Android

Android – The name Android originates from the word android which is a robot designed to look and act like a human. It is an operating system of mobile or smartphone which is based on the Linux kernel. The operating system is designed for touchscreen smartphones and tablets. Google developed  Android operating system and launched it in 2007. Along with it the company also developed several Android applications including Android TV for televisions, Android Auto for cars, and Android Wear for wrist watches. There are some Android applications also used on notebooks, game consoles, digital cameras, and other electronics devices.

Development of Android OS:

Firstly the Android Inc developed the operating system which is bought by Google in 2005 and then launched in 2007. The Android device was first released in September 2008 with 7.0 Nougat. The apps can be downloaded through the Google Play store with features of about 2.7 million apps in February 2017. Nowadays it became popular application for mobile devices due to the best-selling operating system on tablets in 2013 and operates on the majority of the smartphones made by different companies. There are about two billion monthly active users of Android operating system.

Release of Source Code:

Google has released the source code of Android with an open source license. It is  available at low cost and is a customizable operating system for mobile devices. Android attracted a majority of developers and users for the feature open-source in which users can modify the operating system for each mobile. Consequently, the mobile with different Android applications have different GUIs (Graphical User Interfaces) however they use the same operating system.

Android programs are written in Java and operate by a Java virtual machine JVM that is optimized for mobile devices. The Dalvik JVM was used via Android 4.4 that was substituted by Android Runtime or ART in Android 5.0.