1. Android is a Linux-based operating system[12]
designed primarily for touchscreen mobile
devices such as smartphones and tablet computers. Initially developed by Android, Inc.,
which Google backed financially and later bought in 2005,[13]
Android was unveiled in 2007
along with the founding of the Open Handset Alliance: a consortium of hardware, software,
and telecommunication companies devoted to advancing open standards for mobile
devices.[14]
The first Android-powered phone was sold in October 2008.[15]
Android is open source and Google releases the code under the Apache License.[12]
This open
source code and permissive licensing allows the software to be freely modified and distributed
by device manufacturers, wireless carriers and enthusiast developers. Additionally, Android has
a large community of developers writing applications ("apps") that extend the functionality of
devices, written primarily in a customized version of theJava programming language.[16]
In
October 2012, there were approximately 700,000 apps available for Android, and the estimated
number of applications downloaded from Google Play, Android's primary app store, was 25
billion.[17][18]
These factors have contributed towards making Android the world's most widely used
smartphone platform,[19]
overtaking Symbian in the fourth quarter of 2010,[20]
and the software of
choice for technology companies who require a low-cost, customizable, lightweight operating
system for high tech devices without developing one from scratch.[21]
As a result, despite being
primarily designed for phones and tablets, it has seen additional applications
on televisions, games consoles, digital cameras and other electronics. Android's open nature
has further encouraged a large community of developers and enthusiasts to use the open
source code as a foundation for community-driven projects, which add new features for
advanced users[22]
or bring Android to devices which were officially released running other
operating systems.
Android had a worldwide smartphone market share of 75% during the third quarter of
2012,[23]
with 750 million devices activated in total and 1.5 million activations per day.[24]
The
operating system's success has made it a target for patent litigation as part of the so-called
"smartphone wars" between technology companies.[25][26]
Contents
[hide]
1 History
2 Description
o 2.1 Interface
o 2.2 Applications
3 Development

2. o 3.1 Linux
o 3.2 Proprietary binary dependencies
o 3.3 Memory management
o 3.4 Update schedule
o 3.5 Open source community
4 Security and privacy
5 Licensing
o 5.1 Non-free software
6 Reception
o 6.1 Tablets
o 6.2 Market share and rate of adoption
o 6.3 Usage share of Android versions
o 6.4 Application piracy
7 Copyrights and patents
8 Beyond smartphones and tablets
9 See also
10 References
11 External links
History
Android, Inc. was founded in Palo Alto, California in October 2003 by Andy Rubin (co-founder
of Danger),[27]
Rich Miner (co-founder of Wildfire Communications, Inc.),[28]
Nick Sears[29]
(once
VP at T-Mobile),[30]
and Chris White (headed design and interface development at WebTV)[13]
to
develop, in Rubin's words "smarter mobile devices that are more aware of its owner's location
and preferences".[13]
The early intentions of the company were to develop an advanced
operating system for digital cameras, when it was realised that the market for the devices was
not large enough, and diverted their efforts to producing a smartphone operating system to rival
those of Symbianand Windows Mobile (Apple's iPhone had not been released at the
time).[31]
Despite the past accomplishments of the founders and early employees, Android Inc.
operated secretly, revealing only that it was working on software for mobile phones.[13]
That
same year, Rubin ran out of money. Steve Perlman, a close friend of Rubin, brought him
$10,000 in cash in an envelope and refused a stake in the company.[32]
Google acquired Android Inc. on August 17, 2005, making it a wholly owned subsidiary of
Google. Key employees of Android Inc., including Rubin, Miner and White, stayed at the
company after the acquisition.[13]
Not much was known about Android Inc. at the time, but many

