Android is an operating system based on the Linux kernel,[12] and designed primarily for touchscreen mobile devices such as smartphones and tablet computers. Initially developed by Android, Inc., which Google backed financially and later bought in 2005,[13] Android was unveiled in 2007 along with the founding of the Open Handset Alliance: a consortium of hardware, software, and telecommunication companies devoted to advancing open standards for mobile devices.[14] The first Android-powered phone was sold in October 2008.[15] The user interface of Android is based off direct manipulation, using touch inputs that loosely correspond to real-world actions, like swiping, tapping, pinching and reverse pinching to manipulate on-screen objects. Internal hardware such as accelerometers, gyroscopes and proximity sensors are used by some applications to respond to additional user actions, for example adjusting the screen from portrait to landscape depending on how the device is oriented. Android allows users to customize their homescreens with shortcuts to applications and widgets, which allow users to display live content, such as emails and weather information, directly on the homescreen. Applications can further send notifications to the user to inform them of relevant information, such as new emails and text messages. Android is open source and Google releases the code under the Apache License.[12] This open-source code and permissive licensing allows the software to be freely modified and distributed by device manufacturers, wireless carriers and enthusiast developers. However, most Android devices ship with additional proprietary software.[2] Additionally, Android has a large community of developers writing applications ("apps") that extend the functionality of devices, written primarily in a customized version of the Java programming language.[16] In October 2012, there were approximately 700,000 apps available for Android, and the estimated number of applications downloaded from Google Play, Android's primary app store, was 25 billion.[17][18] A developer survey conducted in April--May 2013 found that Android is the most popular platform for developers, used by 71% of the mobile developer population.[19] Android is the world's most widely used smartphone platform,[20] overtaking Symbian in the fourth quarter of 2010.[21] Android is popular with technology companies who require a ready-made, low-cost, customizable and lightweight operating system for high tech devices.[22] Despite being primarily designed for phones and tablets, it has been also used in televisions, games consoles, digital cameras and other electronics. Android's open nature has encouraged a large community of developers and enthusiasts to use the open-source code as a foundation for community-driven projects, which add new features for advanced users[23] or bring Android to devices which were officially released running other operating systems. Android's share of the global smartphone market, led by Samsung products, was 64% in March 2013.[24] The operating system's success has made it a target for patent litigation as part of the so-called "smartphone wars" between technology companies.[25][26] As of May 2013, 48 billion apps have been installed from the Google Play store,[27][28] and as of September 3, 2013, 1 billion Android devices have been activated.[29]

• published: 16 Nov 2013
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