http://infoworld.com/d/mobilize/google-androids-self-destruction-derby-begins-863.
124.^ "Platform Versions". developer.android.com. 2010-05-03.
http://developer.android.com/resources/dashboard/platform-versions.html. Retrieved
2010-08-07.
125.^ Srinivas, Davanum (2007-12-09). "Android — Invoke JNI based methods (Bridging
C/C++ and Java)". http://davanum.wordpress.com/2007/12/09/android-invoke-jni-based-
methods-bridging-cc-and-java/. Retrieved 2008-12-13.
126.^ "java.lang.System". Android Developers.
http://developer.android.com/reference/java/lang/System.html. Retrieved 2009-09-03.
127.^ a b Leslie, Ben (13 November 2007). "Native C application for Android". Benno's
blog. http://benno.id.au/blog/2007/11/13/android-native-apps. Retrieved 2009-09-04.
128.^ Cooksey, Tom (2007-11-07). "Native C *GRAPHICAL* applications now working
on Android emulator". android-developers mailing list.
http://groups.google.com/group/android-developers/msg/ace258af92fff692?
dmode=source&pli=1. Retrieved 2008-12-13.
129.^ "Skia source". http://src.chromium.org/viewvc/chrome/trunk/src/skia/.
130.^ Toker, Alp (2008-09-06). "Skia graphics library in Chrome: First impressions".
http://www.atoker.com/blog/2008/09/06/skia-graphics-library-in-chrome-first-
impressions/. Retrieved 2008-12-13.
131.^ "Dream android development". xda-developers forum. http://forum.xda-
developers.com/forumdisplay.php?f=448. Retrieved 2009-09-11.
132.^ "Android 2.1 from Motorola Droid Ported to G1". Volt Mobile. March 10, 2010.
http://voltmobileandtech.com/blog/.
133.^ Wimberly, Taylor (24 September 2009). "CyanogenMod in trouble?". Android and
me. http://androidandme.com/2009/09/hacks/cyanogenmod-in-trouble/. Retrieved 2009-
09-26.
134.^ Morrill, Dan (25 September 2009). "A Note on Google Apps for Android". Android
Developers Blog. http://android-developers.blogspot.com/2009/09/note-on-google-apps-
for-android.html. Retrieved 2009-09-26.
135.^ "The current state...". CyanogenMod Android Rom. 27 September 2009.
http://www.cyanogenmod.com/home/the-current-state. Retrieved 2009-09-27.
136.^ Woyke, Elizabeth (26 September 2008). "Android's Very Own Font". Forbes.
http://www.forbes.com/2008/09/25/font-android-g1-tech-wire-cx_ew_0926font.html.
137.^ "Brand Guidelines". Android. 23 March 2009.
http://www.android.com/branding.html. Retrieved 2009-10-30.
138.^ "Android Brand Guidelines". Android. 23 March 2009.
http://www.android.com/branding.html. Retrieved 2010-04-10.
139.^ "Canalys: iPhone outsold all Windows Mobile phones in Q2 2009". AppleInsider. 21
August 2009.
http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/09/08/21/canalys_iphone_outsold_all_windows_mo
bile_phones_in_q2_2009.html. Retrieved 2009-09-21.
140.^ "comScore Reports February 2010 U.S. Mobile Subscriber Market Share".
Comscore.com. 5 April 2010.
http://www.mycomscore.net/Press_Events/Press_Releases/2010/4/comScore_Reports_Fe
bruary_2010_U.S._Mobile_Subscriber_Market_Share. Retrieved 24 December 2010.
"RIM, 42.1%; Apple, 25.4%; Microsoft, 15.1%; Google (Android), 9.0%; Palm, 5.4%;
others, 3.0%"
141.^ "comScore Reports September 2010 U.S. Mobile Subscriber Market Share".
Comscore.com. 3 November 2010.
http://www.comscore.com/Press_Events/Press_Releases/2010/11/comScore_Reports_Se
ptember_2010_U.S._Mobile_Subscriber_Market_Share. Retrieved 24 December 2010.
142.^ "Android hits top spot in U.S. smartphone market". 2010-08-04.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-20012627-94.html. Retrieved 2010-08-04.
143.^ Greg Sandoval (2010-08-02). "More signs iPhone under Android attack".
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-20012418-37.html. Retrieved 2010-08-04.
144.^ "Google expands Android's reach, accepting paid apps from 20 more countries,
selling to 18 more". Engadget. 2010-10-01.
http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/01/google-expands-androidss-reach-accepting-paid-
apps-from-20-mor/. Retrieved 2010-10-29.
145.^ "Andy Rubin: over 300,000 Android phones activated daily". Engadget. 9 December
2010. http://www.engadget.com/2010/12/09/andy-rubin-over-300-000-android-phones-
activated-daily/. Retrieved 24 December 2010.
146.^ Arthur, Charles (2010-06-25). "Eric Schmidt's dog whistle to mobile developers:
abandon Windows Phone". London: The Guardian.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2010/jun/25/android-schmidt-mobile-platform.
147.^ "Platform Versions". Android Developers.
http://developer.android.com/resources/dashboard/platform-versions.html. Retrieved
2010-12-01. "based on the number of Android devices that have accessed Android
Market within a 14-day period ending on the data collection date noted below"
148.^ Androidology - Part 1 of 3 - Architecture Overview. [Video]. YouTube. 2008-09-06.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBGfUs9mQYY. Retrieved 2007-11-07.
149.^ Paul, Ryan (23 February 2009). "Dream(sheep++): A developer's introduction to
Google Android". Ars Technica. http://arstechnica.com/open-source/reviews/2009/02/an-
introduction-to-google-android-for-developers.ars. Retrieved 2009-03-07. "In fact, during
a presentation at the Google IO conference, Google engineer Patrick Brady stated
unambiguously that Android is not Linux. (...) The problem with Google approach is that
it makes Android an island. The highly insular nature of the platform prevents Android
users and developers from taking advantage of the rich ecosystem of existing third-party
Linux applications. Android doesn't officially support native C programs at all, so it won't
be possible to port your favorite GTK+ or Qt applications to Android"
150.^ "Re:Gnome, KDE, IceWM or LXDE Desktop on your Android! - AndroidFanatic
Community Forums". Androidfanatic.com. http://www.androidfanatic.com/community-
forums.html?%20func=view&catid=9&id=1615. Retrieved 2010-10-29.
151.^ "Linux developer explains Android kernel code removal". ZDNet. 2010-02-02.
http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9595_22-389733.html. Retrieved 2010-02-03.
152.^ "What is Android?". Android Developers.
http://developer.android.com/guide/basics/what-is-android.html. Retrieved 2010-01-08.
153.^ Greg Kroah-Hartman (2010-02-02). "Android and the Linux kernel community".
http://www.kroah.com/log/linux/android-kernel-problems.html. Retrieved 2010-02-03.
"This means that any drivers written for Android hardware platforms, cannot get merged
into the main kernel tree because they have dependencies on code that only lives in
Google's kernel tree, causing it to fail to build in the kernel.org tree. Because of this,
Google has now prevented a large chunk of hardware drivers and platform code from
ever getting merged into the main kernel tree. Effectively creating a kernel branch that a
number of different vendors are now relying on.(...) But now they are stuck. Companies
with Android-specific platform and drivers cannot contribute upstream, which causes
these companies a much larger maintenance and development cycle."
154.^ "Android versus Linux?". www.h-online.com. 9 February 2010. http://www.h-
online.com/open/features/Android-versus-Linux-924563.html. Retrieved 2010-02-28.
155.^ "DiBona: Google will hire two Android coders to work with kernel.org".
www.zdnet.com. 15 April 2010. http://blogs.zdnet.com/open-source/?p=6274. Retrieved
2010-04-29.
156.^ "Garrett's LinuxCon Talk Emphasizes Lessons Learned from Android/Kernel Saga".
Linux.com quote=Garrett, whose field of expertise is power management at Red Hat,
nonetheless admitted that when he first saw the patch submitted by Android, he didn't
even know what the patch was trying to fix and what specific functions were being called
in the patch. New undefined terms, such as "wakelock" and "earlysuspend," were
intermixed in the original January 2009 patch submittal to the mainline kernel, making
the patch very hard to understand(...)There were questions about the very motivation of
the patch: with the undefined terms, kernel developers were unsure what problem was
being addressed and if the problem would even apply to the Linux kernel as a
whole(...)As for Android's patch, a minimal solution has been introduced to the mainline,
but their proposed changes are still pending.. 2011-08-10.
http://www.linux.com/news/embedded-mobile/mobile-linux/344486-garretta-linuxcon-
talk-emphasizes-lessons-learned-from-androidkernel-saga. Retrieved 2011-01-02.
157.^ Greg Kroah-Hartman (2010-12-09). "Android and the Linux kernel community".
http://www.kroah.com/log/linux/android-kernel-problems.html. Retrieved 2011-01-02.
"Google shows no sign of working to get their code upstream anymore. Some companies
are trying to strip the Android-specific interfaces from their codebase and push that
upstream, but that causes a much larger engineering effort, and is a pain that just should
not be necessary(...)As for me, I think I'll look into getting a Nokia N900. It looks much
more open, with the code mostly all upstream, and a much more active developer
community.."
158.^ "Android/Linux kernel fight continues". Computerworld. 2010-09-07.
http://blogs.computerworld.com/16900/android_linux_kernel_fight_continues. Retrieved
2011-01-02. "Unfortunately, according to Ts'o, time is not something the Android team
has a lot of. They're too busy running to keep up with hardware requirements. Ts'o said
that, although, "There's less than 64K of patch, there's been over 1,800 mail messages of
discussion." Ts'o made it sound like the Android team is getting fed up with the process.
"Android is a small team. They feel that they're spending a vast amount of time getting
the code upstream (to the main Linux kernel).""
159.^ James Niccolai (2010-08-12). "Oracle sues Google over Java use in Android".
http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9180678/Update_Oracle_sues_Google_over_Ja
va_use_in_Android?taxonomyId=13. Retrieved 2010-08-20.
160.^ "Oracle's complaint against Google for Java patent infringement". scribd.com.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/35811761/Oracle-s-complaint-against-Google-for-Java-
patent-infringement. Retrieved 2010-08-13.
161.^ Ed Burnette (August 12, 2010). "Oracle uses James Gosling patent to attack Google
and Android developers". ZD Net. http://www.zdnet.com/blog/burnette/oracle-uses-
james-gosling-patent-to-attack-google-and-android-developers/2035?
tag=mantle_skin;content. Retrieved 2010-11-03.
162.^ Ryan Singel (5 October 2010). "Calling Oracle Hypocritical, Google Denies Patent
Infringement". Wired News. http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2010/10/google-oracle-
android/. Retrieved 26 December 2010.
163.^ "Google Answers Oracle, Counterclaims, and Moves to Dismiss Copyright
Infringement Claim". Groklaw. 5 October 2010. http://groklaw.net/article.php?
story=20101005114201136. Retrieved 26 December 2010.
164.^ "Google Files Sizzling Answer to Oracle's Amended Complaint and its Opposition to
Motion to Dismiss - updated 2Xs". Groklaw. 11 November 2010.
http://groklaw.net/article.php?story=20101111114933605. Retrieved 26 December 2010.
165.^ Brett Smith (September 8, 2010). "FSF responds to Oracle v. Google and the threat of
software patents". Free Software Foundation. http://www.fsf.org/news/oracle-v-google/?
searchterm=Oracle. Retrieved 2010-11-03.
Bibliography
• Ed, Burnette (November 10, 2009). Hello, Android: Introducing Google's Mobile
Development Platform (2nd ed.). Pragmatic Bookshelf. ISBN 1934356492.
http://pragprog.com/titles/eband2/hello-android.
• Rogers, Rick; Lombardo, John; Mednieks, Zigurd; Meike, Blake (May 1, 2009). Android
Application Development: Programming with the Google SDK (1st ed.). O'Reilly Media.
ISBN 0596521472. http://oreilly.com/catalog/9780596521509.
• Ableson, Frank; Collins, Charlie; Sen, Robi (May 1, 2009). Unlocking Android: A
Developer's Guide (1st ed.). Manning. ISBN 1933988673.
http://www.manning.com/ableson/.
• Conder, Shane; Darcey, Lauren (September 7, 2009). Android Wireless Application
Development (1st ed.). Addison-Wesley Professional. ISBN 0321627091.
http://www.informit.com/store/product.aspx?isbn=0321627091.
• Murphy, Mark (June 26, 2009). Beginning Android (1st ed.). Apress. ISBN 1430224193.
http://www.apress.com/book/view/1430224193.
• Hashimi, Sayed Y.; Komatineni, Satya; MacLean, Dave (February 26, 2010). Pro
Android 2 (2nd ed.). Apress. ISBN 1430226595.
• Meier, Reto (November 24, 2008). Professional Android Application Development (1st
ed.). Wrox Press. ISBN 0470344717.
http://www.wrox.com/WileyCDA/WroxTitle/Professional-Android-Application-
Development.productCd-0470344717.html.
• DiMarzio, Jerome (July 30, 2008). Android a programmers guide (1st ed.). McGraw-Hill
Osborne Media. ISBN 0071599886. http://www.mhprofessional.com/product.php?
isbn=0071599886&cat=112.
• Haseman, Chris (July 21, 2008). Android Essentials (1st ed.). Apress. ISBN 1430210648.
External links
Wikinews has related news: Google Android smartphone sales triple in the UK this year
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Android (operating system)
• Official Android page

