Android
According to Wikipedia, android is
a Linux-based operating
system for mobile devices. It was developed by the Open handset Alliance,
led by Google. Google financially backed the initial developer of the software,
Android Inc., and later purchased it in 2005. The promotion of the Android
distribution in 2007 was announced with the founding of the Open Handset
Alliance, an association of eighty-six hardware,
software, and telecommunication companies devoted to advancing open standards for mobile devices. Google releases
the Android code as open-source,
under the Apache License.
The Android Open Source Project (AOSP) is tasked with the preservation
and further development of Android.
Android
has a large community of developers writing applications ("apps") that
widen the functionality of the devices. Google can download from third-party
sites to through online stores such as Google Play (formerly Android Market),
the application store run developers write primarily in a customized version of
Java Applications In June 2012, there were more than 600,000 applications
available for Android, and the estimated number of applications downloaded from
Google Play was 20 billion.
Android
became the world’s leading Smartphone platform at the end of 2010. For the first quarter of 2012, Android
had a 59% Smartphone market share worldwide. At
the half of 2012, there were 400 million devices activated and 1 million
activations per day. Analysts
point to the advantage to Android of being a multi-channel, multi-carrier OS.
iOS
is better smart phone platform, it has great features and many more, but for a
jeepney commuter an apple phone (which iOS run) is a very expensive phone. Not
all commuters can afford this.
Symbian
OS because of the advancement of technology, the Symbian was left behind by
android and iOS.
According
to Zach Epstein (May 24th, 2012) Android finished the quarter as the
overall leader among the mobile operating systems, accounting for more than
half of all smart phone shipments. Android boasted the longest list of smart
phone vendor partners.
Table 2.0 Worldwide mobile device
sales to end users by operating system in 2Q12 (Thousands of Units)
Operating System
|
2Q12
Units
|
2Q12 Market Share (%)
|
2Q11
Units
|
2Q11 Market Share (%)
|
Android
|
98,529.3
|
64.1
|
46,775.9
|
43.4
|
iOS
|
28,935.0
|
18.8
|
19,628.8
|
18.2
|
Symbian
|
9,071.5
|
5.9
|
23,853.2
|
22.1
|
Research In Motion
|
7,991.2
|
5.2
|
12,652.3
|
11.7
|
Bada
|
4,208.8
|
2.7
|
2,055.8
|
1.9
|
Microsoft
|
4,087.0
|
2.7
|
1,723.8
|
1.6
|
Others
|
863.3
|
0.6
|
1,050.6
|
1.0
|
Total
|
153,686.1
|
100.0
|
107,740.4
|
100.0
|
Source: Gartner (August 2012)
Table 2.1 Worldwide Smartphone
Sales to End Users by Operating System in 4Q11 (Thousands of Units)
Operating System
|
4Q11
Units
|
4Q11 Market Share (%)
|
4Q10
Units
|
4Q10 Market Share (%)
|
Android
|
75,906.1
|
50.9
|
30,801.2
|
30.5
|
iOS
|
35,456.0
|
23.8
|
16,011.1
|
15.8
|
Symbian
|
17,458.4
|
11.7
|
32,642.1
|
32.3
|
Research In Motion
|
13,184.5
|
8.8
|
14,762.0
|
14.6
|
Bada
|
3,111.3
|
2.1
|
2,026.8
|
2.0
|
Microsoft
|
2,759.0
|
1.9
|
3,419.3
|
3.4
|
Others
|
1,166.5
|
0.8
|
1,487.9
|
1.5
|
Total
|
149,041.8
|
100.0
|
101,150.3
|
100.0
|
Source: Gartner (February 2012)
Table 2.2 Worldwide Smartphone
Sales to End Users by Operating System in 2010 (Thousands of Units)
Company
|
2010
Units
|
2010 Market Share (%)
|
2009
Units
|
2009 Market Share (%)
|
Symbian
|
111,576.7
|
37.6
|
80,878.3
|
46.9
|
Android
|
67,224.5
|
22.7
|
6,798.4
|
3.9
|
Research In Motion
|
47,451.6
|
16.0
|
34,346.6
|
19.9
|
iOS
|
46,598.3
|
15.7
|
24,889.7
|
14.4
|
Microsoft
|
12,378.2
|
4.2
|
15,031.0
|
8.7
|
Other Os
|
11417.4
|
3.8
|
10432.1
|
6.1
|
Total
|
296,646.6
|
100.0
|
172,376.1
|
100.0
|
Source: Gartner (February 2011)
On table 2.2 it show the sales of different mobile
platform from 2010 up to the second quarter of 2012. Table shows that android
sales have gone higher every year.
