Android and Android Phones

ANDROID AND ANDROID PHONES

SUBMITTED BY: ALYZZA JOY GLIPO SY1219

ANDROID

Android™ delivers a complete set of software for mobile devices: an operating system, middleware and key mobile applications.

Open

Android was built from the ground-up to enable developers to create compelling mobile applications that take full advantage of all a handset has to offer. It was built to be truly open. For example, an application can call upon any of the phone’s core functionality such as making calls, sending text messages, or using the camera, allowing developers to create richer and more cohesive experiences for users. Android is built on the open Linux Kernel. Furthermore, it utilizes a custom virtual machine that was designed to optimize memory and hardware resources in a mobile environment. Android is open source; it can be liberally extended to incorporate new cutting edge technologies as they emerge. The platform will continue to evolve as the developer community works together to build innovative mobile applications.

All applications are created equal

Android does not differentiate between the phone’s core applications and third-party applications. They can all be built to have equal access to a phone’s capabilities providing users with a broad spectrum of applications and services. With devices built on the Android Platform, users are able to fully tailor the phone to their interests. They can swap out the phone's homescreen, the style of the dialer, or any of the applications. They can even instruct their phones to use their favorite photo viewing application to handle the viewing of all photos.

Breaking down application boundaries

Android breaks down the barriers to building new and innovative applications. For example, a developer can combine information from the web with data on an individual’s mobile phone — such as the user’s contacts, calendar, or geographic location — to provide a more relevant user experience. With Android, a developer can build an application that enables users to view the location of their friends and be alerted when they are in the vicinity giving them a chance to connect.

Fast & easy application development

Android provides access to a wide range of useful libraries and tools that can be used to build rich applications. For example, Android enables developers to obtain the location of the device, and allows devices to communicate with one another enabling rich peer–to–peer social applications. In addition, Android includes a full set of tools that have been built from the ground up alongside the platform providing developers with high productivity and deep insight into their applications.

HISTORY OF ANDROID

Android, Inc. was founded in Palo Alto, California 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),[25] 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 past accomplishments of the founders and early employees, Android Inc. operated secretly, revealing only that it was working on software for mobile phones. That same year, Rubin ran out of money. Steve Perlman, a close friend of Rubin, brought him $10,000 in cash in an envelope and refused a stake in the company.

Google acquired Android Inc. on August 17, 2005, making it a wholly owned subsidiary of Google. Key employees of Android Inc., including Rubin, Miner and White, stayed at the company after the acquisition. Not much was known about Android Inc. at the time, but many assumed that Google was planning to enter the mobile phone market with this move. 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 promise 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.

On November 5, 2007, the Open Handset Alliance, a consortium of technology companies including Google, device manufacturers such as HTC and Samsung, wireless carriers such as Sprint Nextel and T-Mobile, and chipset makers such as Qualcomm and Texas Instruments, unveiled itself, with a goal to develop open standards for mobile devices.[10] That day, Android was unveiled as its first product, a mobile device platform built on the Linux kernel version 2.6.[10] The first commercially available phone to run Android was the HTC Dream, released on October 22, 2008.

Since 2008, Android has seen numerous updates which have incrementally improved the operating system, adding new features and fixing bugs in previous releases. Each major release is named in alphabetical order after a dessert or sugary treat; for example, version 1.5 Cupcake was followed by 1.6 Donut. The latest release is 4.2 Jelly Bean. In 2010, Google launched its Nexus series of devices—a line of smartphones and tablets running the Android operating system, and built by a manufacturer partner. HTC collaborated with Google to release the first Nexus smartphone, the Nexus One. The series has since been updated with newer devices, such as the Nexus 4 phone and Nexus 10 tablet, made by LG and Samsung, respectively. Google releases the Nexus phones and tablets to act as their flagship Android devices, demonstrating Android's latest software and hardware features.

ANDROID VERSIONS

ANDROID CUPCAKE

V1.5 or Cupcake was realesed in April 2009. It had several new approvments. Among the new features were

Widgets for embeded small apps Contacts improvements invluding the

pictures added to ever contact Animations for smooth scrolling and

screen changes Blutooth support update for audio

pairing and sharing

ANDROID DONUT

V1.6 or Donut was realesed in Septemeber of 2009 and had many improvements

Voice and Text Improvements Touch Screen improvments Multi select for photos Camara access improvments and

faster access Search Option for faster access

ANDROID ECLAIR

V2.0/2.0.1/2.1 or Eclair was released in Oct 2009 and had several improvments and looks remarkably simular to todays Android versions.

Blutooth 2.1 support Hardware and U.I. improvments Calender improvements for date and not settings Account Sinc improvements allow user to sinc

multiable account on one phone Multi Touch improvements to allow better

multitouch support Screen size and contrast improvements.