○ Android Open Source Project
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• Google Projects for Android from Google Code
• Android Wiki
• Sergey Brin introduces the Android platform at YouTube
• Android: Building a Mobile Platform to Change the Industry — lecture given by Google
Mobile Platforms Manager, Richard Miner at Stanford University (video archive).
• Android (operating system) at the Open Directory Project
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----------------
Who Will Win the Android vs. iPhone Race?

JANUARY 27, 2011
Google’s mobile OS will be on top by year-end 2012
The iPhone may have captured the hearts and minds of many tech-savvy early smartphone
adopters—not to mention marketers—with its sleek design, multitouch interface and available
apps. But as Android has rolled out to more and more handsets, its popularity has surged and the
loyalty of its users has increased to match that of iPhone owners. And in a few years the Android
installed base will do the same.
eMarketer estimates that after exploding from just 6% of the US smartphone market in 2009 to
24% in 2010, Android will continue to gain share through 2012, when 31% of all smartphone
users will own a device running the Google OS. That same year Apple’s share of the market will
hold steady at 30%, up only slightly from 2009.
“The open-source Android OS requires no licensing fee and allows handset manufacturers and
wireless carriers considerable latitude to customize the user interface according to their desired
specifications,” said Noah Elkin, eMarketer principal analyst and author of a forthcoming report
on mobile devices. “With a growing roster of manufacturer and carrier partners in every major
market and market segment, scale for Android is coming quickly in terms of device, market
share, apps and ad revenues.”
Market share figures from several research firms show just how fast that scale has come.
Between 2009 and 2010, Android grabbed a significant slice of the pie, mostly at the expense of
Research In Motion and other non-Apple handsets.
“Ultimately, the winner, if there is one, matters less than marketers’ ability to make the most of
the growing number of smart devices to deliver rich, engaging experiences for consumers,” said
Elkin.
Keep your business ahead of the digital curve. Learn more about becoming an eMarketer Total
Access client today.
Check out today’s other article, “Brand Values Yield Clues to Social Media Influence.”
-----------
What’s the Best Mobile Operating System? Android FTW!

