Androld ls an operaLlng sysLem for moblle devlces such as smarLphones and LableL compuLers lL ls
developed by Lhe Cpen PandseL Alllance led by Coogle1011
Coogle purchased Lhe lnlLlal developer of Lhe sofLware Androld lnc ln 200312 1he unvelllng of Lhe Androld dlsLrlbuLlon on november 3 2007 was announced wlLh Lhe foundlng of Lhe Cpen PandseL Alllance a consorLlum of 84 hardware sofLware and LelecommunlcaLlon companles devoLed Lo advanclng open sLandards for moblle devlces13141316 Coogle released mosL of Lhe Androld code under Lhe Apache Llcense a free sofLware llcense17 1he Androld Cpen Source ro[ecL (ACS) ls Lasked wlLh Lhe malnLenance and furLher developmenL of Androld18
Androld conslsLs of a kernel based on Lhe Llnux kernel wlLh mlddleware llbrarles and Als wrlLLen ln C and appllcaLlon sofLware runnlng on an appllcaLlon framework whlch lncludes !avacompaLlble llbrarles based on Apache Parmony Androld uses Lhe ualvlk vlrLual machlne wlLh [usLlnLlme compllaLlon Lo run ualvlk dexcode (ualvlk LxecuLable) whlch ls usually LranslaLed from !ava byLecode19 Androld has a large communlLy of developers wrlLlng appllcaLlons (apps) LhaL exLend Lhe funcLlonallLy of Lhe devlces uevelopers wrlLe prlmarlly ln a cusLomlzed verslon of !ava20 1here are currenLly approxlmaLely 300000 apps avallable for Androld from a LoLal of 300000 apps over Lhe llfe of Androld212223 Apps can be downloaded from LhlrdparLy slLes or Lhrough onllne sLores such as Androld MarkeL Lhe app sLore run by Coogle
Androld was llsLed as Lhe besLselllng smarLphone plaLform worldwlde ln C4 2010 by Canalys2423 wlLh over 190 mllllon Androld devlces ln use by CcLober 201126ConLenLs hlde 1 PlsLory 11 loundaLlon 12 AcqulslLlon by Coogle 13 osLacqulslLlon developmenL 14 Cpen PandseL Alllance 13 Llcenslng 16 verslon hlsLory 2 ueslgn 21 Llnux 22 leaLures 3 uses 4 AppllcaLlons 41 Androld MarkeL 42 AppllcaLlon securlLy 43 rlvacy 3 MarkeLlng 31 MarkeL share 32 usage share 6 lnLellecLual properLy lnfrlngemenL clalms 7 See also 8 8eferences 9 LxLernal llnks
PlsLory loundaLlon
Androld lnc was founded ln alo AlLo Callfornla unlLed SLaLes ln CcLober 2003 by Andy 8ubln (co founder of uanger)27 8lch Mlner (cofounder of Wlldflre CommunlcaLlons lnc)28 nlck Sears (once v aL 1Moblle)29 and Chrls WhlLe (headed deslgn and lnLerface developmenL aL Web1v)30 Lo develop ln 8ublns words smarLer moblle devlces LhaL are more aware of lLs owners locaLlon and preferences31 uesplLe Lhe obvlous pasL accompllshmenLs of Lhe founders and early employees Androld lnc operaLed secreLly reveallng only LhaL lL was worklng on sofLware for moblle phones31
1haL same year 8ubln ran ouL of money SLeve erlman broughL hlm $10000 ln cash ln an envelope and refused a sLake ln Lhe company32 AcqulslLlon by Coogle
Coogle acqulred Androld lnc ln AugusL 2003 maklng Androld lnc a wholly owned subsldlary of Coogle lnc key employees of Androld lnc lncludlng Andy 8ubln 8lch Mlner and Chrls WhlLe sLayed aL Lhe company afLer Lhe acqulslLlon12 noL much was known abouL Androld lnc aL Lhe Llme of Lhe acqulslLlon buL many assumed LhaL Coogle was plannlng Lo enLer Lhe moblle phone markeL wlLh Lhls move12 osLacqulslLlon developmenL
AL Coogle Lhe Leam led by 8ubln developed a moblle devlce plaLform powered by Lhe Llnux kernel Coogle markeLed Lhe plaLform Lo handseL makers and carrlers on Lhe premlse of provldlng a flexlble upgradable sysLem Coogle had llned up a serles of hardware componenL and sofLware parLners and slgnaled Lo carrlers LhaL lL was open Lo varlous degrees of cooperaLlon on Lhelr parL333433
