Android (operating system)

Android (from its former owner Android, Inc.) is a mobile operating system (OS) currently developed by Google, based on the Linux kernel and designed primarily for touchscreen mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. Android's user interface is mainly based on direct manipulation, using touch gestures that loosely correspond to real-world actions, such as swiping, tapping and pinching, to manipulate on-screen objects, along with a virtual keyboard for text input. In addition to touchscreen devices, Google has further developed Android TV for televisions, Android Auto for cars, and Android Wear for wrist watches, each with a specialized user interface. Variants of Android are also used on notebooks, game consoles, digital cameras, and other electronics.

Since 2013, Android is the best selling on tablets; and on smartphones the OS is dominant, thereby giving it the largest installed base of all operating systems of any kind.

Initially developed by Android, Inc., which Google bought in 2005, 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.As of July 2013, the Google Play store has had over one million Android applications ("apps") published, and over 50 billion applications downloaded. An April–May 2013 survey of mobile application developers found that 71% of developers create applications for Android, and a 2015 survey found that 40% of full-time professional developers see Android as their priority target platform, which is comparable to Apple's iOS on 37% with both platforms far above others. At Google I/O 2014, the company revealed that there were over one billion active monthly Android users, up from 538 million in June 2013.

Android

Android commonly refers to:

Android may also refer to:

See also

IPS panel

IPS (In-plane switching) is a screen technology for liquid crystal displays (LCDs). It was designed to solve the main limitations of the twisted nematic field effect (TN) matrix LCDs in the late 1980s. These limitations included strong viewing angle dependence and low-quality colour reproduction. In-plane switching involves arranging and switching the orientation of the molecules of the liquid crystal (LC) layer between the glass substrates. This is done, essentially, parallel to these glass plates.

History

The TN method was the only viable technology for active matrix TFT LCDs in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Early panels showed gray inversion from up to down, and had a high response time (for this kind of transition, 1ms is visually better than 5ms). In the mid-1990s new technologies were developed—typically IPS and Vertical Alignment (VA)—that could resolve these weaknesses and were applied to large computer monitor panels.

One approach patented in 1974 was to use inter-digital electrodes on one glass substrate only to produce an electric field essentially parallel to the glass substrates. However, the inventor was not yet able to implement such IPS-LCDs superior to TN displays.

Best

Best or The Best may refer to:

Geography

People

Companies and organizations

Food and drink

Medicine

Games

Acronyms

Best value

Best Value was government policy in the United Kingdom affecting the provision of public services in England and Wales. In Wales, Best Value is known as the Wales Programme for Improvement.

Introduction

Best Value was introduced in England and Wales by the Local Government Act 1999, introduced by the UK Labour Government. Its provisions came into force in April 2000. The aim was to improve local services in terms of both cost and quality:

A Best Value authority must make arrangements to secure continuous improvement in the way in which its functions are exercised, having regard to a combination of economy, efficiency and effectiveness (LGA 1999, section 3[1]).

Effects of Best Value

The range of activities affected includes almost all local authority functions, including for example social services, environmental health, housing and planning.

The first details of Best Value were set out in the ’Twelve Principles of Best Value’ announced in June 1997 (DoE 1997). The bill to provide the statutory framework was introduced in the 1998/9 parliamentary session.