Posted on July 15th, 2010 in Software Testing Trends, Tester Community, Testing - Mobile
Apps by Mike Brown
The mobile wars are heating up! Microsoft is aggressively luring app developers for its Windows
Phone 7 OS, while Android quietly gains market share. Blackberry expects big things out of OS
6, while The Big Apple deals with antenna issues, the yellow screen of death and the (remote)
possibility of a recall. Interesting times indeed.
As part of our newly-launched “What Do uThink?” series (more on this shortly), we decided to
ask our community which mobile OS

they considered to be the best. Here are the results:
1. Android – 38%
2. RIM Blackberry – 28%
3. Apple – 16%
4. Symbian – 12%
5. Windows Mobile – 6%
“What do uThink?” is a weekly poll, where we’ll be asking the uTest community their
preferences and feedback on various apps, operating systems and other technologies. To
encourage voting, we’ll be awarding monthly and quarterly prizes to randomly selected
participants. This quarter, for instance, we’re giving away an iPod Touch. The weekly polls
open every Tuesday afternoon and voting takes place in the uTest Forums available to registered
testers) as well as on our Facebook page. Got it?
Good. Now back to the mobile OS results…
As you can see from the fractured vote count, there’s a strong case to be made for each mobile
operating system. Below are some updated excerpts from the Forums thread where this question
first appeared.
The case for Android, posted by “pedro gonzalez”:
“As a Google OS, Android knows better than any other OS how to manage Google maps, Gmail,
Geolocators, browsers, and a lot of other Google applications. I’m a Gmail user, so the Gmail
sync is one of the most valuable things for me.
There are a lot of tools for developers/testers within SDK, in addition the testing part is much
better in Android, since the OS is much flexible than others (less limitations allow the
programmer-tester to be creative).
Android is not as mature yet as other OS (Blackberry for example was released 10 years ago),
although Android is getting better and better each release. For example, Adobe’s Flash player is
supported in mobile devices for the first time ever from the last Android release.
There are a lot of cons too regarding the OS maturity (like the total 254Mb limitation), but it
seems that the Android guys are working on this.”
The case for Apple, posted by “madhukarjain”:
I also voted for Apple….
Once you use it you will know why Apple can become a part of you’re life, so much that you
can’t think of switching to another phone.
From GPS naviation to gaming to stock trading to radio…..you name it and Apple has an App
for it and mostly for free, even if not free then most apps are 99 cents which is worth the money
for its use.
Many people might disagree and will consider Blackberry or Android as better, but once you use
its full capacity then you realize whats the Magic of Apple.
The case for RIM, posted by “jayadinu”:
1.Obviously its performance
2.GSM for its roaming ability
3.Camera and video capability
4.Full QWERTY keyboard
4.Push Email services and many other factors like “A very good deal that I could afford “
Care to weigh in on this debate? The comment box is all yours. Want to vote in the next weekly
poll? Visit the uTest Forums or check out our Facebook page.
5 Responses to “What’s the Best Mobile Operating System? Android FTW!”
1. kenny said:
Please intervene the debate between my brother and i, which OS is best (Rim or
Android)?
Posted on July 19th, 2010 at 5:51 am
2. Trinity Zion said:
Personally I think Palm will smash the others next year with HP’s help and some new
phones. There’s some interesting analysis in this blog here with a funny video
http://bit.ly/bwiZyB, they don’t think Palm’s any good either
Also Kenny, Android is better than RIM. By a million miles.
Posted on October 26th, 2010 at 10:57 am
3. Freshbrood said:
I will always choose Windows Mobile, and I think all the other os’s are gimmicks.
Windows Mobile has more 3rd party apps and freeware than ANY other mobile os-
hands down, and it always will. It’s been out for way longer, and continues to develop. If
you don’t like adding apps, or don’t mind paying for them- then, by all means, go with
the others..
Also, Windows Mobile is so powerful, you can install an emulated Linux or Android on
top of it!
Furthermore, a Windows Mobile device is like having a miniature PC in my hands-
nearly all the programs are backwards compatible.
Tell me ONE (1) other MOBILE OPERATING SYSTEM that can play Atari, Nintendo,
Super Nintendo, Master System, Sega Genesis and PLAYSTATION games, smoothly, all
for FREE!!
I can also use REMOTE DESKTOP from my PHONE. That’s right, I can remotely
control my desktop from my WinMO. Can Iphone do that? Android? Blackberry?
Palm? ???
Please.. I don’t want to like the mighty Bill Gates giant any more than you guys do.. but
the other os’s are trendy gimmicks. Windows Mobile is where it’s at. Find me ONE thing
the other os’s can do that WinMo can’t. One.
I just don’t get the hype. I guess WinMo is too advanced for the average user? It
LITTERALLY does everything- if you know how to use it.
Posted on December 18th, 2010 at 3:31 am
4. Freshbrood said:
and another note- It’s not a new, foreign, proprietary os to learn from scratch. Anyone’s
who’s familiar with a Windows PC can immediately dive into Windows Mobile, editing
and hacking and downloading and manipulating files. The most intuitive mobile os is the
one we are familiar with on our desktops- WinMo. No, I do not work for Microsoft. It
really is the shit, if you want a palm held computer that does everything your desktop
does+a phone. If you just want a really fancy phone that does a few things- get anything
else.
Posted on December 18th, 2010 at 3:40 am
5. Scott said:
Fresh Brood…. I’m not going to down you for being so dedicated to windows mobile…
but really…. It’s so completely old school. Do they even support Flash yet? brb…. Ok.
Just checked… lol Litterally and no they don’t they are so behind that you can’t even cut
and paste. And you said you can install emulations of Linux or Android.
But, that’s just it. An emulation isn’t the real thing. Meaning you won’t have absolute
compatibility with much if any of the apps and software you attempt to use on your
emulations. you say that Wondows-Mobile has more 3rd party apps. I’ll be honest. I’m
not sure how true that is. You could be absolutely right and I’d be in the dark about it.
Which tells me its not so great that my friends tell me about it. But I will say. I’ve never
seen an app I couldn’t find for Android. And look how young they are…. There is
NOWHERE to go but up. If I couldn’t find an app for Android I wouldn’t be so worried
about it seeing as it’s the easiest os to create and edit apps and software for. Their SDK is
supplied with the phone…. The End…
-Scott-
------------------
Android – The best mobile operating system

Written by Guru on October 6, 2010 in Technology | 7 Comments
Do you like this story?
Android History – In July 2005, Google acquired Android, a small start-up company based in
Palo Alto, Central America. Android’s co-founders who went to work at Google included Andy
Rubin (co-founder of Danger), Rich Miner (co-founder of Wildfire), 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 other than they made software for mobile phones. This began
rumors that Google was planning to enter the mobile phone market, although it was unclear at
the time what function they might perform in that market.
At Google, the team, led by Rubin, developed a Linux-based mobile