SpeculaLlon abouL Coogles lnLenLlon Lo enLer Lhe moblle communlcaLlons markeL conLlnued Lo bulld Lhrough uecember 200636 8eporLs from Lhe 88C and 1he Wall SLreeL !ournal noLed LhaL Coogle wanLed lLs search and appllcaLlons on moblle phones and lL was worklng hard Lo dellver LhaL rlnL and onllne medla ouLleLs soon reporLed rumors LhaL Coogle was developlng a Cooglebranded handseL37 Some speculaLed LhaL as Coogle was deflnlng Lechnlcal speclflcaLlons lL was showlng proLoLypes Lo cell phone manufacLurers and neLwork operaLors
ln SepLember 2007 lnformaLlonWeek covered an Lvalueserve sLudy reporLlng LhaL Coogle had flled several paLenL appllcaLlons ln Lhe area of moblle Lelephony3839 Cpen PandseL Alllance Maln arLlcle Cpen PandseL Alllance
Cn november 3 2007 Lhe Cpen PandseL Alllance a consorLlum of several companles whlch lnclude 8roadcom CorporaLlon Coogle P1C lnLel LC Marvell 1echnology Croup MoLorola nvldla Cualcomm Samsung LlecLronlcs SprlnL nexLel 1Moblle and 1exas lnsLrumenLs unvelled lLself 1he goal of Lhe Cpen PandseL Alllance ls Lo develop open sLandards for moblle devlces13 Cn Lhe same day Lhe Cpen PandseL Alllance also unvelled Lhelr flrsL producL Androld a moblle devlce plaLform bullL on Lhe Llnux kernel verslon 2613
Cn uecember 9 2008 14 new members [olned lncludlng A8M Poldlngs ALheros CommunlcaLlons AsusLek CompuLer lnc Carmln LLd Puawel 1echnologles ackeLvldeo SofLbank Sony Lrlcsson 1oshlba Corp and vodafone Croup lc4041 Llcenslng
WlLh Lhe excepLlon of brlef updaLe perlods Androld has been avallable under free and open source sofLware llcenses from CcLober 21 2008 unLll March 201142 Coogle publlshed Lhe source code for Lhelr Llnux kernel changes under Lhe Cnu Ceneral ubllc Llcense verslon 2 and Lhe resL of Lhe code (lncludlng neLwork and Lelephony sLacks)43 under Lhe Apache Llcense verslon 20444346 Coogle also keeps Lhe revlewed lssues llsL publlcly open for anyone Lo see and commenL47
1he Cpen PandseL Alllance develops Lhe CLllcensed parL of Androld LhaL ls Lhelr changes Lo Lhe Llnux kernel ln publlc wlLh source code publlcly avallable aL all Llmes 1he resL of Androld ls developed ln prlvaLe wlLh source code released publlcly when a ma[or new verslon ls released 1yplcally Coogle collaboraLes wlLh a hardware manufacLurer Lo produce a flagshlp devlce feaLurlng Lhe new verslon of Androld Lhen makes Lhe source code avallable afLer LhaL devlce has been released48
ln early 2011 Coogle chose Lo Lemporarlly wlLhhold Lhe Androld source code Lo Lhe LableLonly Poneycomb release creaLlng doubLs over Coogles commlLmenL Lo open source wlLh Androld42 1he reason accordlng Lo Andy 8ubln ln an offlclal Androld blog posL was because Poneycomb was rushed for producLlon of Lhe MoLorola xoom49 and Lhey dld noL wanL Lhlrd parLles creaLlng a really bad user experlence by aLLempLlng Lo puL onLo smarLphones a verslon of Androld lnLended for LableLs30 Coogle laLer conflrmed LhaL Lhe Poneycomb source code would noL be released unLll afLer lL was merged wlLh Lhe Clngerbread release ln lce Cream Sandwlch31
Lven Lhough Lhe sofLware ls open source devlce manufacLurers cannoL use Coogles Androld Lrademark unless Coogle cerLlfles LhaL Lhe devlce complles wlLh Lhelr CompaLlblllLy ueflnlLlon uocumenL (Cuu) uevlces musL also meeL Lhls deflnlLlon Lo be ellglble Lo llcense Coogles closedsource appllcaLlons lncludlng Lhe Androld MarkeL32
