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Android development

 

The Android platform is the product of the Open Handset Alliance , a group of organizations collaborating to build a better mobile phone. The group, led by Google, includes mobile operators, device handset manufacturers, component manufacturers, software solution and platform providers, and marketing companies. From a software development standpoint, Android sits smack in the middle of the open source world.

The first Android-capable handset on the market was the G1 device manufactured by HTC and provisioned on T-Mobile. The device became available after almost a year of speculation, where the only software development tools available were some incrementally improving SDK releases. As the G1 release date neared, the Android team released SDK V1.0 and applications began surfacing for the new platform.

To spur innovation, Google sponsored two rounds of "Android Developer Challenges," where millions of dollars were given to top contest submissions. A few months after the G1, the Android Market was released, allowing users to browse and download applications directly to their phones. Over about 18 months, a new mobile platform entered the public arena.

 Android is a complete operating environment based upon the Linux® V2.6 kernel. Initially, the deployment target for Android was the mobile-phone arena, including smart phones and lower-cost flip-phone devices. However, Android's full range of computing services and rich functional support have the potential to extend beyond the mobile-phone market. Android can be useful for other platforms and applications. In this article, get an introduction to the Android platform and learn how to code a basic Android application.