device OS which they were marketing 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.
In November 2007 Google announced the introduction of the Android platform, along with the
Open Handset Alliance (a consortium of 71 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), a group of hardware,
software, and telecommunications companies that had agreed to participate in the development
and distribution of the Android platform.
Introduction to Android OS
Android is an operating system for mobile devices such as cellular phones, tablet computers and
net-books. It is based upon the Linux kernel and GNU software. According to NPD Group, unit
sales for Android OS smart-phones ranked first among all smart-phone OS handsets sold in the
U.S. in the second quarter of 2010, at 33%. BlackBerry OS is second at 28%, and iOS is ranked
third with 22%.
Android has a large community of developers writing apps that extend the functionality of the
devices. There are currently over 70,000 apps available for Android with some estimates saying
100,000 have been submitted, which makes it the second most popular mobile development
environment. Developers write managed code in the Java language, controlling the device via
Google-developed Java libraries. The latest update was Gingerbread based on Linux Kernel
2.6.33 or 34. Let’s start off by taking a look at the overall system architecture–the key layers and
components that make up the Android stack. The following diagram shows the “20,000 foot”
view of Android:
Starting at the bottom is the Linux Kernel. Android uses Linux for its device drivers, memory
management, process management, and networking. However programming will never be done
to this layer directly.
The next level contains the Android native libraries. They are all written in C/C++ internally, but
will be called through Java interfaces. In this layer, the Surface Manager (for compositing
windows), 2D and 3D graphics, Media codecs (MPEG-4, H.264, MP3, etc.), the SQL database
(SQLite), and a native web browser engine (WebKit) can be found.
Next is the Android runtime, including the Dalvik Virtual Machine. Dalvik runs dex files, which
are converted at compile time from standard class and jar files. Dex files are more compact and
efficient than class files, which is an important consideration for the limited memory and battery
powered devices that Android targets.
The core Java libraries are also part of the Android runtime. They are written in Java, as is
everything above this layer. Here, Android provides a substantial subset of the Java 5 Standard
Edition packages, including Collections, I/O, and so forth.
The next level up is the Application Framework layer. Parts of this toolkit are provided by
Google, and parts are extensions or services that we write. The most important component of the
framework is the Activity Manager, which manages the life cycle of applications.
Finally, the top layer is the Applications layer. Most of the code will live here, alongside built-in
applications such as the Phone and Web Browser.
One of the unique and powerful qualities of Android is that all applications have a level playing
field. What I mean is that the applications Google writes have to go through the same public API
that you use. You can even tell Android to make your application replace the standard
applications if you like.
Key features of the Android OS
App Fundamentals – All the apps are written in the java programming language. In many ways,
each Android application lives in its own world-
• By default, every application runs in its own Linux process. Android starts the process
when any of the application’s code needs to be executed, and shuts down the process
when it’s no longer needed and system resources are required by other applications.
• Each process has its own virtual machine (VM), so application code runs in isolation
from the code of all other applications.
• By default, each application is assigned a unique Linux user ID. Permissions are set so
that the application’s files are visible only to that user and only to the application itself —
although there are ways to export them to other applications as well.
It’s possible to arrange for two applications to share the same user ID, in which case they will be
able to see each others files. To conserve system resources, applications with the same ID can
also arrange to run in the same Linux process, sharing the same VM.
A central feature of Android is that one application can make use of elements of other
applications (provided those applications permit it). For example, if your application needs to
display a scrolling list of images and another application has developed a suitable scroller and
made it available to others, you can call upon that scroller to do the work, rather than develop
your own. Your application doesn’t incorporate the code of the other application or link to it.
Rather, it simply starts up that piece of the other application when the need arises.
For this to work, the system must be able to start an application process when any part of it is
needed, and instantiate the Java objects for that part. Therefore, unlike applications on most other
systems, Android applications don’t have a single entry point for everything in the application
(no main() function, for example). Rather, they have essential components that the system can
instantiate and run as needed.
Bluetooth Data Transfer – The Android platform includes support for the Bluetooth network
stack, which allows a device to wirelessly exchange data with other Bluetooth devices. The
application framework provides access to the Bluetooth functionality through the Android
Bluetooth APIs. These APIs let applications wirelessly connect to other Bluetooth devices,
enabling point-to-point and multipoint wireless features. Using the Bluetooth APIs, an Android
application can perform the following:
• Scan for other Bluetooth devices
• Query the local Bluetooth adapter for paired Bluetooth devices
• Establish RFCOMM channels
• Connect to other devices through service discovery
• Transfer data to and from other devices
• Manage multiple connections
ANDROID APP SCREEN
Application Widgets – App Widgets are miniature application views that can be embedded in
other applications (such as the Home screen) and receive periodic updates. These views are
referred to as Widgets in the user interface, and you can publish one with an App Widget
provider. An application component that is able to hold other App Widgets is called an App
Widget host.
Data Storage- Android provides several options for you to save persistent application data. The
solution you choose depends on your specific needs, such as whether the data should be private
to your application or accessible to other applications (and the user) and how much space your
data requires.Your data storage options are the following:
• Shared Preferences- Store private primitive data in key-value pairs.
• Internal Storage- Store private data on the device memory.
• External Storage- Store public data on the shared external storage.
• SQLite Databases- Store structured data in a private database.
• Network Connection- Store data on the web with your own network server.
Android provides a way for you to expose even your private data to other applications — with a
content provider. A content provider is an optional component that exposes read/write access to
your application data, subject to whatever restrictions you want to impose.
Search Features – Search is a core user feature on Android. Users should be able to search any
data that is available to them, whether the content is located on the device or the Internet. The
search experience should be seamless and consistent across the entire system, which is why
Android provides a search framework to help you provide users with a familiar search dialog and
a great search experience.
Android’s search framework provides a user interface in which users can perform a search and
an interaction layer that communicates with your application, so you don’t have to build your
own search Activity. Instead, a search dialog appears at the top of the screen at the user’s
command without interrupting the current Activity.
The search framework manages the life of the search dialog. When users execute a search, the
search framework passes the query text to your application so your application can perform a
search. Once your application is set up to use the search dialog, you can:
• Enable voice search
• Provide search suggestions based on recent user queries
• Provide custom search suggestions that match actual results in your application data
• Offer your application’s search suggestions in the system-wide Quick Search Box
Support for multiple displays – Android is designed to run on a variety of devices that offer a
range of screen sizes and resolutions. For applications, the platform provides a consistent
environment across devices and handles much of the complexity of adapting an application’s UI
to the screen on which it is being displayed. At the same time, the platform exposes APIs that
give application developers precise control over their application’s UI when displayed on
specific screen sizes and resolutions. It also supports multiple media formats.
Sophisticated Apps - It’s hard to cover all the great apps, as there are plenty out there. I shall
describe the Maps app in detail. The map rendering facility on Android device is similar to
Google Earth.
• MapActivity to handle creation, loading, streaming and event handling
• MapView to display a map as a component
• MapController to navigate between map locations
• Overlays used to display additional graphics as layers on top of a map
• Locations on a map specified using the Geo-URI (Uniform Resource Identifier) standard
– not fully supported
• Specify latitude and longitude as a Point, translate this on map using the PixelCalculator
class
There are other fascinating applications like the one shown below which depicts weather
conditions.
ANDROID WEATHER APP
Android Compatibility
Android is designed to run on many different types of devices. For developers, the range and
number of devices means a huge potential audience: the more devices that run Android apps, the
more users who can access your app. In exchange, however, it also means that your apps will
have to cope with that same variety of hardware.
Fortunately, Android has built-in tools and support that make it easy for your apps to do that,
while at the same time letting you maintain control of what types of devices your app is available
to. With a bit of forethought and some minor changes in your app’s manifest file, you can ensure
that users whose devices can’t run your app will never see it in the Android Market, and will not
get in trouble by downloading it.
Some other great features of Android OS
• The platform is adaptable to larger, VGA, 2D graphics library, 3D graphics library based on
OpenGL ES 2.0 specifications, and traditional smartphone layouts.
• SQLite, a lightweight relational database, is used for data storage purposes
• Android supports connectivity technologies including GSM/EDGE, IDEN, CDMA, EV-
DO, UMTS, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and WiMAX.
• SMS and MMS are available forms of messaging, including threaded text messaging and
now Android Cloud to Device Messaging Framework (C2DM) is also a part of Android
Push Messaging service.
• The web browser available in Android is based on the open-source WebKit layout
engine, coupled with Chrome’s V8 JavaScript engine.
• Android supports the following audio/video/still media formats: H.263, H.264 (in 3GP or
MP4 container), MPEG-4 SP, AMR,AMR-WB (in 3GP container), AAC, HE-AAC (in
MP4 or 3GP container), MP3, MIDI, Ogg Vorbis, WAV, JPEG, PNG, GIF,BMP
• Android can use video/still cameras, touchscreens, GPS, accelerometers, gyroscopes,
magnetometers, proximity and pressure sensors, thermometers, accelerated 2D bit blits
(with hardware orientation, scaling, pixel format conversion) and accelerated 3D
graphics.
• Includes a device emulator, tools for debugging, memory and performance profiling.
• Android has native support for multi-touch.
Conclusion
The features I explained above clearly illustrate reasons for Android being the best mobile OS to
date. The next android software update called HoneyComb is slated for release in 2011.
----------
Mobile operating system

