Android Technology

 

An Introduction to Android

      World is contracting with the growth of mobile phone technology. As the number of users is increasing day by day, facilities are also increasing. Starting with simple regular handsets which were used just for making phone calls, mobiles have changed our lives and have become part of it. Now they are not used just for making calls but they have innumerable uses and can be used as a Camera , Music player, Tablet PC, T.V. , Web browser etc . And with the new technologies, new software and operating systems are required.

What is Android?

    Operating system have developed a lot in last 15 years. Starting from black and white phones to recent smart phones or mini computers, mobile OS has come far away. Especially for smart phones, Mobile OS has greatly evolved from Palm OS in 1996 to Windows pocket PC in 2000 then to Blackberry OS and Android.

One of the most widely used mobile OS these days is ANDROID. Android is a software bunch comprising not only operating system but also middle ware and key applications. Android Inc was founded in Palo Alto of California, U.S. by Andy  bin, Rich miner, Nick sears and Chris White in 2003.

History

• 2001 search service for wireless device

2005

 – Acquire Android (Andy Rubin: Danger CEO, Development Sidekick of T-Mobile)

– Acquire SIKY (2D Graphics for mobile device)

– Acquire Wireless (Browser and Email for mobile device)

 – Move Engineers from Source (Dianne Hack born, etc…)

• 2007 Nov 5: Android announced

• 2007 Nov 12: Android SDK released by OHA

• 2007 Dec 14: Bug-fix SDK released

• 2008 Jan 3: Android Developer Challenge I starts accepting submissions

• 2008 Feb 13: m5-rc15 SDK released

• 2008 Apr 14: 1788 total submissions for Challenge I

• 2008 May 12: Top 50 Applications in Challenge I announced

• 2008 Nov: Android Phone (G1 Phone by HTC/T-mobile)

ANDROID ARCHITECTURE

Linux kernel

At the bottom of the layers is Linux - Linux 3.6 with approximately 115 patches. This provides a level of abstraction between the device hardware and it contains all the essential hardware drivers like camera, keypad, display etc. Also, the kernel handles all the things that Linux is really good at such as networking and a vast array of device drivers, which take the pain out of interfacing to peripheral hardware.

Libraries

On top of Linux kernel there is a set of libraries including open-source Web browser well known library , SQ  database which is a useful repository for storage and sharing of application data, libraries to play and record audio and video, SSL libraries responsible for Internet security etc.

Android Libraries

This category encompasses those Java-based libraries that are specific to Android development. Examples of libraries in this category include the application framework libraries in addition to those that facilitate user interface building, graphics drawing and database access. A summary of some key core Android libraries available to the Android developer is as follows −

·        android.app − Provides access to the application model and is the cornerstone of all Android applications.

·         ANDROID content − Facilitates content access, publishing and messaging between applications and application components.

·        ANDROID OS  − Provides applications with access to standard operating system services including messages, system services and inter-process communication.

·         ANDROID text − Used to render and manipulate text on a device display.

·        ANDROID view − The fundamental building blocks of application user interfaces.

PROGRAMMING FOR ANDROID

Android technology is based on java@ software application. This technology requires the use of special software development kit (SDK) to create application for an android device. The SDK is freely available for download from the internet. For this reason, and because of it will work on multiple operating system, many software developers prefer android product over those used in other smart phone

            Smart phone have evolved into device that use touch screen for navigation. Android technology provides specific application programming interface (API) modules of developers that take advantage of this. The touch screen enables the users to select and scroll through information with the stroke of finger.

Features & Specifications

Android is a powerful Operating System supporting a large number of applications in Smart Phones. These applications make life more comfortable and advanced for the users. Hardware that support Android are mainly based on ARM architecture platform. Some of the current features and specifications of android are:

Android comes with an Android market which is an online software store. It was developed by Google. It allows Android users to select, and download applications developed by third party developers and use them.

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF ANDROID…

Advantages of Android:

Cost Effective:

The first thing about Android is its cost People  who used to be with base level mobiles would be fed up with the boring option But with the low price now they can go for Android phones with good design and lot of applications which is not possible with the Apple, Blackberry and some.

 Multitasking:

Android  has a multitasking option so you can run many applications .As this is not a new stuff nowadays but it comes under Advantage room.

 Easy Access of Store:

So the store is in the home screen which is easy to access the applications. You don t need to settle with the fixed applications as the store is filled, filling and will be filled with plenty of applications.

 User Interface Big Screen:

Android breaks the word ‘More Money Big Phone’. Yes you can afford a big screen android mobile with your savings .So there is no need to close your bank account.

 Disadvantages of Android:

Application Quality:

Application Quality is not so good. There is no standard for these applications. Few application roam with the memory Leaks and Crashes

 Battery Life:

Android more wasteful than any other operating system, because this operating system is a lot of “process” in the background that lead to the battery quickly drains.

APPLICATION

 Virus Applications:

Few Android Applications contain virus also present in the Android Market.  Due the lack of Quality Standard many applications contain viruses which makes your mobile hung.

Advertise:

Application in the Android phones can indeed be obtained easily and for free, but the consequences in each of these applications, will always be ads on display, either the top or bottom of the application.

These are the basics of Android applications:

•      Android applications are composed of one or more application components (activities, services, content providers, and broadcast receivers)

•      Each component performs a different role in the overall application behavior, and each one can be activated individually (even by other applications)

•      The manifest file must declare all components in the application and should also declare all application requirements, such as the minimum version of Android required and any hardware configurations required

•      Non-code application resources (images, strings, layout files, etc.) should include alternatives for different device configurations (such as different strings for different languages)

Google, for software development and application development, had launched two competitions ADC1 and ADC2 for the most innovative applications for Android. It offered prizes of USD 10 million combined in ADC1 and 2. ADC1 was launched in January 2008 and ADC 2 was launched in May 2009. These competitions helped Google a lot in making Android better, more user friendly, advanced and interactive.