ln SepLember 2010 Skyhook Wlreless flled a lawsulL agalnsL Coogle ln whlch Lhey alleged LhaL Coogle had used Lhe compaLlblllLy documenL Lo block Skyhooks moblle poslLlonlng servlce (xS) from MoLorolas Androld moblle devlces33 ln uecember 2010 a [udge denled Skyhooks moLlon for prellmlnary ln[uncLlon saylng LhaL Coogle had noL closed off Lhe posslblllLy of accepLlng a revlsed verslon of Skyhooks xS servlce and LhaL MoLorola had LermlnaLed Lhelr conLracL wlLh Skyhook because Skyhook wanLed Lo dlsable Coogles locaLlon daLa collecLlon funcLlons on MoLorolas devlces whlch would have vlolaLed MoLorolas obllgaLlons Lo Coogle and lLs carrlers34 verslon hlsLory Maln arLlcle LlsL of Androld operaLlng sysLem verslons
Androld has seen a number of updaLes slnce lLs orlglnal release each flxlng bugs and addlng new feaLures Lach verslon ls named ln alphabeLlcal order afLer a desserL33 8ecenL releases 23 Clngerbread reflned Lhe user lnLerface lmproved Lhe sofL keyboard and copy/pasLe feaLures lmproved gamlng performance added Sl supporL (vol calls) and added supporL for near lleld CommunlcaLlon36 30 Poneycomb was a LableLorlenLaLed373839 release whlch supporLs larger screen devlces and lnLroduces many new user lnLerface feaLures and supporLs mulLlcore processors and hardware acceleraLlon for graphlcs60 1he flrsL devlce feaLurlng Lhls verslon Lhe MoLorola xoom LableL wenL on sale ln lebruary 20116162 31 Poneycomb released ln May 2011 added supporL for exLra lnpuL devlces uS8 hosL mode for Lransferrlng lnformaLlon dlrecLly from cameras and oLher devlces and Lhe Coogle Movles and 8ooks apps63 32 Poneycomb released ln !uly 2011 added opLlmlzaLlon for a broader range of screen slzes new zoomLoflll screen compaLlblllLy mode loadlng medla flles dlrecLly from Su card and an exLended screen supporL Al64 Puawel Medlaad ls Lhe flrsL 7 lnch LableL Lo use Lhls verslon 63 40 lce Cream Sandwlch announced on CcLober 19 2011 broughL Poneycomb feaLures Lo smarLphones and added new feaLures lncludlng faclal recognlLlon unlock neLwork daLa usage monlLorlng and conLrol unlfled soclal neLworklng conLacLs phoLography enhancemenLs offllne emall searchlng and lnformaLlon sharlng uslng nlC Androld 401 lce Cream Sandwlch ls Lhe laLesL Androld verslon LhaL ls avallable Lo phones 1he source code of lCS was released on november 14 201166 ueslgn Llnux
Androlds kernel ls a fork of Lhe Llnux kernel and has furLher archlLecLure changes by Coogle ouLslde Lhe Lyplcal Llnux kernel developmenL cycle67 Androld does noL have a naLlve x Wlndow SysLem nor does lL supporL Lhe full seL of sLandard Cnu llbrarles and Lhls makes lL dlfflculL Lo porL exlsLlng Llnux appllcaLlons or llbrarles Lo Androld68
CerLaln feaLures Coogle conLrlbuLed back Lo Lhe kernel noLably a power managemenL feaLure called wakelocks were re[ecLed by malnllne kernel developers parLly because kernel malnLalners felL LhaL Coogle dld noL show any lnLenL Lo malnLaln Lhelr own code697071 Lven Lhough Coogle announced ln Aprll 2010 LhaL Lhey would hlre Lwo employees Lo work wlLh Lhe Llnux kernel communlLy72 Creg kroahParLman Lhe currenL Llnux kernel malnLalner for Lhe sLable branch sald ln uecember 2010 LhaL he was concerned LhaL Coogle was no longer Lrylng Lo geL Lhelr code changes lncluded ln malnsLream Llnux70 Some Coogle Androld developers hlnLed LhaL Lhe Androld Leam was geLLlng fed up wlLh Lhe process because Lhey were a small Leam and had more urgenL work Lo do on Androld73
Powever ln SepLember 2010 Llnux kernel developer 8afael ! Wysockl added a paLch LhaL lmproved Lhe malnllne Llnux wakeup evenLs framework Pe sald LhaL Androld devlce drlvers LhaL use wakelocks can now be easlly merged lnLo malnllne Llnux buL LhaL Androlds opporLunlsLlc suspend feaLures should noL be lncluded ln Lhe malnllne kernel7473 ln 2011 Llnus 1orvalds sald LhaL evenLually Androld and Llnux would come back Lo a common kernel buL lL wlll probably noL be for four Lo flve years76 leaLures