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
A mobile operating system, also known as a mobile OS, a mobile platform, or a handheld
operating system, is the operating system that controls a mobile device or information appliance
—similar in principle to an operating system such as Windows, Mac OS, or Linux that controls a
desktop computer or laptop. However, they are currently somewhat simpler, and deal more with
the wireless versions of broadband and local connectivity, mobile multimedia formats, and
different input methods.
Typical examples of devices running a mobile operating system are smartphones, personal
digital assistants (PDAs), tablet computers and information appliances, or what are sometimes
referred to as smart devices, which may also include embedded systems, or other mobile devices
and wireless devices.
Contents
[hide]
• 1 History
• 2 Market description
• 3 Mobile navigation
• 4 Smartphone operating systems
○ 4.1 Worldwide smartphone operating system market shares
• 5 Smartphone operating systems feature comparison
• 6 Feature phone operating systems
• 7 See also
• 8 References
• 9 External links
[edit] History
The increasing importance of mobile devices has triggered intense competition among
technology giants, like Google, Microsoft, Apple, and Nokia in a bid to capture the bigger
market share pre-emptively.[1] Palm, Research In Motion and Ericsson are also significant firms
in the mobile platform sector. In November 2007, Google formed a Linux-based open source
alliance to make inroads into this mobile platform market, raising consumer awareness of the
growing mobile platform frenzy.[2]
[edit] Market description
Mobile platforms are in the nascent stage, and any projection regarding the market growth is
hard to make at the present time. It is noteworthy that Intel is taking the initiative to focus on
portable devices other than mobile phones. They are Mobile Internet Devices (MID) and Ultra-
Mobile PC (UMPC). Meantime, Palm abandoned its plan to develop Foleo, which was to be a
companion device for a smartphone.
[edit] Mobile navigation
Canalys has estimated that in 2009 the installed base of smartphones with integrated GPS was
163 million units worldwide, of which Nokia accounted for more than half (51%) having shipped
cumulatively 83 million GPS devices. On January 22, 2010, Nokia released a free version of Ovi
Maps which is expected to double user amount.
[edit] Smartphone operating systems
Table showing most of the current mobile operating systems for smartphones, PDAs and
netbooks in 2010
Share of 2010 Q3 smartphone sales to end users by operating system, according to Gartner.[3]
Operating systems that can be found on smartphones include Nokia's Symbian, Google's
Android, Apple's iOS, RIM's BlackBerry OS, Microsoft's Windows Phone, Linux, Palm/HP's
WebOS, Samsung's Bada, Nokia's Maemo and Meego among many others. Android, Bada,
WebOS and Maemo are built on top of Linux, and iOS is derived from the BSD and NeXTSTEP
operating systems, which are all related to Unix.
The most common operating systems (OS) used in smartphones by Q3 2010 sales are:
The Symbian OS and its successor Symbian platform from the Symbian Foundation (36.6%
Market Share Sales Q3 2010)[4] (open public license)
Symbian has the largest share in most markets worldwide, but lags behind other
companies in the relatively small but highly visible North American market.[5] This
matches the success of its largest shareholder[6] and customer, Nokia, in all markets
except Japan. In Japan Symbian is strong due to a relationship with NTT DoCoMo, with
only one of the 44 Symbian handsets released in Japan coming from Nokia.[7] It has been
used by many major handset manufacturers, including BenQ, Fujitsu, LG, Mitsubishi,
Motorola, Nokia, Samsung, Sharp, and Sony Ericsson. Current Symbian-based devices
are being made by Fujitsu, Nokia, Samsung, Sharp, and Sony Ericsson. Prior to 2009
Symbian supported multiple user interfaces, i.e. UIQ from UIQ Technologies, S60 from
Nokia, and MOAP from NTT DOCOMO. As part of the formation of the Symbian
platform in 2009 these three UIs were merged into a single platform which is now fully
open source. Recently, though shipments of Symbian devices have increased, the
operating system's worldwide market share has declined from over 50% to just over 40%
from 2009 to 2010.
Android from Google Inc. (25.5% Market Share Sales Q3 2010)[4] (open source, Apache)
Android was developed by a small startup company that was purchased by Google Inc.,
and Google continues to update the software. Android is an open source, Linux-derived
platform backed by Google, along with major hardware and software developers (such as
Intel, HTC, ARM, Samsung, Motorola and eBay, to name a few), that form the Open
Handset Alliance.[8] Release on November 5th 2007, the OS has a following among
programmers.[9] There have been six releases of Android- Android 1.0, 1.5, 1.6, 2.0, 2.1
and 2.2. All are nicknamed after a dessert item like Cupcake (1.5) or Frozen Yogurt (2.2).
Most major mobile service providers carry an Android device.
The Apple iPad tablet computer uses a version of iOS.

Since the HTC Dream (T-Mobile G1) was introduced, there has been an explosion in the
number of devices that carry Android OS. From Q2 of 2009 to the second quarter of
2010, Android's worldwide market share rose 850% from 1.8% to 17.2%.
iOS from Apple Inc. (16.7% Market Share Sales Q3 2010)[4] (closed source, proprietary)
The Apple iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad all use an operating system called iOS, which is
derived from Mac OS X. Third party applications were not officially supported until the
release of iOS 2.0 on July 11th 2008. Before this, "jailbreaking" allowed third party
applications to be installed, and this method is still available. Currently all iOS devices
are developed by Apple and manufactured by Foxconn or another of Apple's partners.
RIM BlackBerry OS (14.8% Market Share Sales Q3 2010)[4] (closed source, proprietary)
This OS is focused on easy operation and was originally designed for business. Recently
it has seen a surge in third-party applications and has been improved to offer full
multimedia support. Currently Blackberry's App World has over 15,000 downloadable
applications.
Windows Mobile from Microsoft (2.8% Market Share Sales Q3 2010)[4][10] (closed source,
proprietary)
The Windows CE operating system and Windows Mobile middleware are widely spread
in Asia. The two improved variants of this operating system, Windows Mobile 6
Professional (for touch screen devices) and Windows Mobile 6 Standard, were unveiled
in February 2007. It has been criticized for having a user interface which is not optimized
for touch input by fingers; instead, it is more usable with a stylus. However, unlike
iPhone OS, it does support both touch screen and physical keyboard configurations.
Windows Mobile's market share has sharply declined in recent years to just 5% in Q2 of
2010.[11] Microsoft is phasing out the Windows Mobile OS to specialized markets and is
instead focusing on it's new platform, Windows Phone.
Windows Phone from Microsoft (negligible Market Share Sales in October 2010)(closed source,
proprietary)
On February 15th, 2010 Microsoft unveiled its next-generation mobile OS, Windows
Phone 7. The new mobile OS includes a completely new over-hauled UI inspired by
Microsoft's "Metro Design Language". It includes full integration of Microsoft services
such as Windows Live, Zune, Xbox Live and Bing, but also integrates with many other
non-Microsoft services such as Facebook and Google accounts. The new OS platform has
received some positive reception from the technology press.[12][13][14] As Windows Phone 7
is a new platform, there is no backwards compatibility with Windows Mobile
applications and some power-user features that were in Windows Mobile will not be
present until near-future updates.
The Palm Pre running HP (formerly Palm) webOS. HP purchased Palm in 2010.
Linux operating system (open source, GPL) (2.1% Market Share Sales Q3 2010, non-Android
Linux-based OS's only)
Linux is strongest in China where it is used by Motorola, and in Japan, used by DoCoMo.
[15][16]
Rather than being a platform in its own right, Linux is used as a basis for a number
of different platforms developed by several vendors, including Android, LiMo, Maemo,
Openmoko and Qt Extended, which are mostly incompatible.[17][18] PalmSource (now
Access) is moving towards an interface running on Linux.[19] Another platform based on
Linux is being developed by Motorola, NEC, NTT DoCoMo, Panasonic, Samsung, and
Vodafone.[20]
Palm webOS from HP (certain parts open sourced) and Palm OS/Garnet OS from Access Co.
(closed source, proprietary)
Palm webOS is Palm's next generation operating system. PalmSource traditionally used
its own platform developed by Palm Inc. Access Linux Platform (ALP) is an
improvement that was planned to be launched in the first half of 2007. It will use
technical specifications from the Linux Phone Standards Forum. The Access Linux
Platform will include an emulation layer to support applications developed for Palm-
based devices.
bada from Samsung Electronics (closed source, proprietary)
This is a mobile operating system being developed by Samsung Electronics. Samsung
claims that bada will rapidly replace its proprietary feature phone platform, converting
feature phones to smartphones.The name 'bada' is derived from 바다, the Korean word
for ocean or sea. The first device to run bada is called 'Wave' and was unveiled to the
public at Mobile World Congress 2010. The Wave is a fully touchscreen phone running
the new mobile operating system. With the phone, Samsung also released an app store,
called Samsung Apps, to the public. It has close to 3000[21] mobile applications.
Samsung has said that they don't see Bada as a smartphone platform, but as a platform
with a kernel configurable architecture, which allows the use of either proprietary Real-
time operating system (RTOS) kernel, or the Linux kernel. Though Samsung plans to
install bada on many phones, the company still has a large lineup of Android phones.
MeeGo from Nokia and Intel (open source, GPL)
At the 2010 Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Nokia and Intel both unveiled
'MeeGo' a brand new mobile operating system which would combine the best of Moblin
and the best of Maemo to create a truly open-sourced experience for users across all
devices.
Maemo from Nokia (open source, GPL)
Maemo is a software platform developed by Nokia for smartphones and Internet Tablets.
It is based on the Debian operating system.
Maemo is mostly based on open source code, and has been developed by Maemo Devices
within Nokia in collaboration with many open source projects such as the Linux kernel,
Debian and GNOME.
Maemo is based on Debian GNU/Linux and draws much of its GUI, frameworks and
libraries from the GNOME project. It uses the Matchbox window manager and the GTK-
based Hildon as its GUI and application framework.
Limo
[edit] Worldwide smartphone operating system market shares
Wind
Symb iOS
Sour Da BlackB Andr ows Oth refere
ian (App
ce te erry OS oid Mobil ers nces
OS le)
e
20
Gart 25.5 16.7 1.5 [22]
10 36.6% 14.8% 2.8%
ner % % %
3Q
[edit] Smartphone operating systems feature comparison

