Understanding the Android Operating System

By Dan McNaught

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The battle among mobile operating systems is in full force these days.  Ever since the launch of the iPhone in 2007, its immediate success has opened the door for other manufacturers not previously in the mobile phone arena to take a similar hardware plunge.

It's not simply the hardware that made the iPhone so successful.  It was its software, or operating system, which provided such a simplistic yet beautiful user interface and menu system that made the overall end-user experience so pleasant.  While previous smartphones were seemingly one form of vanilla (read: Windows Mobile, Symbian or Palm) or another for years up to its entrance into the marketplace, the iPhone brought something different to the table.  It brought something unique -- a new operating system.

Now enter Google, which has developed its own operating system, and placed it within new smartphones and mobile devices of many different manufacturers now on the market (with many more on the way).  That operating system is now ubiquitously known as Android.  Focusing solely on the operating system alone at first, Google allowed almost any manufacturer to place it within their devices, as opposed to making handsets themselves with the platform in them.  This alleviated additional manufacturing up front, allowing developers to hone in on perfecting the user experience.  After all, there was a lot riding on Android.

At first, Android was a work in progress.  However, almost immediately hiccups were worked out, and people really seem to be loving it now.  It provides a similarly pleasant experience to that of its chief competitor, all the while being truly open-sourced, meaning it can improve its features in devices at a much faster pace than any other operating system can, since anyone can partake in that correctional effort.  Such correctional speed and improvement momentum, as we have seen ever since the Motorola 'Droid' was released on Verizon Wireless running the newest version of the Android operating system version 2.0, aka 'Éclair' (being one of the most successful device launches in Verizon's history), is close to 'runaway freight train' speed in its hype and potential.  A software platform primarily, Android presents the ability to cross technological divides and be placed in any number of different forms of hardware.  Already we're hearing of Android being installed within notebooks to be released this year, as well as a host of other potential devices in the pipeline.

So what is it about this new shiny Android operating system that makes it so unique?  Well, it's many things, actually.  First off, as mentioned, its open-sourced software.  It also packs some really cool features unseen before in smartphones to date.  Some of those features that others charge an arm and a leg for are offered for free with an Android device.

What does 'open-sourced' mean you ask? In short, it means anyone can improve upon the actual operating systems' code to make it better, as opposed to a company doing it privately by themselves.  Through what's called an Apache 2.0 license on October 21st, 2008, Google released their entire Android source code to the public.  The Apache 2.0 license states that anyone can modify and distribute proprietary software without having to submit the modified versions for approval.  So, Google allowed anyone to use their base Android software code to try to make it better, or even to build applications that work within the operating system, without restricting how to do so in any fashion.  The results speak for themselves, and with each new version release, the experience continues to get better.  About to release their newest operating system, version 2.1 (codenamed 'Flan'), the Android operating system continues to evolve at lightning speed, adding even more fun features with each iteration.

Such openness lends itself to potential upkeep problems though.  While each Android smartphone manufacturer has the ability to tweak the user interface and make their own 'flavor' of Android smartphone, fixing bugs is tougher as there is no one single user interface to make it easier. On the flip-side, the numerous advantages to open source code make it well worth it, as creativity is unbridled, leading to great features and apps for the user in the end.  Speaking of which, there are already some great features that accompany every Android handset.  Let's take a closer look at some.

One very cool standard feature of Android smartphones is its voice-command capabilities. There is voice-to-text, which provides the ability to have your speech translated into text for messaging purposes (both text and emails, which is very nice).  There are voice commands for in-application use also.  Need to search for an address?  Just voice search within Google maps.  Other voice capabilities include voice dialing contacts, launching the music player, etc.  Any field where text can be entered or a program can be accessed with specific information, Android's voice capabilities are there for you.

Another great feature is the multi-touch user interface (UI).  An enhanced version of which has been designed by HTC for Android devices (based on Touchflo 3D), which allow for all the capabilities of Touchflo 3D as well as some improvements to it. There is a 'Friend Stream' widget (which aggregates all Twitter, Facebook and Flickr information) as well as a widget named 'Leap', which allows access to all the home screens at once. These improvements make the navigation of any Android smartphone not only seamless, but fun for the user as well.

Speaking of widgets, a couple very cool standard applications on Android smartphones include Goggles, Google Voice and Google Navigation.  Being a Google operating system, it's clear there will be a large Google footprint in terms of applications.  Google Voice is an amazing service that many already use on their desktops and phones now.  It provides the user with a custom US phone number for free, and allows for call forwarding to other numbers, as well as universal voicemail and other cool features, all web-based for universal access.  Goggles is an amazingly cool photo app that uses a photo snapped by a user and searches the web for information pertaining to the photo (through Google of course). It's pretty impressive to take a photo of the Golden Gate Bridge, and then see a host of image and information results on it found through Google instantly without any user input.  Lastly, the coup de grâce, is Google Navigation.  Using Google maps, the navigation provided in Android smartphones is live, voice-guided, turn-by-turn navigation.  Sounds like a sweet deal, right?  But that's not all. It's all free. The services that iPhone 3GS users pay nearly $100 montly for is absolutely free on every Android smartphone; and yes, jealousy ensues.

The last great feature associated with Android smartphones is the Marketplace.  Marketplace is an all-in-one application store similar to the the iPhone App Store.  The great sales success of current Android phones has got code jockeys everywhere writing apps for Android devices at record pace.  Just as Apple claims "there's an app for that", you can rest assured that the same can be said of Android devices. 

So, in conclusion, Android has proven its marketplace mettle in a big way.  With such tremendous current features and daily evolution, its foray into notebooks, eReader tablets (Barnes & Noble Nook), and other devices is a testament to its current smartphone success.  Its future truly is immeasurable, and its present nothing less than that for us all.