Google+Android

=Google Android=

//The Future of Mobile Devices//
The future of mobile devices has finally arrived, and the world is ready for it. On November 21st, 2008, Google's Android operating system platform was released for multiple mobile devices made by different companies. This new technology has truly proved that we have reached our destination in futuristic technology. Who ever thought mobile devices would have Operating Systems on them?

Android Overview
"**Android** is a software platform and operating system for mobile devices, based on the Linux kernel, developed by Google and later the Open Handset Alliance. It allows developers to write managed code in the Java language, controlling the device via Google-developed Java libraries. Applications written in C and other languages can be compiled to ARM native codeand run, but this development path is not officially supported by Google.

The unveiling of the Android platform on 5 November 2007 was announced with the founding of the Open Handset Alliance, a consortium of 48 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."

[|Google Android]

Open Source
"Since 21 Oct 2008, Android is available as open source. Google threw open the entire source code (including network and telephony stacks ) that were not available previously, under an Apache license. With Certain parts that relate to a specific hardware can't be made open and are not considered part of the Android platform.Apache License, vendors are free to add proprietary extensions without submitting those back to the open source community. While Google's contributions to this platform are expected to remain open-sourced, the branches could explode using varieties of licenses. Android had been criticized for not being all open source software despite what was announced by Google. Parts of the SDK are proprietary and closed source and some believe this is so that Google can control the platform. The Android Software Development Kit License Agreement states that:

"3.2 //You agree that Google (or Google's licensors) own all legal right, title and interest in and to the SDK, including any intellectual property rights which subsist in the SDK. Use, reproduction and distribution of components of the SDK licensed under an open source software license are governed solely by the terms of that open source software license and not by this License Agreement. Until the SDK is released under an open source license, you may not extract the source code or create a derivative work of the SDK."//

However, Google has since announced that all parts of the OS will be released under the Apache License where applicable and under the GPL elsewhere. "

[|Open Source]

Android Features
"Current features and specifications:

The platform is adaptable to larger, VGA, 2D Graphics library, 3D graphics library based on OpenGL ES 1.0 specifications, and traditional smartphone layouts. The Database Software SQLite is used for data storage purposes Android supports connectivity technologies including GSM/EDGE, CDMA, EV-DO, UMTS, Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi. SMS and MMS are available forms of messaging including threaded text messaging. //Main article: Webkit// The web browser available in Android is based on the open-source Webkit application framework. Software written in Java can be compiled into Dalvik bytecodes and executed in the Dalvik virtual machine, which is a specialized VM implementation designed for mobile device use, although not technically a standard Java Virtual Machine. Android will support audio/video/still media formats such as MPEG-4, H.264, MP3, AAC, OGG, AMR, JPEG, PNG, GIF. Android can utilize video/still cameras, touchscreens, GPS, accelerometers, and accelerated 3D graphics. Includes a device emulator, tools for debugging, memory and performance profiling, a plugin for the Eclipse IED. //Main article: Android Market// Similar to the App Store on the iPhone, The Android Market is a catalog of applications that can be downloaded and installed to target hardware over-the-air, without the use of a PC. Originally only freeware applications were supported. Paid-for apps have been available on Android Market since 19 February 2009. **Multi-touch** Android has native support for multi-touch but disabled this feature. An unofficial mod has been developed that enables multi-touch."
 * Handset layouts**
 * Storage**
 * Connectivity**
 * Messaging**
 * Web browser**
 * Dalvik virtual machine**
 * Media support**
 * Additional hardware support**
 * Development environment**
 * Market**

[|Android Features]


 * Google's Android** seems to be a promising operating system that will revolutionize our future. This is just the beginning of the potential we have to create new technologies and inventions. The future has just arrived; are you ready?