An open platform for smartphones from the Open Handset Alliance (www.openhandsetalliance.com). Based on Linux and Java, Android owners can download and install applications without being tied to a single vendor conduit as are iPhone users with the App Store (see Android Market). Android uses a touch screen and includes multitasking, which enables apps to run in the background so that users can be notified of incoming messages or other events. Due to its backing by Google, Android is expected to make serious inroads in the smartphone market.
The Google Phone
Google is the primary developer of the platform, having acquired Android, Inc. in 2005, a startup that developed the software. Before Android's debut in late 2007, Google was expected to announce its own "Google phone." Instead, it launched the platform for others to make and service, and in less than a year, T-Mobile introduced the G1, the first Android phone. Sprint also joined the Android alliance, but thus far not Verizon and AT&T, the latter two comprising more than half the cellular subscribers in the U.S. See smartphone, Open Handset Alliance and HTC.
First Android - The G1
In September 2008, T-Mobile introduced the G1, the first Android-based phone. Known as the Dream phone by manufacturer HTC, the G1 features a touch screen and physical keyboard along with GPS, Wi-Fi, 3G cellular data and a 3.2 megapixel camera. The screen slides off side to reveal the keyboard. (Image courtesy of HTC Corporation, www.htc.com)
Android Magic - The G2
In 2009, HTC introduced the HTC Magic, the second Android-based phone. Dubbed the G2 by users and initially targeted for the European market, HTC dropped the physical keyboard for a touch screen a la iPhone. It added a physical Google search button and several enhancements, including video capture and increased battery life. (Image courtesy of HTC Corporation, www.htc.com)
The Google Phone
Google is the primary developer of the platform, having acquired Android, Inc. in 2005, a startup that developed the software. Before Android's debut in late 2007, Google was expected to announce its own "Google phone." Instead, it launched the platform for others to make and service, and in less than a year, T-Mobile introduced the G1, the first Android phone. Sprint also joined the Android alliance, but thus far not Verizon and AT&T, the latter two comprising more than half the cellular subscribers in the U.S. See smartphone, Open Handset Alliance and HTC.
First Android - The G1
In September 2008, T-Mobile introduced the G1, the first Android-based phone. Known as the Dream phone by manufacturer HTC, the G1 features a touch screen and physical keyboard along with GPS, Wi-Fi, 3G cellular data and a 3.2 megapixel camera. The screen slides off side to reveal the keyboard. (Image courtesy of HTC Corporation, www.htc.com)
Android Magic - The G2
In 2009, HTC introduced the HTC Magic, the second Android-based phone. Dubbed the G2 by users and initially targeted for the European market, HTC dropped the physical keyboard for a touch screen a la iPhone. It added a physical Google search button and several enhancements, including video capture and increased battery life. (Image courtesy of HTC Corporation, www.htc.com)
 | Reproduced with permission from Computer Desktop Encyclopedia. Copyright (c) 1981-2009 The Computer Language Company Inc. All rights reserved. |
Additional Resources
- Will the Adult Industry Drive Android Adoption?
- The Adult Entertainment industry drove the adoption of DVD and the streaming media technologies that everyone now enjoys and takes for granted on the Internet. Will pioneering in mobile porn also accelerate adoption of Google's Android mobile OS? Back in September of 2008...
- Blog posts 2009-11-29
- Monolith Android 1.0.4 beta (Mobile)
- Monolith Android is a 3D tetris-like game for the android mobile phone platform. The code is based on the SDK samples of the Android SDK. The intent of the author was to create a fun to play game, and familiarize with the rich API of the android platform. The game...
- Software downloads 2009-11-27
- Snake for Android (Mobile)
- Snake for Android is the first ever publicly released application for the Android mobile platform. It was included in the Android SDK as a sample application. This is an implementation of the classic Game "Snake", in which you control a serpent roaming around the garden looking for apples. Be careful,...
- Software downloads 2009-11-27
- Lunar Lander for Android (Mobile)
- Lunar Lander for Android is a sample game, which was extracted from the Android's SDK. It showcases a simple 2D graphic implementation on this platform. Lunar Lander for Android is an arcade game, where the player must correctly land a lunar module exactly on the green landing pad, located on...
- Software downloads 2009-11-27
- Crossword Player for Android 0.9.1 (Mobile)
- Let the user solve crosswords on Android. The crosswords are downloaded from the internet. The main Android Activities are Browser, Crossword-List, and Crossword-Player. In the browser, the user navigates to the website of choice and downloads crosswords. Crossword-Player Activity will be launched and the crossword can be solved. Through a...
