History Android (operating system)

Android Inc. founded in 2003


Android, Inc. was founded in Palo Alto, California, United States in October, 2003 by Andy Rubin (co-founder of Danger), Rich Miner (co-founder of Wildfire Communications, Inc.), Nick Sears (once VP at T-Mobile), and Chris White (headed design and interface development at WebTV) to develop, in Rubin's words "...smarter mobile devices that are more aware of its owner's location and preferences." Despite the obvious past accomplishments of the founders and early employees, Android Inc. operated secretively, admitting only that it was working on software for mobile phones.

Android Inc. acquired by Google


Google acquired Android Inc. in August, 2005, making Android Inc. a wholly owned subsidiary of Google Inc. Key employees of Android Inc., including Andy Rubin, Rich Miner and Chris White, stayed at the company after the acquisition.

Not much was known about Android Inc. at the time of the acquisition, but many assumed that Google was planning to enter the mobile phone market with this move.

Development accelerates


At Google, the team led by Rubin developed a mobile device platform powered by the Linux kernel. Google marketed the platform to handset makers and carriers on the premise of providing a flexible, upgradable system. Google had 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.

Speculation about Google's intention to enter the mobile communications market continued to build through December 2006. 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. Some speculated 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.

Open Handset Alliance

On the November 5, 2007 the Open Handset Alliance, a consortium of several companies which include Broadcom Corporation, Google, HTC, Intel, LG, Marvell Technology Group, Motorola, Nvidia, Qualcomm, Samsung Electronics, Sprint Nextel, T-Mobile and Texas Instruments unveiled itself. The goal of the Open Handset Alliance is to develop open standards for mobile devices. On the same day, the Open Handset Alliance also unveiled their first product, Android, a mobile device platform built on the Linux kernel version 2.6.

On December 9, 2008, 14 new members joined, including ARM Holdings, Atheros Communications, Asustek Computer Inc, Garmin Ltd, PacketVideo, Softbank, Sony Ericsson, Toshiba Corp, and Vodafone Group Plc.

Licensing

With the exception of brief update periods, Android has been available under a free software/open source license since October, 21 2008. Google published the entire source code (including network and telephony stacks) under an Apache License. Google also keeps the reviewed issues list publicly open for anyone to see and comment.

Even though the software is open-source, device manufacturers can not use Google's Android trademark unless Google certifies that the device complies with their Compatibility Definition Document (CDD). Devices must also meet this definition to be eligible to license Google's closed-source applications, including Android Market.

In September 2010, Skyhook Wireless filed a lawsuit against Google in which they alleged that Google had used the compatibility document to block Skyhook's mobile positioning service (XPS) from Motorola's Android mobile devices. In December 2010 a judge denied Skyhook's motion for preliminary injunction, saying that Google had not closed off the possibility of accepting a revised version of Skyhook's XPS service, and that Motorola had terminated their contract with Skyhook because Skyhook wanted to disable Google's location data collection functions on Motorola's devices, which would have violated Motorola's obligations to Google and its carriers.

Version history

Android has seen a number of updates since its original release. These updates to the base operating system typically focus on fixing bugs as well as adding new features. Generally each new version of the Android operating system is developed under a code name based on a dessert item. Past updates included Cupcake and Donut. It must also be noted the version names are in alphabetical order (e.g., Cupcake, Donut, Eclair, Froyo)

The most recent released versions of Android are:

* 2.0/2.1 (Eclair), which revamped the user interface and introduced HTML5 and Exchange ActiveSync 2.5 support.

* 2.2 (Froyo), which introduced speed improvements with JIT optimization and the Chrome V8 JavaScript engine, and added Wi-Fi hotspot tethering and Adobe Flash support.

* 2.3 (Gingerbread), which refined the user interface, improved the soft keyboard and copy/paste features, and added support for Near Field Communication.

* 3.0 (Honeycomb), a tablet-oriented release which supports larger screen devices and introduces many new user interface features, and supports multicore processors and hardware acceleration for graphics. The Honeycomb SDK has been released and the first device featuring this version, the Motorola Xoom tablet, went on sale in February 2011. Google has chosen to withhold the development source code, which calls into question the "open-ness" of this Android release. Rubin however has stated that the source code will be released for Honeycomb in the near future. The reason for the delay, according to Rubin in an official android blog post, was because Honeycomb was rushed for production of the Motorola Xoom and that when Honeycomb is suitable for developer use is when it will be released.

The upcoming version of Android is:

* Ice Cream Sandwich, a combination of Gingerbread and Honeycomb into a "cohesive whole," with a possible release in mid-2011.
* Jellybean, version 3.6, to follow Ice Cream Sandwich with release aimed at Q1 2012.

References

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Android_%28operating_system%29