3. assumed that Google was planning to enter the mobile phone market with this move.[13]
At
Google, the team led by Rubin developed a mobile device platform powered by the Linux
kernel. Google marketed the platform to handset makers and carriers on the promise of
providing a flexible, upgradable system. Google had lined up a series of hardware component
and software partners and signaled to carriers that it was open to various degrees of
cooperation on their part.[33][34][35]
Speculation about Google's intention to enter the mobile communications market continued to
build through December 2006.[36]
Reports from the BBC and the Wall Street Journal noted that
Google wanted its search and applications on mobile phones and it was working hard to deliver
that. Print and online media outlets soon reported rumors that Google was developing a Google-
brandedhandset. Some speculated that as Google was defining technical specifications, it was
showing prototypes to cell phone manufacturers and network operators. In September
2007, InformationWeek covered an Evalueserve study reporting that Google had filed
severalpatent applications in the area of mobile telephony.[37][38]
On November 5, 2007, the Open Handset Alliance, a consortium of technology companies
including Google, device manufacturers such as HTC and Samsung, wireless carriers such
as Sprint Nextel and T-Mobile, and chipset makers such as Qualcomm and Texas Instruments,
unveiled itself, with a goal to develop open standards for mobile devices.[14]
That day, Android
was unveiled as its first product, a mobile device platform built on the Linux kernel version
2.6.[14]
The first commercially available phone to run Android was theHTC Dream, released on
October 22, 2008.[39]
Since 2008, Android has seen numerous updates which have incrementally improved the
operating system, adding new features and fixing bugs in previous releases. Each major release
is named in alphabetical order after a dessert or sugary treat; for example, version
1.5 Cupcake was followed by 1.6 Donut. The latest release is 4.2 Jelly Bean. In 2010, Google
launched its Nexus series of devices—a line of smartphones and tablets running the Android
operating system, and built by a manufacturer partner. HTC collaborated with Google to release
the first Nexus smartphone,[40]
the Nexus One. The series has since been updated with newer
devices, such as theNexus 4 phone and Nexus 10 tablet, made by LG and Samsung,
respectively. Google releases the Nexus phones and tablets to act as their flagship Android
devices, demonstrating Android's latest software and hardware features.
On 13 March 2013, it was announced by Larry Page in a blog post that Andy Rubin had moved
from the Android division to take on new projects at Google.[41]
He was replaced by Sundar
Pichai, who also continues his role as the head of Google's Chrome division,[42]
which
develops Chrome OS.
Description
See also: List of features in Android and Android version history

4. Interface
Android's user interface is based on direct manipulation,[43]
using touch inputs that loosely
correspond to real-world actions, like swiping, tapping, pinching and reverse pinching to
manipulate on-screen objects.[43]
The response to user input is designed to be immediate and
provides a fluid touch interface, often using the vibration capabilities of the device to
provide haptic feedback to the user. Internal hardware such
as accelerometers, gyroscopes and proximity sensors are used by some applications to
respond to additional user actions, for example adjusting the screen from portrait to landscape
depending on how the device is oriented, or allowing the user to steer a vehicle in a racing
game by rotating the device, simulating control of a steering wheel.[44]
Android devices boot to the homescreen, the primary navigation and information point on the
device, which is similar to the desktopfound on PCs. Android homescreens are typically made
up of app icons and widgets; app icons launch the associated app, whereas widgets display
live, auto-updating content such as the weather forecast, the user's email inbox, or a news
ticker directly on the homescreen.[45]
A homescreen may be made up of several pages that the
user can swipe back and forth between, though Android's homescreen interface is heavily
customisable, allowing the user to adjust the look and feel of the device to their tastes. Third
party apps available on Google Play and other app stores can extensively re-theme the
homescreen, and even mimic the look of other operating systems, such as Windows
Phone.[46]
Most manufacturers, and some wireless carriers, customise the look and feel of their
Android devices to differentiate themselves from the competition.
Present along the top of the screen is a status bar, showing information about the device and its
connectivity. This status bar can be "pulled" down to reveal a notification screen where apps
display important information or updates, such as a newly received email orSMS text, in a way
that does not immediately interrupt or inconvenience the user.[47]
In early versions of Android
these notifications could be tapped to open the relevant app, but recent updates have provided
enhanced functionality, such as the ability to call a number back directly from the missed call
notification without having to open the dialer app first.[48]
Notifications are persistent until read or
dismissed by the user.
Applications