Include bigger screens and better contrast ratios

ANDROID FROYO

Android 2.2/2.2.1/2.2.2/2.2.3 or Frozen Yogurt(Froyo) was released May of 2010 and improved on many features. There were many key features in this version of Android including

Adobe Flash support for rich web content Speed and memory improvements Cloud messaging support USB tethering Multi Language support Bluetooth dock and car support WiFi hotspots support JIT Compilation for application speed improvements

ANDROID GINGERBREAD

2.3/2.3./2.3.3./2.3.4 or Gingerbread was released in December of 2010 and as of the time of this writing has become the most widely used Android version. Some of the new features included

U.I. or Interface improvements gave it a more simple but quicker interface

Virtual Keyboard updated and improved for a better and faster layout.

copy/paste enhancements where a user could just press and hold

New Codec support for more audio/video formats Power Management enhancements gyroscope/barometers support input enhancements for game developers

ANDROID HONEYCOMB

V 3.0/3.1/3.2 or Honeycomb was released in Feb of 2011 and was a tablet(and later Google TV) only release. Some of its features included

Holographic interface that was optimized for a tablet U.I.

Improved keyboard support for larger screens Multi Core processor support Hardware acceleration for faster hardware view gallery in full screen interface System bar for better multitasking that allows you to

switch from one app to another. Resizable homescreen widgets(3.1+) external keyboard/mouse support (3.1+) FLAC audio codec support (3.1+)

ANDROID ICE CREAM SANDWICH Android 4.0/4.01 was first released in Oct 2011 and was a

major improvment upon both 2.x and 3.x. It blended both interfaces and had full support for both phones and tablets. Some of the notable features included

Folder system improvements making easier to create. Launcher improved to be customizable Tabbed Browsing improved to allow up to 16 tabs facial recognition support to locking/unlocking phone photo editor built in to Android 4.x Android Beam support to share contacts and files Crome Bookmark sync support WiFi direct support to connect with other users without

access point User Interface hardware acceleration for faster access.

ANDROID JELLYBEAN

Android 4.1 Android Jellybean saw full release in early 2012 and improved on Android 4.0 in many ways. It took the common features of Android 4.0 and made it more fluid.some features include:

Browser has improved performance, CPU and memory efficiency

Full HTML 5 support to bring Android up to new web standards

Calendar is improved and has features blend with one another

bidirectional text means more input languages to make the platform accessible to more people around the world.

dictionaries are now more accurate and more relevant

ANDROID KEY LIME PIE

ANDROID PHONES

The good: The Samsung Galaxy S3 comes fully loaded with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, 4G LTE/HSPA+ 42 capability, a zippy dual-core processor, and a strong 8-megapixel camera. S Beam is an excellent software enhancement, and the handset's price is right.

The bad: The Galaxy S3's screen is too dim, and Samsung's Siri competitor, S Voice, disappointed.

The bottom line: Pumped with high-performing hardware and creative software features, the Samsung Galaxy S3 is an excellent, top-end phone that's neck and neck with the HTC One X.

SAMSUNG GALAXY S3

SAMSUNG GALAXY NOTE 2

The good: Oodles of screen real estate make the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 terrific for videos, games, and reading; and its improved stylus aids productivity. A blazing quad-core processor, a great camera, and strong battery life round out the advantages of this Android 4.1 phone.

The bad: The huge display makes the Galaxy Note 2 unwieldy to carry, and hiccups in the S Pen stylus and apps can slow you down. The pricey Note 2 isn't a suitable tablet replacement across all categories.

The bottom line: Samsung delivers a powerful, boundary-pushing device that gets a lot right. Yet its complicated features and high price raise questions about its purpose.

HTC Droid DNA (Verizon Wireless) The good: The beautifully designed HTC

Droid DNA features a quad-core processor, Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, 4G LTE, a sharp 5-inch screen, an excellent camera, and long battery life.

The bad: The Droid DNA's large size makes it tricky to fit in tight pockets, and it lacks both an SD card slot and a removable battery.

The bottom line: With quad-core power, 4G LTE, a lovely 5-inch screen, and a stunning design, the $199.99 HTC Droid DNA is currently Verizon's best Android deal.

LG Nexus 4 (T-Mobile)

The good: The competitively priced LG Nexus 4 delivers a pure and polished experience with Android 4.2 Jelly Bean, it's powered by a snappy quad-core processor, and it's packed with new photo-editing and camera features.

The bad: The Nexus 4's construction is solid but uninspiring, its call volume is too low, and it lacks 4G LTE.

The bottom line: While the LG Nexus 4 wins on internal performance and user experience, anyone shopping for an unlocked phone should consider a comparable LTE handset first.

Motorola Droid Razr Maxx HD (Verizon) The good: The Motorola Droid Razr Maxx

HD (Verizon) offers fast performance, a big eye-popping screen, and luxurious design. It also has great call quality, lots of storage, 4G data speeds, and unbeatable battery life.

The bad: The Droid Razr Maxx HD's major weakness is a camera that produces subpar images. The phone is filled with Verizon bloatware as well.

The bottom line: Motorola's fast, stylish Droid Razr Maxx HD offers outstanding battery life, but its camera captures unimpressive images.

Resources: www.wikipedia.com http://dahmenrobert.hubpages.com/

hub/A-brief-history-on-Android-versions

http://reviews.cnet.com/best-android-phones/

Respectfully submitted to

Prof. Erwin M. Globio, MSIT