Android Mobile

Android is an operating system based on the Linux kernel, and designed primarily for touchscreen mobile devices such as smartphones and tablet computers. Initially developed by Android, Inc., which Google backed financially and later bought in 2005, Android was unveiled in 2007 along with the founding of the Open Handset Alliance ​a consortium of hardware, software, and telecommunication companies devoted to advancing open standards for mobile devices. The first publicly available smartphone running Android, the HTC Dream, was released on October 22, 2008.


The user interface of Android is based on direct manipulation, using touch inputs that loosely correspond to real-world actions, like swiping, tapping, pinching, and reverse pinching to manipulate on-screen objects. Internal hardware such as accelerometers, gyroscopes, and proximity sensors is used by some applications to respond to additional user actions, for example adjusting the screen from portrait to landscape depending on how the device is oriented. Android allows users to customize their home screens with shortcuts to applications and widgets, which allow users to display live content, such as emails and weather information, directly on the home screen. Applications can further send notifications to the user to inform them of relevant information, such as new emails and text messages. Despite being primarily designed for phones and tablets, it also has been used in televisions, games consoles, digital cameras, and other electronics.

Android is the most popular mobile OS and as of 2013, its devices also sell more than Windows, iOS and Mac OS devices combined. In the third quarter of 2013, Android's share of the global smartphone shipment market was 81.3%, the highest ever. As of July 2013 the Google Play store has had over 1 million Android apps published, and over 50 billion apps downloaded. A developer survey conducted in April–May 2013 found that Android is used by 71% of mobile developers. The operating system's success has made it a target for patent litigation as part of the so-called "smartphone wars" between technology companies. As of September 2013, one billion Android devices have been activated.
Android's source code is released by Google under open source licenses, although most Android devices ultimately ship with a combination of open source and proprietary software. Android is popular with technology companies which require a ready-made, low-cost and customizable operating system for high-tech devices. Android's open nature has encouraged a large community of developers and enthusiasts to use the open-source code as a foundation for community-driven projects, which add new features for advanced users or bring Android to devices which were officially released running other operating systems (wiki). Beow is mobile with android OS: