Android is an open source, Linux-based operating system designed for touch screen mobile phones and tablets by Google, in conjunction with the Open Handset Alliance.

Since Android is open source, manufacturers don’t have to pay Google to use it, and that they’re free to modify it. Android has a large community of developers writing applications that extend the functionality of devices, written primarily in a customized version of Java.They are available for download through Google Play or third-party sites. In September 2012, there were more than 675,000 apps available for Android, and the estimated number of applications downloaded from Google Play was 25 billion.

Android itself contains the functions that are vital to using a mobile phone, including the phone dialler, text messaging client and phone number storage. Google also provides some additional apps, including a Gmail email client, Google Maps (which features free turn-by-turn satellite navigation) and YouTube.

Android has many media features built in, so it’s easy to load your music and movies onto your device and play them without problems. Most common audio file formats are supported, as are some of the most often-used video formats. Many manufacturers also add support for some of the less-common formats.

Beyond that, you can also buy or download for free many other apps to enable your phone or tablet to do more. You can get these apps from the Android Market, or from other sources, such as GetJar or Amazon’s Appstore. They can also be loaded onto an Android device manually, without using a store.

These apps can include ways to use Facebook, create documents, access online storage services such as Dropbox, or there’s a huge range of games available. Some social networks are integrated into certain Android phones by default, enabling you to connect someone’s contact information in your phone to their Facebook account, for example, and automatically pull through details such as their birthday.

By the end of 2010 Android had become the world’s leading smartphone platform, overtaking Symbian which held its record for years.

More information …

SOURCES: WWW.TECHRADAR.COM & WWW.WIKIPEDIA.ORG

This entry was posted on Friday, October 26th, 2012 at 11:00 am and is filed under Connectivity. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.