5. Play Store on the Nexus 4.
See also: Android software development and Google Play
Android has a growing selection of third party applications, which can be acquired by users
either through an app store such as Google Play or the Amazon Appstore, or by downloading
and installing the application's APK file from a third-party site.[49]
The Play Store application
allows users to browse, download and update apps published by Google and third-party
developers, and is pre-installed on devices that comply with Google's compatibility
requirements.[50]
The app filters the list of available applications to those that are compatible with
the user's device, and developers may restrict their applications to particular carriers or
countries for business reasons.[51]
Purchases of unwanted applications can be refunded within
15 minutes of the time of download,[52]
and some carriers offer direct carrier billing for Google
Play application purchases, where the cost of the application is added to the user's monthly
bill.[53]
As of September 2012, there were more than 675,000 apps available for Android, and the
estimated number of applications downloaded from the Play Store was 25 billion.[54]
Applications are developed in the Java language using the Android software development kit
(SDK). The SDK includes a comprehensive set of development tools,[55]
including
a debugger, software libraries, a handset emulator based on QEMU, documentation, sample
code, and tutorials. The officially supportedintegrated development environment (IDE)
is Eclipse using the Android Development Tools (ADT) plugin. Other development tools are
available, including a Native Development Kit for applications or extensions in C or C++, Google
App Inventor, a visual environment for novice programmers, and various cross platform mobile
web applications frameworks.
In order to work around limitations on reaching Google services due to Internet censorship in
the People's Republic of China, Android devices sold in the PRC are generally customized to

6. use state approved services instead.[56]
Development
Android is developed in private by Google until the latest changes and updates are ready to be
released, at which point the source code is made available publicly.[57]
This source code will only
run without modification on select devices, usually the Nexus series of devices.[58]
Linux
Architecture diagram
Android consists of a kernel based on Linux kernel version 2.6 and, from Android 4.0 Ice Cream
Sandwich onwards, version 3.x, with middleware, libraries and APIs written in C, andapplication
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 'dex-code' (Dalvik Executable), which is usually translated from Java
bytecode.[59]
The main hardware platform for Android is the ARM architecture. There is support
for x86 from the Android-x86 project,[9]
and Google TV uses a special x86 version of Android. In
2013, Freescale announced Android on its i.MX processor, i.MX5X and i.MX6X series.[10]
Android's Linux kernel has further architecture changes by Google outside the typical Linux
kernel development cycle.[60]
Android does not have a native X Window System by default nor
does it support the full set of standard GNU libraries, and this makes it difficult to port existing
Linux applications or libraries to Android.[61]
Support for simple C and SDL applications is
possible by injection of a small Javashim and usage of the JNI[62]
like, for example, in
the Jagged Alliance 2 port for Android.[63]
Certain features that Google contributed back to the Linux kernel, notably a power management
feature called "wakelocks", were rejected by mainline kernel developers partly because they felt
that Google did not show any intent to maintain its own code.[64][65][66]
Google announced in April
2010 that they would hire two employees to work with the Linux kernel community,[67]
but Greg
Kroah-Hartman, the current Linux kernel maintainer for the stable branch, said in December

7. 2010 that he was concerned that Google was no longer trying to get their code changes
included in mainstream Linux.[65]
Some Google Android developers hinted that "the Android
team was getting fed up with the process," because they were a small team and had more
urgent work to do on Android.[68]
In August 2011, Linus Torvalds said that "eventually Android and Linux would come back to a
common kernel, but it will probably not be for four to five years".[69]
In December 2011, Greg
Kroah-Hartman announced the start of the Android Mainlining Project, which aims to put some
Android drivers, patches and features back into the Linux kernel, starting in Linux 3.3.[70]
Linux
included the autosleep and wakelocks capabilities in the 3.5 kernel, after many previous
attempts at merger. The interfaces are the same but the upstream Linux implementation allows
for two different suspend modes: to memory (the traditional suspend that Android uses), and to
disk (hibernate, as it is known on the desktop).[71]
The merge will be complete starting with
Kernel 3.8, Google has opened a public code repository that contains their experimental work to
re-base Android off Kernel 3.8.[72]
The flash storage on Android devices is split into several partitions, such as "/system" for the
operating system itself and "/data" for user data and app installations.[73]
In contrast to desktop
Linux distributions, Android device owners are not given root access to the operating system
and sensitive partitions such as /system are read-only. However, root access can be obtained
by exploiting security flaws in Android, which is used frequently by the open source
community to enhance the capabilities of their devices,[74]
but also by malicious parties to
install viruses and malware.[75]
Whether or not Android counts as a Linux distribution is a widely debated topic, with the Linux
Foundation[76]
and Chris DiBona,[77]
Google's open source chief, in favour. Others, such as
Google engineer Patrick Brady disagree, noting the lack of support for many GNU tools,
including glibc, in Android.[78]
Proprietary binary dependencies
With many devices, there are proprietary binaries which have to be provided by the
manufacturer, in order for Android to work.[79]
Memory management
Since Android devices are usually battery-powered, Android is designed to manage memory
(RAM) to keep power consumption at a minimum, in contrast to desktop operating systems
which generally assume they are connected to unlimited mains electricity. When an Android app
is no longer in use, the system will automatically suspend it in memory - while the app is still
technically "open," suspended apps consume no resources (e.g. battery power or processing
power) and sit idly in the background until needed again. This has the dual benefit of increasing
the general responsiveness of Android devices, since apps don't need to be closed and