1he Androld LmulaLor defaulL home screen (v13)
ArchlLecLure dlagram
CurrenL feaLures and speclflcaLlons777879 PandseL layouLs 1he plaLform ls adapLable Lo larger vCA 2u graphlcs llbrary 3u graphlcs llbrary based on CpenCL LS 20 speclflcaLlons and LradlLlonal smarLphone layouLs SLorage SCLlLe a llghLwelghL relaLlonal daLabase ls used for daLa sLorage purposes ConnecLlvlLy Androld supporLs connecLlvlLy Lechnologles lncludlng CSM/LuCL luLn CuMA LvuC uM1S 8lueLooLh Wlll L1L nlC and WlMAx Messaglng SMS and MMS are avallable forms of messaglng lncludlng Lhreaded LexL messaglng and now Androld Cloud 1o uevlce Messaglng lramework (C2uM) ls also a parL of Androld ush Messaglng servlce MulLlple language supporL Androld supporLs mulLlple human languages36 Web browser 1he web browser avallable ln Androld ls based on Lhe opensource WebklL layouL englne coupled wlLh Chromes v8 !avaScrlpL englne 1he browser scores a 93/100 on Lhe Acld3 1esL !ava supporL Whlle mosL Androld appllcaLlons are wrlLLen ln !ava Lhere ls no !ava vlrLual Machlne ln Lhe plaLform and !ava byLe code ls noL execuLed !ava classes are complled lnLo ualvlk execuLables and run on ualvlk a speclallzed vlrLual machlne deslgned speclflcally for Androld and opLlmlzed for baLLerypowered moblle devlces wlLh llmlLed memory and Cu !2ML supporL can be provlded vla LhlrdparLy appllcaLlons Medla supporL Androld supporLs Lhe followlng audlo/vldeo/sLlll medla formaLs WebM P263 P264 (ln 3C or M4 conLalner) MLC4 S AM8 AM8W8 (ln 3C conLalner) AAC PLAAC (ln M4 or 3C conLalner) M3 Mlul Cgg vorbls lLAC WAv !LC nC Cll 8M79 SLreamlng medla supporL 81/81S sLreamlng (3C SS lSMA) P1ML progresslve download (P1ML3 vldeo Lag) Adobe llash SLreamlng (81M) and P11 uynamlc SLreamlng are supporLed by Lhe llash plugln80 Apple P11 Llve SLreamlng ls supporLed by 8eallayer for Moblle81 and by Lhe operaLlng sysLem ln Androld 30 (Poneycomb)60 AddlLlonal hardware supporL Androld can use vldeo/sLlll cameras Louchscreens CS acceleromeLers gyroscopes baromeLers magneLomeLers dedlcaLed gamlng conLrols proxlmlLy and pressure sensors LhermomeLers acceleraLed 2u blL bllLs (wlLh hardware orlenLaLlon scallng plxel formaL converslon) and acceleraLed 3u graphlcs MulLlLouch Androld has naLlve supporL for mulLlLouch whlch was lnlLlally made avallable ln handseLs such as Lhe P1C Pero 1he feaLure was orlglnally dlsabled aL Lhe kernel level (posslbly Lo avold lnfrlnglng Apples paLenLs on Louchscreen Lechnology aL Lhe Llme)82 Coogle has slnce released an updaLe for Lhe nexus Cne and Lhe MoLorola urold whlch enables mulLlLouch naLlvely83 8lueLooLh SupporLs A2u Av8C sendlng flles (C) accesslng Lhe phone book (8A) volce dlallng and sendlng conLacLs beLween phones keyboard mouse and [oysLlck (Plu) supporL ls avallable ln Androld 31+ and ln earller verslons Lhrough manufacLurer cusLomlzaLlons and LhlrdparLy appllcaLlons84 vldeo calllng Androld does noL supporL naLlve vldeo calllng buL some handseLs have a cusLomlzed verslon of Lhe operaLlng sysLem LhaL supporLs lL elLher vla Lhe uM1S neLwork (llke Lhe Samsung Calaxy S) or over l vldeo calllng Lhrough Coogle 1alk ls avallable ln Androld 234 and laLer Clngerbread allows nexus S Lo place lnLerneL calls wlLh a Sl accounL 1hls allows for enhanced vol dlallng Lo oLher Sl accounLs and even phone numbers Skype 21 offers vldeo calllng ln Androld 23 lncludlng fronL camera supporL MulLlLasklng MulLlLasklng of appllcaLlons ls avallable83 volce based feaLures Coogle search Lhrough volce has