Only the latest versions are shown in this table, even though old versions may still be marketed.
Window Window Black
Feature Android webO Maemo MeeGo Bada
s Mobile s Phone Berry
iOS Symbian
S
OS
Open
Linux
Compan Handset HP/Pal Microsof Symbian Sams
Apple Microsoft RIM Nokia Foundati
y Alliance m, Inc t Foundation ung
on
(Google)
Current 7.0.7004.
4.2.1 2.3.2 1.4.5 6.5.3 6.0.0 9.5 5.0 1.1.2 1.2
Version 0
Mac
OS OS Windows Window Mobil
Linux Linux Mobile OS Linux Linux Linux
Family X/Uni CE 5.2 s CE 7 e OS
x-like
ARM,
Supporte
MIPS,
d CPU ARM,
ARM Power ARM ARM ARM ARM ARM ARM ARM
Architec x86
Architec
ture
ture, x86
C, C+ C++,
Program +, C, C++, .NET
C C++ Java C++ C/C++ C++ C++
med in Object Java (Silverlig
ive-C ht/XNA)
Propri Free Free
Free and
etary and and
open
EULA open open
source
except source Eclipse source Free and
except Proprieta Proprieta Propri Propri
License for except Public except open
closed ry ry etary etary
open closed License closed source
source
source source source
compon
comp modul compon
ents
onents es ents
Public
Not
issues No Yes[23] No No No No Yes[25] Yes[26] No
anymore[24]
list
Prewar Windows
e (3rd Mobile rpm+yu
Package iTune Zune PC Nokia Ovi dpkg+a
APK party Device ? m+zyppe ?
manager s software Suite pt-get
homeb Center/A r
rew) ctiveSync
Non Yes Limited[2 ? Yes ? Yes Yes Yes ? Limit
7]
english ed
language (Sear
s ch is
support not
diacri
tical
mark
insens
itive)
Underlin
Only
ing spell Yes[28] No[29] No ? Yes Yes Yes ? No
Office[30]
checker
Limit
ed
(Bro
Keeps
wser
state on
Limited[3 does
shutdow Yes 1] ? No ? ? ? Yes ?
not
n or
keep
crash
windo
ws
open)
Very
Limit
ed
(Only
searc
No
hes
Universa Limit
conta
Very l ed on
Internal Limite cts by
Limited[3 Yes ? [34]
Search most Yes Yes ?
Search d[32] 3] name
and Very model
and is
Limited[3 s[36]
5] not
diacri
tical
mark
insens
itive)
Proxy
Yes No[37] No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes ? Yes
server
On-
device
Yes[38] No[39] No Yes[40] No[41] Yes[42] ? Yes ? No
encrypti
on
Sync to
Yes,
Cloud
with
commun
Yes[43] No[44] ? ? ? Yes[45] ? 3rd ? ?
ication
party
encrypti
apps
on
Desktop
Yes No[46] No[47] Yes No[48] Yes Yes Yes[49] Yes ?
Sync
cut, Yes[50] Yes[51] Yes Yes No, but Yes Yes Yes ? Yes[54
copy,
planned[5 ]
and 2][53]
paste
Limite
undo Yes[55] No[56] No No No ? Yes ? No
d
Phone
number
Yes No[57] No Yes Yes Yes ? Yes ? ?
linking
to dialer
Internet Internet
Default
Explorer Explorer
Web Webki Webk Webk
Webkit Webkit Mobile Mobile Webkit Gecko Webkit
Browser t it it
6.0 7.0
/Engine
(Trident) (Trident)
Official Windows Window
App Symbian maemo. Sams
Applicat App Android Marketpl s Phone App
Catalo Horizon,Ovi org,Ovi ? ung
ion Store Market ace for Marketpl World
g store store Apps
Store Mobile ace
Unified
Yes No[58] ? ? No[34] Yes ? ? ? ?
Inbox
Email
Sync POP3, BES, POP3,
POP3, POP3, POP3, POP3, POP3
protocol IMAP BIS, POP3, IMAP, POP3,
IMAP, IMAP, IMAP, IMAP, ,
s , Push IMAP Exchan IMAP
MAPI MAPI MAPI MAPI IMAP
supporte MAPI e-mail ge
d
Push
Exam
Notificat Example Yes Example Example Yes Yes Yes
ple
ions
Voice
Exam
Recognit No[59] No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
ple
ion
Call
Recorde No No[60] ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
r
Tetherin Blueto Mobile Mobile USB, Not USB, USB, microU micro
g oth, Wi-Fi Wi-Fi Bluetooth officially Bluet Bluetooth, SB, USB,
USB Hotspot, Hotspo , Mobile , ooth, Mobile Wi- Bluetoo Bluet
(carrie USB, t Wi-Fi supporte Mobil Fi Hotspot th, ooth
r Bluetoot (officia Hotspot d e Wi- (with 3rd Mobile 3.0,
depen h lly (with 3rd through Fi party Wi-Fi Mobil
dent), Verizo party homebre Hotsp software Hotspot e Wi-
[61][62]
Perso n software) w ot Fi
nal Wirele Hotsp
Hotsp ss ot
ot only)
(Wi-
Fi
Tether
ing)
(carrie
r
depen
dent,
since
iOS
4.2.5/
4.3
(iPhon
e
only)
or
with
3rd
party
softwa
re and
"jail
break"
)
Read
text
only:
files,
Micro
PDF,
soft
HTML,
Office
Micros Microsoft Microsof Micro Microsoft Multipl
Text/Do ,
oft Office t Office soft Office e office
cument iWork
Office, Mobile, Mobile, Office Mobile, formats
Support , PDF,
PDF PDF PDF , PDF PDF,djvu with
Image
free 3rd
s,
party
TXT/
softwar
RTF,
e
VCF
Audio AAC AAC MP3, MP3, MP3, All All Most
Playbac (8 to LC/LTP AAC, AAC, WAV (some
k 320 3GPP, AAC+, AAC+, E, require
Kbps) HE- AMR, eAAC+, WMA optional
, AACv1 QCEL WAV, , debian
Protec (AAC+), P, WMA AAC package
ted HE- WAV pro, +, s)
AAC AACv2 AMR- MIDI,
(from (enhance NB, AMR,
iTune d MIDI eAAC
s AAC+), +,
Store) AMR- FlAC,
NB,
AMR-
WB,
MP3
(Mono/S
tereo 8-
320
kbit/s
constant
or
, HE-
variable
AAC,
bit-rate,
MP3
MIDI
(8 to
(MIDI
320
Type 0
Kbps)
and 1.
, MP3 OGG
DLS
VBR,
Version
Apple
1 and 2.,
Lossle
Ogg
ss,
Vorbis,
AIFF,
PCM/W
WAV
AVE (8-
and 16-
bit linear
PCM
(rates up
to limit
of
hardwar
e),
WAVE
MP4,
H.263, WMV
H.263,
H.264, ,
H.263, H.264, All
H.264 WMV, H.263
H.264 WMV, (some
AVC, MPEG MPEG4, ,
Video AVC, MPEG4, require
MPE -4, MPEG4 H.264
Playbac MPEG-4 MPEG4@ optional Many
G-4, H.263, @ HD ,
k SP, HD 720p debian
M- H.264 720p DivX,
DivX, 30fps, package
JPEG 30fps, WMV
XviD MKV, s)
DivX, ,
DivX, XviD
XviD XviD,
3gp
Turn-by- 3rd Google Carrier 3rd Party No 3rd 3rd Party 3rd Sams
turn Party Maps softwa Software navigatio Party Software, Party ung
GPS softwa Navigati re, 3rd n just Softw free global Softwar LBS
re on (will Party maps[61] are Nokia Ovi e, (Rout
not work
with
limited
phone or 3rd Nokia
Softwa
coverage party Maps Ovi e 66))
re
)[63] or software Maps
3rd
Party
software
VGA, Nokia AV Nokia
720p on
Video up to Out AV Out DLN
select No None
out 576p, (PAL/NTSC (PAL/N A
devices
480p ), HDMI TSC)
iOS 4
Multitas Yes,
only[64 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
king ] limited[65]
Desktop Yes
interacti (through
No Yes No Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes
ve "live
widgets tiles")
Integrate
d
Hardwar Some
No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
e Models
keyboar
d
Bluetoot
Yes,
h
Yes[66] No[67] No Yes No [68]
Yes Yes with ? ?
keyboar
plugins
d
Yes
Yes
(Curre
(Hardwa
ntly
Videoco re
iPhon
nference Currentl
e4
front y No No No[61] Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
and
video Availabl
iPod
camera e on
Touch
Some
4
Models)
Only)
Can No Yes No ? No[61] Yes Yes Yes Yes ?
share
images
via
Bluetoot
h with
all
mobile
Comin
g on
Skype Yes Yes[69] Verizo No No[70] Yes Yes[71] Yes Yes ?
n with
2.0
Faceboo 3rd
k IM Yes Yes party ? Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes ?
chat patch
Jailbre
aking
Requi
red
and
Open
Homeb
SSH
rew
ssh Install Yes No No Yes ? Yes Yes ?
require
ed
d
(free
from
Cydia
Appli
cation
)
Yes(3rd
OpenVP Remote
? ? ? ? Yes Party Yes Yes ?
N Desktop
Software)
WPA
Yes[72] No[73] ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
PEAP
Remote
Frame ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Yes Yes ?
Buffer
No.
Possible Yes
through (3rd
Screensh
Yes[74] No[75] ? Yes[76] homebre Party Yes[79] Yes ? Yes
ot
w or Softw
SDK.[77] are)
[78]
GPU
Accelera Yes No[80] ? No Yes[81] ? Yes Yes ? ?
ted GUI
Official
Windows/M
SDK Mac Multipla Multip Window Wind GNU/L GNU/Li Wind
Windows ultiplatform
platform OS X tform[82] latform s ows inux[83] nux ows
(Qt)
(s)
Feature iOS Android webO Window Window Black Symbian Maemo MeeGo Bada
s Phone Berry
S s Mobile
7 OS
[edit] Feature phone operating systems

