About android
Android is a Linux Kernel based operating system that has been mainly developed for smartphones, tablets, and other similar devices. Since 2013, Android has been the best-selling Operating System for tablets. The user interface of the Android operating system is mainly designed on the basis of direct manipulation. You will find the Android operating system managing billion of devices starting from phone, tablets, watches, TV, cars, and so on. Apart from the touchscreen devices, Google has made the Android available for many other types of devices, such as Android TV for televisions, Android Auto for cars, and many more. The different types of Android operating systems are used on notebooks, digital cameras, and many other electronic devices.
Main uses
Following are the major uses of Android:
- Provides touch inputs in the default user interface.
- Extends the functionality of devices by offering many applications that are developed using the Android Software Development Kit (SDK).
- Manages processes to ensure minimum power consumption.
- Provides a virtual reality platform that is managed by Google.
History of android
The initial version of Android was released in November 2007, and the commercial version Android 1.0 was introduced in September 2008. The latest version of Android is Marshmallow that was released in December 2015. The timeline of introduction of Android is as follows:
- Cupcake version 1.5 was released on 27th April 2009
- Donut version 1.6 was released on 15th September 2009
- Éclair version 2.0 was released on 26th October 2009
- Froyo version 2.2 was released on 20th May 2009
- Gingerbread version 2.3 was released on 6th December 2010
- Honeycomb version 3.0 was released on 22nd February 2011
- Ice cream Sandwich version 4.0 was released on18th October 2011
- Jelly Bean version 4.1 was released on 9th July 2012
- Kitkat version 4.4 was released on 31st October 2013
- Lollipop version 5.0 was released on12th November 2014
- Marshmallow version 6.0 was released on 5th October 2015