Android, The Operating System From Google

Android is dedicated to mobile phones it is an operating system under a free license, as is Linux. It was created by a startup specialized in the creation of software for mobile, Android, that has been acquired by Google in July.

Rumors about a free mobile phone, which was even given the name Gphone, was unfounded. Actually the hardware will be furnished by other producers, incidentally Google has federated a lot of players in the mobile domain around its initiative in an entity called Open Handset Alliance whose logo is displayed on the right.
It includes:
- Operators as Telefonica, Telecom Italia.
- Phone manufacturers including LG, Motorola, Samsung.
- Founders components: Intel, Nvidia, Texas Instruments.
- And Net players like eBay.

The platform

Android, is more than an operating system, it is also a user interface and a platform for applications created by Google. Being open, it will enable independent programmers to create software for mobile devices.
The main advantage over current systems such as Windows Mobile, is a full access to the hardware, while it was limited so far.
An SDK is already available for developers.
Applications provided by Google are: Gmail, Google Mobile (search engine), Calendar, Google Documents, Youtube, Maps...

The other competitors in the field of mobile platforms apart Windows Mobile are Symbian (Nokia) and Blackberry (RIM).

Comments

In response to rumors about the Gphone Bill Gates in an interview with the New York Time said:

"And to be able to say that there's some challenge for us in the phone market when its becoming software intensive, I don't see that."


More

Android should not be available for sale until the end of 2008, but interested developers can already begin to work on the platform.

The video from Google shows how to build a first application for Android:

(c) 2007-2008 Scriptol.com