Common operating systems for feature phones include Nokia OS with user interfaces S30 or
S40.[84] S40 offers APIs for Java ME.[84]
[edit] See also
• Tablet computer
• Smartphone
• Smart TV
• Nucleus RTOS
[edit] References
1. ^ Can Mac OS X succeed as a mobile platform? 2007-01-22
2. ^ Google Enters the Wireless World
3. ^ "Gartner Says Worldwide Mobile Phone Sales Grew 35 Percent in Third Quarter 2010;
Smartphone Sales Increased 96 Percent". Press release. 10 November 2010.
http://www.gartner.com/it/page.jsp?id=1466313. Retrieved 10 November 2010.
4. ^ a b c d e[citation needed]
5. ^ North American Market
6. ^ Symbian Shareholders
7. ^ Symbian Facts
8. ^ http://www.openhandsetalliance.com/oha_members.html
9. ^
http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/146450/developers_praise_android_at_go
ogle_io.html?tk=rl_noinform
10. ^ "CEO Ballmer Reportedly Says Microsoft 'Screwed Up' with Windows Mobile".
eWeek. 28 September 2009. http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Windows/Microsoft-CEO-Steve-
Ballmer-Says-Company-Screwed-Up-Windows-Mobile-241614/.
11. ^ [1]
12. ^ http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/15/windows-phone-7-series-is-official-and-
microsoft-is-playing-to/
13. ^ http://gizmodo.com/5471805/windows-phone-7-series-everything-is-different-now
14. ^ http://www.crunchgear.com/2010/02/15/windows-phone-7-series-our-take/
15. ^ Shipping Linux-based Phones at Technology News Daily
16. ^ Microsoft Excluded from DoCoMo at The Register
17. ^ Incompatibility in Mobile Linux at OS News
18. ^ Search Mobile Computing
19. ^ Running on Linux
20. ^ Motorola Press Release on Partnership on Linux Platform
21. ^ Samsung s8530 Wave II review
22. ^ "Worldwide Converged Mobile Device Operating System Market Shares and 2010-
2014 Growth". 2010-09-07.
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/qQjngE0rTd8yp1SXLrr4FA?feat=embedwebsite.
23. ^ Android Issues Tracker
24. ^ Symbian Foundation is completing its transition to a licensing body
25. ^ Maemo Issues Tracker
26. ^ MeeGo Issues Tracker
27. ^ Android Issue 3732: Search Improve contact searchAndroid Issue 3393: No Unicode
support on SMS sendingAndroid Issue 9199: SQLite3 Unicode Case not working (only
ASCII case works) (include ICU support)
28. ^ iOS 4 features: Spell-check and text replace
29. ^ Android Issue 10332: Retrospective spell checking on all input fields as an OS feature
(input device agnostic)
30. ^ http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/20/windows-phone-7-review/
31. ^ Android Issue 8880: Keep open URLs/windows on shutdown or crash
32. ^ iOS will not search Contacts notes field
33. ^ Android Issue 3732: Only search Contacts name field but not any other fieldAndroid
Issue 2518: Calendar app has no search.
34. ^ a b Bonnie Cha (27 October 2010). "Top 5 things I dislike about Windows Phone 7".
CNET. http://www.cnet.com/8301-17918_1-20020922-85.html.
35. ^ WP7 on HTC Mozart - Unable to search for additional Contact fields - by design or
bug?
36. ^ Notes search not available in BB Torch
37. ^ Android Issue 1273: IP Proxy Settings for Wifi Network
38. ^ iOS 4: Understanding data protection
39. ^ Android Issue 8686: Add support for ActiveSync Device Encryption Policy
Requirement
40. ^ Microsoft Windows Mobile encryption
41. ^ Galen Gruman (8 November 2010). "Windows Phone 7 lacks on-device encryption".
InfoWorld. http://www.infoworld.com/d/mobilize/windows-phone-7-lacks-device-
encryption-585.
42. ^ BlackBerry Stored Data Security
43. ^ Apple - iPhone in Business - Integration
44. ^ Android Sync Communication is not encrypted
45. ^ Standard BlackBerry encryption
46. ^ Android Issue 66: OpenSync desktop synchronisation support
47. ^ Palm needs to develop a Palm Pre desktop sync application.
48. ^ How to Sync Windows Phone 7 with Outlook
49. ^ Maemo Sync
50. ^ Nilay Patel (2009-03-17). "iPhone finally gets copy and paste!". Engadget.
http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/17/iphone-finally-gets-copy-and-paste/.
51. ^ Android Issue 3190: Improve copy-paste in Browser/WebView
52. ^ Microsoft Windows Phone 7 does not have copy/paste
53. ^ http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/11/copy-and-paste-coming-to-windows-phone-7-in-
early-2011/
54. ^ Does Bada OS have Cut, Copy & Paste?
55. ^ Phat^Trance (2009-05-23). "iPhone: Undo Typing – Cool feature in iPhone 3.0".
dailymobile. http://dailymobile.se/2009/05/23/iphone-undo-typing-nice-feature-in-
iphone-30/.
56. ^ Android Issue 6458: Enhancement: Undo
57. ^ Android Issue 4575: Phone number linking to dialer
58. ^ Android Issue 8261: Unified Inbox (Gmail & other mailboxes in 1 place)
59. ^ Android does not natively support voice commands, but Google provides a cloud based
closed source implementation (Voice Actions for Android) that will only work when
online Android Issue 11062: Offline voice commands for opening apps, controlling
music player, and making calls
60. ^ Android Issue 2117: Enhancement: Call Recorder
61. ^ a b c d "Windows Phone 7 OS review: From scratch". GSM Arena. 8 October 2010.
http://www.gsmarena.com/windows_phone_7-review-521.php.
62. ^ http://wmpoweruser.com/hackstethering-come-to-htc-wp7-handsets-htc-hub-comes-to-
all-other-wp7-devices/
63. ^ Android Issue 4471: Downloadable maps for offline navigation/location
64. ^ http://www.maximumpc.com/article/features/smartphone_face-
_ios_vs_android_vs_blackberry_vs_maemo
65. ^ http://blogs.microsoft.co.il/blogs/alex_golesh/archive/2010/07/14/silverlight-for-
windows-phone-7-tombstoning.aspx
66. ^ Finally, Bluetooth keyboard support for the iPhone
67. ^ Android Issue 1147: RFE: Support for external keyboard, mouse
68. ^ Bluetooth Keyboards On Windows Phone 7
69. ^ http://www.skype.com/intl/en-us/get-skype/on-your-mobile/skype-mobile/android/
70. ^ "Skype says “no” to Windows Phone 7". MobileCrunch. 13 May 2010.
http://www.mobilecrunch.com/2010/05/13/skype-says-no-to-windows-phone-7/.
71. ^ http://www.skype.com/intl/en/get-skype/on-your-mobile/?cm_mmc=m102
72. ^ [2]
73. ^ Android Issue 1386: Feature req: support WPA2-Enterprise with EAP extensions
74. ^ Screenshot#iOS
75. ^ Android Issue 6547: Screen shots
76. ^ How to make Windows Mobile screenshots?
77. ^ Take a screenshot on Windows Phone 7
78. ^ http://wmpoweruser.com/home-brew-delivers-againscreen-shot-functionality-arrive-
on-the-htc-hd7/
79. ^ Screenshot for Symbian OS
80. ^ Android Issue 6914: Make android use the GPU (if available) for UI and browsing.
81. ^ http://www.anandtech.com/show/2969/windows-phone-7-series-the-anandtech-
guide/13
82. ^ http://developer.android.com/sdk/index.html
83. ^
http://wiki.maemo.org/Documentation/Maemo_5_Final_SDK_Installation#Installing_Ma
emo_5_SDK_using_GUI_Installer
84. ^ a b http://www.forum.nokia.com/Technology_Topics/Device_Platforms/Series_40/
[edit] External links

