What is Exactly Android Operating System？

Android is no doubt the most widely used operating system in the world by smartphone and tablet producers. And you can find there are many new android devices like Google Nexus 7, Amazon Kindle Fire HD, Samsung galaxy s3, HTC one x, etc, in this year. Since the android operating system has become hotter, what is exactly android system? Later let’s just have a better understanding of it.

Origin  
Android is a Linux-based operating system developed by Google in conjunction with the Open Handset Alliance, a consortium of 86 hardware, software, and telecommunication companies dedicated to advancing open standards for mobile devices. It is designed primarily for touchscreen mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets.

However, the origin of it is not Google but a group of people headed by Andy Rubin in a company known as Android Inc, which is not famous at that moment. Android Inc. became known only when Google purchased it back in 2005. The company’s intentions of acquiring Android Inc. became known in 2007 when the Open Handset Alliance revealed itself to the general public.

Android Version 
Since the release of Android beta in November 2007, the first commercial version, Android 1.0, was released in September 2008 run by HTC Dream. Since April 2009, a few versions have been released: Android 1.5 Cupcake, Android 1.6 Donut, Android 2.0 & 2.1 Éclair, and Android 2.2 Froyo, Android 2.3.x Gingerbread, Android 3.x Honeycomb, Android 4.0.x Ice Cream Sandwich, and the recent update Android OS Android 4.1.x Jelly Bean, which is used by Nexus 7.

Features 
Android uses single- and multi-touch inputs like swiping, tapping, pinching and reverse pinching to manipulate on-screen objects as user interface and provides a fluid touch interface. Internal hardware such as accelerometers, gyroscopes and proximity sensors are used by some applications to respond to additional user actions.

Android devices boot to the homescreen, which is similar to the desktop found on PCs, and is the primary navigation and information point on the device. Always present along the top of the screen is a status bar, showing information about the device and its connectivity.The open and customizable nature of the operating system allows it to be used on other electronics such as laptops , netbooks, smartbooks and the like.

Android also supports connectivity features like Bluetooth, WiMax, GSM, LTE, NFC, SMS and MMS messaging. Another thing need mention is Android has its own web browser.

Applications 
There are a large amount of apps that are available for Android. Some apps are free and some can be acquired at the Android Market Place called Google Play or at the Amazon App Store, or by downloading and installing the application's APK file from a third-party site.You can find many free android apps at Google Play and also you can find the most popular apps.

Security 
The sandbox in Android applications does not have access to the rest of the system's resources, unless access permissions are granted by the user when the application is installed. Besides, several security firms have released antivirus software for Android devices like Lookout Mobile Security,AVG Technologies, etc. 

In a summery, Android is one of the popular operating systems that runs many smart phones and tablet computers today. Just like PC that need an operating system like Windows, these mobile devices also require and operating system to function. And now the most advanced one is Jelly Bean and there must be the more advanced one in the near future.



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