- Software downloads 2009-11-27
- Dodge Balls for Android (Mobile)
- Dodge Balls for Android is a fun arcade game for the Android mobile platform. Move your spaceship not to get hit by dodge balls falling from the sky. If you hit into a ball or top/bottom edge of the screen, your game is over. It just bounces when you reach...
- Software downloads 2009-11-27
- Twisty for Android 0.03 (Mobile)
- Twisty for Android is a Java-based port of the Z-machine interpreter for the Android mobile platform. The Z-machine is a virtual machine that was used by Infocom for its text adventure games. Text adventures (also known as "interactive fiction") are kinds of games from old times, where the software simulates...
- Software downloads 2009-11-27
- Android Blackjack (Mobile)
- Android Blackjack is a variation of the most popular casino card games in the world to the Android mobile platform. Blackjack (also known as Twenty-one, Vingt-et-un (French for Twenty-one), or Pontoon) is one of the most popular casino card games in the world. Much of blackjack's popularity is due to...
- Software downloads 2009-11-27
- Sudoku Challenge for Android 1.3.11 (Mobile)
- Sudoku Challenge for Android features 4x4 and 9x9 Sudokus and unlock the ultimate challenge, touch-Screen, trackball, and key, resume games where you left off, ease to understand tutorial, screen layouts optimized for portrait and landscape display, solve the build in challenge of 30 Sudokus, and play an unlimited number of...
- Software downloads 2009-11-27
- LastFM Plugin (Android) 1.0 (Mobile)
- LastFM Plugin Android is the first version of a plug-in for the popular social music site, LastFM. Currently supports viewing of user profile information.
- Software downloads 2009-11-27
- Connect4 (Android) 1.0 (Mobile)
- Connect4 Android is a two-player board game in which the players take turns in dropping alternating colored discs into a seven-column, six-row vertically-suspended grid. The object of the game is to connect four singly-colored discs in a row - vertically, horizontally, or diagonally before your opponent can do likewise.
- Software downloads 2009-11-27
- Memo Game for Android 2.0 (Mobile)
- Memo Game for Android is a memory game for the Android platform. Memo Game for Android is an exciting board game, to be played for fun at all times. The application, through a user friendly interface, offers the users the chance to play the well-known Memory game now on the...
- Software downloads 2009-11-26
- zaTelnet Light for Android (Mobile)
- zaTelnet Light for Android is a Telnet client for Google Phone that emulates terminal VT100 basically enough for working with Midnight Commander and others console programs. A light protocol client, designed for network system administrators, end users and web designers, working with Unix/Linux/BSD systems. zaTelnet Light for Android features extended...
- Software downloads 2009-11-26
- XLive for Android (Mobile)
- XLive for Android is a 3-in-1 Internet tool. It has an integrated RSS reader, multi-protocol messenger as well as email client with SSL support. XLive for Android features chating withs friend using different protocols (ICQ, GTalk), reading news via RSS feeds, and sending and reading e-mails via IMAP, POP3, SMTP,...
- Software downloads 2009-11-26
- Phonalyzr for Android (Mobile)
- Phonalyzr for Android takes your Android handset's phone call log and displays a number of different graphs which can give you an interesting and never before seen look into your calling habits. The graphs work on all data stored in the handset's call log history and no private details are...
- Software downloads 2009-11-26
- AndPishti Alpha for Android (Mobile)
- AndPishti Alpha for Android is an Android version of the popular Turkish card game. It supports single player and multi player options. However, in short playing the Jack or the same numbered card with the top of pile gets the pile. If there are only one card on the table...
- Software downloads 2009-11-26
- Android Sudoku (Mobile)
- Android Sudoku is an Android port of the classic Sudoku puzzle game. The game consists of three Sudoku puzzles, offers three difficulty levels, hints for players, and has a nice background music.
- Software downloads 2009-11-26
- CurrencyViewer for Android (Mobile)
- CurrencyViewer for Android is not only a converter of currencies, but is also the full source of information which is presented in a convenient way to mobile users. It is able to obtain current currency rates from the selected web-source and then display the rates of selected currencies to the...
- Software downloads 2009-11-26
- jChat for Android 1.3 (Mobile)
- Android jChat allows the user to communicate with any other contact having the same software running and connected to the same JADE platform. Users can send text IM in a chat like way, call a contact by phone, or even send an SMS to a contact. Moreover the position of...
- Software downloads 2009-11-26
- NetScramble for Android 1.1 (Mobile)
- NetScramble for Android also known as Scrambled Net, is a port of the KDE game KNetWalk. The aim of the game is to connect all the terminals to the server in the least amount of clicks as possible. NetScramble for Android detects the screen size of the device it's running...
- Software downloads 2009-11-26
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