Gone are the days when you need a bulky computer to do all your work. Today, more and more people are enamored by the small stuff; small hand-held gadgets that are lightweight and convenient. Mobile devices even get more functional with Google's Android.

What it is

Android is an operating syst

em for mobile devices. This does not only mean cellular phones but also tablet computers and netbooks. Android gives its users a complete package - an operating system, middleware and key mobile applications.

Android does for your mobile gadget what Windows XP or Vista does for your computer. It manages and coordinates the activities, as well as the sharing of resources, of a gadget. The mobile operating system was developed based on the Linus kernel and GNU software. The Android software set consists of Java applications which run on a Java-based object oriented application framework.

The mobile operating system was created to let developers create convincing mobile applications. Android was made to be an open system so it can take in newer technologies that emerge in the market. Because of this, it continues to evolve as developers work on more creative mobile applications. It also uses a virtual machine which optimizes memory and hardware resources.

How it came about

Android was actually initially developed by Android Incorporated. Google acquired Android Incorporated in 2005. The move also brought to Google's side Android's talented founders Andy Rubin, Rich Miner, Nick Sears, and Chris White. Since the company was a startup, little was known about what exactly they do. The founders vaguely described their business as making software for mobile phones. This sparked up talks of Google entering the mobile phone market.

Rubin's team of developers created a Linux kernel-powered mobile device platform. The group tried to sell this platform to handset makers and carriers on the condition that the one who buys it will provide a better system for their creation.

Android was unveiled in November of 2007 by the Open Handset Alliance. The Open Handset Alliance is an association made up of companies Texas Instruments, Broadcom Corporation, Google, HTC, Intel, LG, Marvell Technology Group, Motorola, Nvidia, Qualcomm, Samsung Electronics, Sprint Nextel and T-Mobile. Android was the association's very first product. PacketVideo, ARM Holdings, Atheros Communications, Asustek Computer Incorporated, Garmin Limited, Softbank, Sony Ericsson, Toshiba Corporation and Vodafone Group also plunged in to the Android project in December 2008.

Android has been available as an open source since the last quarter of 2008. Google opened the whole source code for Android under an Apache License. An Apache License is actually a free software license. This lessens the hassle for vendors who add proprietary extensions as they are no longer required to submit the extensions they add to the open source community.

Updates

The Google mobile operating system had to go through several updates to iron out bugs and add new features. The first update, which was called Cupcake, was done February of 2009. The said version was based on Linux Kernel 2.6.27. Some of the new features included in this Android version are animated screen transitions and the new widgets and folders which can populate the users Home screens.

In September of the same year, the 1.6 Linux Kernel 2.6.29 based update was released. Speed was improved in searching and camera applications. The Gesture framework and the GestureBuilder development tools are were also included. A month after the second update, Google released Android 2.0/2.1. This version is still based on Linux Kernel 2.6.29. An optimized hardware speed, support for more screen sizes and resolutions, and an improved Google Maps 3.1.2 are some of the version's features.

The latest Android version was released May 2010. Called Froyo (short for Frozen Yogurt), this updated version is now based on Linux Kernel 2.6.32. Some of the changes in Froyo are the integration of Chrome's V8 JavaScript engine into Android's Browser application, the quick switching from the multiple keyboard languages to their dictionaries, and support for Adobe Flash 10.1.

Gingerbread, the latest update for Android, is set for release late this year. The said version is still under works but some of the confirmed features to be included are the improved copy-paste functionalities and the support for WebM video playback. Gingerbread will be based on Linux Kernel 2.6.33 or Linux Kernel 2.6.34.

Market share

In a report released by Nielsen earlier this month, Android was shown to have the most increase in the market. Android's share ramped up from 17 percent to 27 percent. The Apple iOS 4 sank to a 27 percent from a 23 percent share.

Android reaped a 28 percent sales in the United States market after Froyo's release May of this year. This marked an 8 percent increase from the sales it garnered in December 2008.