been avallable slnce lnlLlal release86 volce acLlons for calllng LexLlng navlgaLlon eLc are supporLed on Androld 22 onwards87 1eLherlng Androld supporLs LeLherlng whlch allows a phone Lo be used as a wlreless/wlred Wlll hoLspoL 8efore Androld 22 Lhls was supporLed by LhlrdparLy appllcaLlons or manufacLurer cusLomlzaLlons88 Screen capLure Androld has naLlve supporL for screenshoL capLure ablllLy by presslng Lhe power and volume buLLons aL Lhe same Llme on an Androld devlce 1hls naLlve supporL came abouL wlLh Lhe release of Androlds 40 (lce Cream Sandwlch) updaLe whlch ls flrsL seen on Lhe Calaxy nexus smarLphone89 revlously Androld dld noL feaLure naLlve supporL for screen capLurlng whlch would have llkely been due Lo securlLy concerns lurLhermore prevlously manufacLurer and LhlrdparLy cusLomlzaLlons as well as uslng a C connecLlon (uuMS developers Lool) were Lhe only known meLhods of capLurlng a screenshoL on Androld90 uses Maln arLlcle LlsL of Androld devlces
nexus S Lhe prevlous Coogle phone
1he open and cusLomlzable naLure of Lhe Androld operaLlng sysLem allows lL Lo be used ln preLLy much any elecLronlcs lncludlng buL noL llmlLed Lo smarLphones lapLops neLbooks LableL compuLers Coogle 1v wrlsLwaLches91 headphones92 Car Cu and uvu players93 and oLher devlces949396
1he maln hardware plaLform for Androld ls Lhe A8M archlLecLure 1here ls supporL for x86 from Lhe Androldx86 pro[ecL97 and Coogle 1v uses a speclal x86 verslon of Androld
1he flrsL commerclally avallable phone Lo run Androld was Lhe P1C uream released on 22 CcLober 200898 ln early 2010 Coogle collaboraLed wlLh P1C Lo launch lLs flagshlp99 Androld devlce Lhe nexus Cne 1hls was followed laLer ln 2010 wlLh Lhe Samsungmade nexus S and ln 2011 wlLh Lhe Calaxy nexus
lCS and Androld 233 Clngerbread may be seL up Lo dual booL on a [allbroken lhone or lod 1ouch wlLh Lhe help of Cpenl8ooL and lurold100101 AppllcaLlons See also Androld sofLware developmenL and LlsL of open source Androld appllcaLlons
AppllcaLlons are usually developed ln Lhe !ava language uslng Lhe Androld SofLware uevelopmenL klL buL oLher developmenL Lools are avallable lncludlng a naLlve uevelopmenL klL for appllcaLlons or exLenslons ln C or C++ Coogle App lnvenLor a vlsual envlronmenL for novlce programmers and varlous cross plaLform moblle web appllcaLlons frameworks Androld MarkeL Maln arLlcle Androld MarkeL
Androld MarkeL ls Lhe onllne sofLware sLore developed by Coogle for Androld devlces An appllcaLlon program (app) called MarkeL ls prelnsLalled on mosL Androld devlces and allows users Lo browse and download apps publlshed by LhlrdparLy developers hosLed on Androld MarkeL As of uecember 2010 Lhere were abouL 200000 games appllcaLlons and wldgeLs avallable on Lhe Androld MarkeL102 ln Aprll 2011 Coogle sald Lhere had been more Lhan 3 bllllon Androld apps lnsLalled103 and aL end of !une 2011 Lhere are 6 bllllon apps lnsLalls from Lhe Androld markeL 1he operaLlng sysLem lLself ls lnsLalled on 130 mllllon LoLal devlces104
Cnly devlces LhaL comply wlLh Coogles compaLlblllLy requlremenLs are allowed Lo prelnsLall Coogles closedsource Androld MarkeL app and access Lhe MarkeL103 1he MarkeL fllLers Lhe llsL of appllcaLlons presenLed by Lhe MarkeL app Lo Lhose LhaL are compaLlble wlLh Lhe users devlce and developers may resLrlcL Lhelr appllcaLlons Lo parLlcular carrlers or counLrles for buslness reasons 106
