What is Android?


What is Android?

Android is the mobile operating system installed on Android compatible devices. Android is based on the customized version of the Linux Kernel. It is an open-source distribution, which allows the developer to customize as per their choice. Android provides the operating interface for touchscreen devices, which includes portable devices such as tablets, smartphones, and laptops. Recently, Android has been also used as an operating system in smart televisions. Thus, it developed an entirely new product range, namely Android TVs.

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Android endorses a centralized approach for application development, where the developers can develop android applications that need to be run on android based devices. This is the main reason why the source code of Android is published so that the developer can customize, modify or add new codes to develop an android application. The published source of the Android is referred to as Android Open Source Project (AOSP), which is licensed under the Apache License.

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Key features of the Android Operating System:

It is one of the robust operating systems competing with Apple 4GS. It also supports various excellent features, including the following:

  • The Stunning UI: The Android OS's primary screen presents a stunning and spontaneous user interface.
  • Connectivity: It includes connectivity support for GSM/EDGE, IDEN, CDMA, EV-DO, UMTS, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, LTE, NFC, and WiMAX.
  • Storage: SQLite, a very lightweight relational database, is practiced for data storage ideas.
  • Support of Media: It supports H.263, H.264, MPEG-4 SP, AMR, AMR-WB, AAC, HE-AAC, AAC 5.1, MP3, MIDI, Ogg Vorbis, WAV, JPEG, PNG, GIF, and BMP.
  • For Messaging purposes: SMS and MMS are used for messaging purposes.
  • Web browser: It is based on the open-source WebKit layout engine, united with Chrome's V8 JavaScript engine helping HTML5 and CSS3.
  • Multiple touches: The Android has natural support for multi-touch which was initially made possible in handsets such as the HTC Hero.
  • Multiple tasking: All the Users can shift from one task to another, and at the same time, multiple applications can work simultaneously.
  • Auto-resizable widgets: In this, widgets are resizable, so all users can increase them to reveal more content or narrow them to save space.
  • Multiple Language support: The Android supports single direction and bi-directional text.