Introduction to Android

Android is based on a modified Linux kernel which was initially developed by Android Inc., a company co-founded by Andy Rubin in October 2003, and purchased by Google in 2005 for circa $50 million.

Google released its Beta mobile phone operating system, Android, on the 5 November 2007, the same year Apple launched the iPhone, with Google releasing its first SDK one week later, on 12 November 2007.

Did you know? When Google launched Android, Eric Schmidt (Google's then CEO) was a member of Apple's Board of Directors, a position he had held since August 2006. At the time of its launch, the iPhone utilized Google's backend services built into some of Apple's core iPhone apps, such as Maps and YouTube.

It wasn't until August 3, 2009, that he resigned from Apple's Board of Directors due to the obvious potential conflicts of interest. Before his resignation, his effectiveness as an Apple Board member was significantly diminished, often having to recuse himself from Board meetings when the subject matter turned to iPhone or its fledgling operation system - iOS.

During the early stages of its accelerated development, Android had a very aggressive release schedule. We often saw multiple releases per year, and at its peak in 2009 Android received no-less than four significant updates. More recently, Google has settled into yearly major updates.

In 2011, Android became the world's most popular mobile Operating System - a mantle that it has not relinquished since - and is unlikely to do so as developing a modern OS for any platform is a major undertaking. As of April 2018, Android had a market share of 75.66%, with iOS holding 19.23%. The 5.11% for 'other' combines the likes of Windows, Series 40, Samsung, and Blackberry. Taking tablets into account, iOS only closes the divide by 2-3%.

Related terms:

Smartphone

Symbian

S60 user interface