Coogle has parLlclpaLed ln Lhe Androld MarkeL by offerlng several appllcaLlons Lhemselves lncludlng Coogle volce (for Lhe Coogle volce servlce) Sky Map (for waLchlng sLars) llnance (for Lhelr flnance servlce) Maps LdlLor (for Lhelr MyMaps servlce) laces ulrecLory (for Lhelr Local Search) Coogle Coggles LhaL searches by lmage CesLure Search (for uslng flngerwrlLLen leLLers and numbers Lo search Lhe conLenLs of Lhe phone) Coogle 1ranslaLe Coogle Shopper LlsLen for podcasLs and My 1racks a [ogglng appllcaLlon ln AugusL 2010 Coogle launched volce AcLlons for Androld107 whlch allows users Lo search wrlLe messages and lnlLlaLe calls by volce
AlLernaLlvely users can lnsLall apps from Lhlrd parLy app sLores such as Lhe Amazon AppsLore108 or dlrecLly onLo Lhe devlce lf Lhey have Lhe appllcaLlons Ak flle AppllcaLlon securlLy
An example of app permlsslons ln Androld MarkeL
Androld appllcaLlons run ln a sandbox an lsolaLed area of Lhe operaLlng sysLem LhaL does noL have access Lo Lhe resL of Lhe sysLems resources unless access permlsslons are granLed by Lhe user when Lhe appllcaLlon ls lnsLalled 8efore lnsLalllng an appllcaLlon Androld MarkeL dlsplays all requlred permlsslons A game may need Lo enable vlbraLlon for example buL should noL need Lo read messages or access Lhe phonebook AfLer revlewlng Lhese permlsslons Lhe user can declde wheLher Lo lnsLall Lhe appllcaLlon109
Some Androld malware lncldenLs have been reporLed lnvolvlng rogue appllcaLlons on Androld MarkeL ln AugusL 2010 kaspersky Lab reporLed deLecLlon of Lhe flrsL mallclous program for Androld named 1ro[anSMSAndroldCSlakelayera an SMS Lro[an whlch had already lnfecLed a number of devlces110 ln some cases appllcaLlons whlch conLalned Lro[ans were hldden ln plraLed verslons of leglLlmaLe apps111112 Coogle has responded by removlng mallclous apps from Lhe Androld MarkeL and remoLely dlsabllng Lhem on lnfecLed devlces113 SecurlLy flrms such as AvC 1echnologles and SymanLec have released anLlvlrus sofLware for Androld devlces rlvacy
Androld smarLphones have Lhe ablllLy Lo reporL Lhe locaLlon of Wlll access polnLs encounLered as phone users move around Lo bulld vasL daLabases conLalnlng Lhe physlcal locaLlons of hundreds of mllllons of such access polnLs 1hese daLabases form elecLronlc maps Lo locaLe smarLphones allowlng Lhem Lo run apps llke loursquare LaLlLude laces and Lo dellver locaLlonbased ads114
Cne deslgn lssue ls LhaL average users cannoL monlLor how appllcaLlons access and use prlvaLe and senslLlve daLa (eg locaLlon and hardware lu numbers) Lven durlng lnsLallaLlon permlsslon checks do noL ofLen lndlcaLe Lo Lhe user how crlLlcal servlces and daLa wlll be used or mlsused 1hlrd parLy monlLorlng sofLware such as 1alnLurold113 an academlc researchfunded pro[ecL can ldenLlfy personal lnformaLlon senL from appllcaLlons Lo remoLe servers116 MarkeLlng
1he Androld logo was deslgned along wlLh Lhe urold fonL famlly made by Ascender CorporaLlon117
Androld Creen ls Lhe color of Lhe Androld 8oboL LhaL represenLs Lhe Androld operaLlng sysLem 1he prlnL color ls MS 376C and Lhe 8C8 color value ln hexadeclmal ls #A4C639 as speclfled by Lhe Androld 8rand Culdellnes118 1he cusLom Lypeface of Androld ls called norad (cf nC8Au) lL ls only used ln Lhe LexL logo119 MarkeL share
8esearch company Canalys esLlmaLed ln C2 2009 LhaL Androld had a 28 share of worldwlde smarLphone shlpmenLs120 8y C4 2010 Lhls had grown Lo 33 of Lhe markeL becomlng Lhe Lopselllng smarLphone plaLform 1hls esLlmaLe lncludes Lhe 1apas and CMS varlanLs of Androld24 8y C3 2011 CarLner esLlmaLes more Lhan half (323) of Lhe smarLphone markeL belongs Lo Androld121
ln lebruary 2010 ComScore sald Lhe Androld plaLform had 90 of Lhe uS smarLphone markeL as measured by currenL moblle subscrlbers 1hls flgure was up from an earller esLlmaLe of 32 ln november 2009122 8y Lhe end of C3 2010 Androlds uS markeL share had grown Lo 214123