• Mobile Platform
• Java ME
• Intel Mobile Platform
• Android-based smartphone shipments leapfrog Apple's iPhone
• Qualcomm Uplinq Mobile OS Developer Conference (Annual)
[hide]v · d · eMobile operating systems
Access Linux · Android · bada · DSLinux · Familiar · iPodLinux · LiMo · MeeGo

Linux-
(Moblin · Maemo · Qt Extended) · Mobilinux · Openmoko Linux · OPhone · SHR · Qt
based
Extended Improved · Ubuntu Mobile · webOS
Windows CE (Windows Phone 7 · Windows Mobile) · BlackBerry OS · BlackBerry

Tablet OS · GEOS · iOS · Nintendo DSi OS · Nokia OS (S30 · S40) · Palm OS · PSP
Other
OS · Symbian platform (History of Symbian · MOAP(S) · UIQ · S60 · S80 · S90) ·
SavaJe
Related
platform BREW · Java ME (FX Mobile)
s
See also: List of digital distribution platforms for mobile devices, Mobile development
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_operating_system"
Categories: Mobile phones | Mobile operating systems | Mobile phone operating systems
Hidden categories: All articles with unsourced statements | Articles with unsourced statements
from November 2010
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Android 2.3 "Gingerbread"

1.0 Released 23 September 2008[36]

• Multiple resolved issues

The Android Emulator default home screen (v1.5).

Android supports connectivity technologies including GSM/EDGE, IDEN,

The web browser available in Android is based on the open-source WebKit

Android supports the following audio/video/still media formats: WebM, H.263,

RTP/RTSP streaming (3GPP PSS, ISMA), HTML progressive download

Additional Android can use video/still cameras, touchscreens, GPS, accelerometers,

Includes a device emulator, tools for debugging, memory and performance

The Android Market is a catalog of applications that can be downloaded and

Multitasking Multitasking of applications is available.[70]

Android supports tethering, which allows a phone to be used as a

Hardware running Android

Early Android device.

Android robot logo

Data collected during two weeks ending on January 4, 2011

Platform API Level Distribution

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Android (operating system)

• Official Android page

[show]v · d · eAndroid (Google Inc., Open Handset Alliance)

[show]v · d · eAndroid devices

See also: Comparison of Android devices

Acer beTouch E110 · Liquid A1 · Liquid E (Ferrari) · Liquid Stream S110

CSL CSL Spice

Dell Mini 3 · Streak

Aria · Desire · Desire Z (T-Mobile G2) · Desire HD · Dream (T-

i7500 (Galaxy) · Moment (SPH-M900) · i5700 (Spica) · i9000

T Archos 5 (Archos Generation 6) · Archos 5 (Archos Generation 7) ·

OBarnes & Noble nook · nook color

[show]v · d · eMobile operating systems

pBREW · Java ME (FX Mobile)

[show]v · d · eGoogle Inc.

Chairman/CEO: Eric E. Schmidt · Director/Technology President/Co-founder: Sergey Brin ·

PGoogle 3D Warehouse · Blogger · Bookmarks · Docs · FeedBurner · Map Maker · Panoramio ·

[show]v · d · eLinux operating system

SStartup process · Console · Framebuffer · Kernel modules

Who Will Win the Android vs. iPhone Race?

Google’s mobile OS will be on top by year-end 2012

What’s the Best Mobile Operating System? Android FTW!

ask our community which mobile OS

Android – The best mobile operating system

At Google, the team, led by Rubin, developed a Linux-based mobile

Mobile operating system

The Apple iPad tablet computer uses a version of iOS.

[edit] Smartphone operating systems feature comparison

[edit] Feature phone operating systems

[edit] External links

Access Linux · Android · bada · DSLinux · Familiar · iPodLinux · LiMo · MeeGo

Windows CE (Windows Phone 7 · Windows Mobile) · BlackBerry OS · BlackBerry

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