Android is a software stack for mobile devices that includes an operating system, middleware and key applications. The Android SDK provides the tools and APIs necessary to begin developing applications on the Android platform using the Java programming language. Operating Systems 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.
The Android platform is made available under one of the most progressive, developer-friendly open-source licenses, which gives mobile operators and device manufacturers significant freedom and flexibility to design products. The Alliance has released an early access software development kit to provide developers with the tools necessary to create innovative and compelling applications for the platform. Android holds the promise of unprecedented benefits for consumers, developers and manufacturers of mobile services and devices. Handset manufacturers and wireless operators will be free to customize Android in order to bring to market innovative new products faster and at a much lower cost. Developers will have complete access to handset capabilities and tools that will enable them to build more compelling and user-friendly services, bringing the Internet developer model to the mobile space. And consumers worldwide will have access to less expensive mobile devices that feature more compelling services, rich Internet applications and easier-to-use interfaces -- ultimately creating a superior mobile experience.
ANDROID OS
Android is an operating system for mobile devices such as smartphones and tablet computers. It is developed by the Open Handset Alliance led by Google. Android consists of a kernel based on the Linux kernel, with middleware, libraries and APIs written in C and application software running on an application framework which includes Java-compatible libraries based on Apache Harmony. Android uses the Dalvik virtual machine with just-in-time compilation to run Dalvik bytecode, which is usually translated from Java bytecode. Android has a large community of developers writing applications ("apps") that extend the functionality of the devices. Developers write primarily in a customized version of Java. There are currently approximately 300,000 apps available for Android, from a total of 500,000 apps over the life of Android. Apps can be downloaded from third-party sites or through online stores such as Android Market, the app store run by Google.
ANDROID APPLICATION SECURITY
Android applications run in a sandbox, an isolated area of the operating system that does not have access to the rest of the system's resources, unless access permissions are granted by the user when the application is installed. Before installing an application, Android Market displays all required permissions. A game may need to enable vibration, for example, but should not need to read messages or access the phonebook. After reviewing these permissions, the user can decide whether to install the application.
How is Android different?
Compared to many existing platforms, Android is truly open to continued innovation and new experiences. This is because independent developers have almost unlimited access to the platform, so they can develop applications never seen before. End users will enjoy a much greater choice of mobile applications to enhance email, texting, Web browsing, music, camera and calling capabilities. The Android platform is made available under one of the most progressive, developer-friendly open-source licenses, which gives mobile operators and device manufacturers significant freedom and flexibility to design products. The Alliance has released an early access software development kit to provide developers with the tools necessary to create innovative and compelling applications for the platform.
Honeycomb android 3.0 “Built Entirely For Tablet” like what shown on the video introducion show. The video that was upload on youtube by androiddeveloper said on the video’s description. Many changes were made to this latest honeycomb android, including the addition of Gtalk feature for video chat, which can also be supported for video conferencing. Google’s Honeycomb update full 3D mapping has tucked away inside Google Maps. That’s beautiful 3D rendered buildings alongside satellite imagery. Google Did not leave its other popular web-apps like as always.Google has re-tooled the Android 3.0 Honeycomb browser, packing minimalist controls to really make the most of bigger screens found on Some Honeycomb tablets.
ANDROIDPHONE
The phone features a unique bar coding application so if you are shopping somewhere, you can quickly scan the barcode of any product in the shelf to get more information about that product using your Google phone. Karbonn A 1 is an Android Froyo phone with 2.7 inch touchscreen. The phone has 3.2MP camera with motion sensor and is capable of recording videos. It has 3G, Wi-Fi, GPRS, EDGE, and USB connectivity. The phone comes with push email support, Gtalk IM, and access to Gmail. It has 4GB internal memory, which is expandable up to 32GB. Other features include Adobe Flash Player 10.1, GPS, Mobile TV, and Office document viewer.
Developers have full access to the same framework APIs used by the core applications. The application architecture is designed to simplify the reuse of components; any application can publish its capabilities and any other application may then make use of those capabilities (subject to security constraints enforced by the framework). This same mechanism allows components to be replaced by the user.A rich and extensible set of Views that can be used to build an application, including lists, grids, text boxes, buttons, and even an embeddable web browser.
Content Providers that enable applications to access data from other applications (such as Contacts), or to share their own data.
A Resource Manager, providing access to non-code resources such as localized strings, graphics, and layout files.
A Notification Manager that enables all applications to display custom alerts in the status bar.