ln May 2010 Androlds flrsL quarLer uS sales surpassed LhaL of Lhe rlval lhone plaLform Accordlng Lo a reporL by Lhe nu group Androld achleved 23 smarLphone sales ln Lhe uS markeL up 8 from Lhe uecember quarLer ln Lhe second quarLer Apples lCS was up by 11 lndlcaLlng LhaL Androld ls Laklng markeL share malnly from 8lM and sLlll has Lo compeLe wlLh heavy consumer demand for new compeLlLor offerlngs124 lurLhermore analysLs polnLed Lo advanLages LhaL Androld has as a mulLl channel mulLlcarrler CS whlch allowed lL Lo dupllcaLe Lhe qulck success of MlcrosofLs Wlndows Moblle123 ln C4 2010 Androld had 39 of Lhe LoLal lnsLalled user base of Apples lCS ln Lhe uS and 46 of Lhe LoLal lnsLalled user base of lCS ln Lurope126127
As of !une 2011 Coogle sald LhaL 330000 new Androld devlces were belng acLlvaLed every day128up from 400000 per day a monLh earller ln May 2011 and more Lhan 100 mllllon devlces have been acLlvaLed22 Androld hlL 300000 acLlvaLlons per day back ln uecember 2010 Cn !uly 14 2011 330000 Androld devlces are now acLlvaLed by Coogle each day wlLh growLh 44 per week129 Cn Lhe 1sL of AugusL 2011 Canalys esLlmaLes Androld has abouL 48 of Lhe smarLphone markeL share130 Cn CcLober 13 2011 Coogle announced LhaL Lhere are 190 mllllon Androld devlces ln Lhe markeL131 usage share
usage share of Lhe dlfferenL verslons by november 3 2011132 verslonulsLrlbuLlon Al level 40 lce Cream Sandwlch 1413 0 3xx Poneycomb 1113 19 23x Clngerbread 910 444 22 lroyo 8 407 21 Lclalr 7 107 16 uonuL 4 14 13 Cupcake 3 09
Accordlng Lo Coogles CheL Passe and 8oman Cuy aL AnuevCon ll San lranclsco 2011 Lhere were Lwo more lnLernal releases called AsLro and 8ender 1he code names are ln alphabeLlc order and were allegedly changed from roboLs Lo desserLs Lo avold copyrlghL lssues lnLellecLual properLy lnfrlngemenL clalms See also Cracle CorporaLlon#LawsulL agalnsL Coogle
8oLh Androld and Androld phone manufacLurers have been Lhe LargeL of numerous paLenL lawsulLs Cn 12 AugusL 2010 Cracle sued Coogle over clalmed lnfrlngemenL of copyrlghLs and paLenLs relaLed Lo Lhe !ava programmlng language133 Speclflcally Lhe paLenL lnfrlngemenL clalm references seven unlLed SLaLes paLenLs lncludlng uS 3966702 MeLhod and apparaLus for preprocesslng and packaglng class flles and uS 6910203 lnLerpreLlng funcLlons uLlllzlng a hybrld of vlrLual and naLlve machlne lnsLrucLlons134 ln response Coogle submlLLed mulLlple llnes of defense counLerclalmlng LhaL Androld dld noL lnfrlnge on Cracles paLenLs or copyrlghL LhaL Cracles paLenLs were lnvalld and several oLher defenses 1hey sald LhaL Androld ls based on Apache Parmony a clean room lmplemenLaLlon of Lhe !ava class llbrarles and an lndependenLly developed vlrLual machlne called ualvlk133136137
MlcrosofL has also sued several manufacLurers of Androld devlces for paLenL lnfrlngemenL and collecLs paLenL llcenslng fees from oLhers ln CcLober 2011 MlcrosofL sald Lhey had slgned llcense agreemenLs wlLh Len Androld devlce manufacLurers accounLlng for 33 of worldwlde revenue for Androld devlces138 1hese lnclude Samsung and P1C139
Coogle has publlcly expressed lLs dlsllke for Lhe currenL paLenL landscape ln Lhe unlLed SLaLes accuslng Apple Cracle and MlcrosofL of Lrylng Lo Lake down Androld Lhrough paLenL llLlgaLlon raLher Lhan lnnovaLlng and compeLlng wlLh beLLer producLs and servlces140 ln AugusL 2011 Coogle purchased MoLorola MoblllLy for uS$123 bllllon whlch was vlewed ln parL as a defenslve measure Lo proLecL Androld slnce MoLorola MoblllLy had a 17000sLrong paLenL pool