In terms
in compatibility, Android Support Package includes static "support
libraries" that you can add to your Android application in order to use
APIs that are either not available for older platform versions or that offer
"utility" APIs that aren't a part of the framework APIs. The goal is
to simplify your development by offering more APIs that you can bundle with
your application so you can less about platform versions.
Retrieved from: http://developer.android.com/tools/extras/support-library.html#Notes
Table 2.3 Comparison list the main differences between each
versions of the android platform.
Android Versions
|
Release date
|
Key features
added
|
Version name
|
Android market
share
|
API Level
|
Flash support
|
Screen size
support
|
Based on Linux
kernel version
|
Android 4.1
|
2012 Jun 27
|
Android Beam (easy data transfer: NFC + Bluetooth)
Voice Search
Speed enhancements
Camera application improvements
Accessibility: gesture mode, enable braille external
keyboards...
|
Jelly Bean
|
1.2 %
|
16
|
Yes
|
3.1.10
|
|
Android 4.0.4
|
2012 Mar 28
|
stability improvements
better camera performance
smoother screen rotation
|
Ice Cream Sandwich
|
20.8 % (4.0.3 - 4.0.4)
|
15
|
Yes
|
3.0.1
|
|
Android 4.0.3
|
2011 Dec 16
|
Social stream API in Contacts provider to show updates
associated to your contacts
Video stabilization and QVGA video resolution API
access
Accessibility API refinements for screen readers
Calendar provider updates
|
Ice Cream Sandwich
|
15
|
Yes
|
3.0.1
|
||
Android 4.0.2
|
2011 Nov 28
|
Minor fixes
|
Ice Cream Sandwich
|
0.1 % (4.0.1 - 4.0.2)
|
14
|
Yes
|
3.0.1
|
|
Android 4.0.1
|
2011 Oct 19
|
Facial recognition (Face Unlock)
UI use Hardware acceleration
Better voice recognition (dictating/Voice typing)
Web browser, allows up to 16 tabs
Updated launcher (customizable)
Android Beam application to exchange data through NFC
Resizable widgets
|
Ice Cream Sandwich
|
14
|
Yes
|
3.0.1
|
||
Android 3.2.6
|
2012 Feb 15
|
Minor fixes
|
Honeycomb
|
1.6 % (3.2 - 3.2.6)
|
13
|
Yes
|
2.6.36
|
|
Android 3.2.4
|
2011 Dec 15
|
Added "Pay as you go" for tablets
|
Honeycomb
|
13
|
Yes
|
2.6.36
|
||
Android 3.2.2
|
2011 Sep 30
|
Minor fixes
|
Honeycomb
|
13
|
Yes
|
2.6.36
|
||
Android 3.2.1
|
2011 Sep 20
|
Android Market updates including easier automatic
updates
Google Books updates
Wi-Fi improvements
Chinese handwriting prediction improved
|
Honeycomb
|
13
|
Yes
|
2.6.36
|
||
Android 3.2
|
2011 Jul 15
|
Optimizations for a wider range of tablets
Compatibility display mode (zoom for fixed-sized applications)
Media sync from SD card
|
Honeycomb
|
13
|
Yes
|
2.6.36
|
||
Android 3.1
|
2011 May 10
|
UI improvements
Open Accessory API
USB host API
Mice, joysticks, gamepads... support
Resizable Home screen widgets
MTP notifications
RTP API for audio