Androld ls a sofLware sLack for moblle devlces LhaL lncludes an operaLlng sysLem mlddleware and key appllcaLlons1 1hls page seeks Lo llsL and compare hardware devlces LhaL are shlpped wlLh elLher Coogles Androld operaLlng sysLem or lLs Chone derlvaLlve from Chlna Moblle
Coogle has announced LhaL ln C3 2011 Lhe LoLal number of androld acLlvaLlons had surpassed 190 mllllon slgnlflcanL lncrease from 133 mllllon ln C2 2011 1he lncrease boosLed by sales of lower androld smarLphone prlces from Chlnese and lndlan manufacLurers Cfflclally released
1he followlng are llsLs of devlces LhaL have been released wlLh Coogles Androld operaLlng sysLem lnsLalled MulLlple names for Lhe same devlce are enLered ln Lhe same row where appllcable edlL SmarLphones
lor an explanaLlon of Lhe columns see 1emplaLelnfobox moblle phone/doc and/or 1emplaLelnfobox lnformaLlon appllance/doc edlL Acer
edlL CLher manufacLurers luLure Androld smarLphonesMaker name 8elease daLe verslon noLes uell llash C1 2011 22 33lnch WvCA LCu screen 3 M auLofocus cam 312 M8 of 8AM and 8CM wlLh mlcroSu expanslon up Lo 64 C8 Wlll 1vouL a 800 MPz Cualcomm MSM7230 processor103 Lumlgon 11 CcLober 2010 22 33lnch 1l1 capaclLlve Louchscreen Wlll 8lueLooLh ACS 720 PuMl ouL acceleromeLer 3 M auLofocus cam wlLh flash lreescale 1 CPz lMx31 3u processor and 33 mm [ack for audlo lM recelver and lM LransmlLLer106107
uell Smoke C2 2011 22 28lnch CvCA Louchscreen 3 M auLofocus cam mlcroSu expanslon Lo 32 C8 Wlll 8lueLooLh and a 800 MPz Cualcomm MSM7230 processor108 LC CpLlmus 3u 18A 22 43 glassesless 3u dlsplay upgradable Lo Androld 23 A8M CorLexA9 1 CPz processor (dual core) dual 3M camera capable of 720p 3u recordlng
edlL luLure LableL compuLersMaker name 8elease daLe verslon noLes Acer Llquld 3 March 2011 30 3 screen LableL109 Archos Archos 80 C9 SepLember 2011 32 8 screen dualcore CMA 4 processor (13 CPz A8M CorLex A9)110 Archos Archos 101 C9 SepLember 2011 32 101 screen dualcore CMA 4 processor (13 CPz A8M CorLex A9)110 Asus Lee ad L1011C March 2011 30 101 screen LableL wlLh nvldla 1egra111112 Asus 1ransformer rlme uecember 2011 40 101 screen LableL wlLh nvldla 1egra 3113 P1C CorporaLlon P1C llyer C2 2011 233 7 1l1 dlsplay P1C Sense wlLh sLylus as well as Louch lnpuL Lenovo Lead (SkyllghL SlaLe)114 Summer 2011113 22 101 capaclLlve dlsplay wlLh a resoluLlon of 1280x800 wlLh a Snapdragon 8630A processor S8S speakers and 1C8 of 8AM114 LC CpLlmus ad (1Moblle CSlaLe) !une 2011 30 89 LableL wlLh nvldla 1egra 2 1wo 3M Camera 720p and 3u recordlng PuMl porL uaLaWlnd/Cuad Aakash/ublSlaLe 7 2011 22 7 Low CosL 1ableL wlLh lowend hardware deslgned for sLudenLs Accessorles lnclude solar charger rugged caslng and keyboard Samsung Samsung Calaxy 1ab 70 lus 18A 32 70 LableL (1024x600) 12 CPz dual core processor Samsung Samsung Calaxy 1ab 77 18A 32 77 LableL (1280 x 800 WxCA) Samsung Samsung Calaxy 1ab 89 18A 30 89 LableL (1280x800) 1egra 2 processor dual core 1oshlba 1hrlve 7 uecember 2011 32 7 LableL (1280x800) nvldla 1egra 2 dualcore 1 CPz vlewSonlc vlewad 7x 18A 31 7 LableL 1egra 2 processor dual core Wlll PSA+ and an PuMl porL116
edlL luLure ereadersMaker name androldos 8ulldMCuLL 8elease daLe verslon noLes LlSeng v8ook AsLrl Mylu 2010 (producLlon sLarLed C2) 16 uualscreen 3 Llnk screen and 48 (800x600) LCu Louchscreen wlLh a 624 MPz Marvell xA310 processor 128 M8 of 8AM 2 C8 of flash sLorage bullLln Wlll117118 1Cross 1ech Mluhybrld 16 Lreader wlLh an Llnk screen on Lhe lefL and a LCu plus keypad on Lhe rlghL wlLh 3C 8lueLooLh and a fronLfaclng webcam119