|
Honeycomb
|
0.5 %
|
12
|
Yes
|
2.6.36
|
|
Android 3.0
|
2011 Feb 22
|
Multi core support
Better tablet support
Updated 3D UI
Google Talk video chat
Google eBooks
"Private browsing"
|
Honeycomb
|
0 %
|
11
|
Yes
|
2.6.36
|
|
Android 2.3.7
|
Google Wallet support for the Nexus S 4G
|
Gingerbread
|
57.2 % (2.3.3 - 2.3.7)
|
10
|
Yes
|
2.6.35
|
||
Android 2.3.6
|
Voice search issue fixed
|
Gingerbread
|
10
|
Yes
|
2.6.35
|
|||
Android 2.3.5
|
2011 Jul 25
|
Improved network performance for the Nexus S 4G
Fixed Bluetooth issues on the Samsung Galaxy S
Gmail application. Improvements
|
Gingerbread
|
10
|
Yes
|
2.6.35
|
||
Android 2.3.4
|
2011 May 10
|
Open Accessory API
Voice or video chat using Google Talk
|
Gingerbread
|
10
|
Yes
|
2.6.35
|
||
Android 2.3.3
|
2011 Feb 9
|
NFC API improvements (peer to peer
communication...)
|
Gingerbread
|
10
|
Yes
|
2.6.35
|
||
Android 2.3
|
2010 Dec 6
|
Updated UI
WebM video playback capability
Improved copy/paste
Social networking features
Near Field Communication support
Native VoIP/SIP support
Video call support
|
Gingerbread
|
0.3 % (2.3 - 2.3.2)
|
9
|
Yes
|
1366×768 WXGA
|
2.6.35
|
Android 2.2
|
2010 May 20
|
Speed improvements
JIT implementation
USB Tethering
Applications installation to the expandable memory
Upload file support in the browser
Animated GIFs
|
Froyo
|
14 %
|
8
|
Yes 10.1
|
800×480 WVGA
|
2.6.32
|
Android 2.1
|
2010 Jan 12
|
Updated UI
|
Eclair
|
3.7 % (2.0 - 2.1)
|
7
|
No Flash
Lite 4 on some device
|
800×480 WVGA
|
2.6.29
|
Android 2.0.1
|
2009 Dec 3
|
Eclair
|
6
|
No Flash
Lite 4 on some device
|
800×480 WVGA
|
2.6.29
|
||
Android 2.0
|
2009 Oct 26
|
HTML
Digital zoom
Microsoft Exchange support
Bluetooth 2.1
Live Wallpapers
Updated UI
|
Eclair
|
5
|
No Flash
Lite 4 on some device
|
800×480 WVGA
|
2.6.29
|
|
Android 1.6
|
2009 Sep 15
|
Gesture framework
Turn-by-turn navigation
|
Donut
|
0.4 %
|
4
|
No Flash
Lite 4 on some device
|
800×480 WVGA
|
2.6.29
|
Android 1.5
|
2009 Apr 30
|
Bluetooth A2DP, AVRCP support
Soft-keyboard with text-prediction
Record/watch videos
|
Cupcake
|
0.2 %
|
3
|
No Flash
Lite 4 on some device
|
320x480 HVGA
|
2.6.27
|
Android 1.1
|
2009 Feb 9
|
Banana bread
|
2
|
No
|
320x480 HVGA
|
2.6
|
||
Android 1.0
|
2008 Sep 23
|
Apple pie
|
1
|
No
|
320x480 HVGA
|
|||
Android 0.9
|
2008 Aug 18
|
No
|
Source:http://socialcompare.com/en/comparison/android-versions-comparisonhttp://socialcompare.com/en/comparison/android-versions-comparison
On
the table 2.3 it shows the different android versions and what feature added on
the latest version. It also show the different version name and what API
(application programming interface) to be used by a programmer in creating an
application on a certain version of android.
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