8. reopened from scratch each time, but also ensuring background apps don't waste power
needlessly.[80]
Android manages the apps stored in memory automatically: when memory is low, the system
will begin killing apps and processes that have been inactive for a while, in reverse order since
they were last used (i.e. oldest first). This process is designed to be invisible to the user, such
that users do not need to manage memory or the killing of apps themselves.[81]
However,
confusion over Android memory management has resulted in third-party task killers becoming
popular on the Google Play store; these third-party task killers are generally regarded as doing
more harm than good.[82]
Update schedule
From left to right: HTC Dream (G1),Nexus One, Nexus S, Galaxy Nexus
See also: Android version history
Google provides major updates, incremental in nature, to Android every six to nine months,
which most devices are capable of receiving over the air.[83]
The latest major update is Android
4.2 Jelly Bean.[84]
Compared to its chief rival mobile operating system, namely iOS, Android updates are typically
slow to reach actual devices. For devices not under the Nexus brand, updates often arrive
months from the time the given version is officially released.[85]
This is caused partly due to the
extensive variation in hardware of Android devices, to which each update must be specifically
tailored, as the official Google source code only runs on their
flagship Nexus devices. PortingAndroid to specific hardware is a time- and resource-consuming
process for device manufacturers, who prioritize their newest devices and often leave older
ones behind.[85]
Hence, older smartphones are frequently not updated if the manufacturer
decides it is not worth their time, regardless of whether the phone is capable of running the
update. This problem is compounded when manufacturers customize Android with their own
interface and apps, which must be reapplied to each new release. Additional delays can be
introduced by wireless carriers who, after receiving updates from manufacturers, further
customize and brand Android to their needs and conduct extensive testing on their networks
before sending the update out to users.[85]
The lack of after-sale support from manufacturers and carriers has been widely criticised by
consumer groups and the technology media.[86][87]
Some commentators have noted that the

9. industry has a financial incentive not to update their devices, as the lack of updates for existing
devices fuels the purchase of newer ones,[88]
an attitude described as "insulting".[87]
The
Guardian has complained that the complicated method of distribution for updates is only
complicated because manufacturers and carriers have designed it that way.[87]
In 2011, Google
partnered with a number of industry players to announce an "Android Update Alliance", pledging
to deliver timely updates for every device for 18 months after its release.[89]
As of 2013, this
alliance has never been mentioned since.[85]
Open source community
Android has an active community of developers and enthusiasts who use the Android source
code to develop and distribute their own modified versions of the operating system.[90]
These
community-developed releases often bring new features and updates to devices faster than
through the official manufacturer/carrier channels, albeit without as extensive testing or quality
assurance;[22]
provide continued support for older devices that no longer receive official updates;
or bring Android to devices that were officially released running other operating systems, such
as the HP TouchPad. Community releases often come pre-rooted and contain modifications
unsuitable for non-technical users, such as the ability to overclock or over/undervolt the device's
processor.[91]
CyanogenMod is the most widely used community firmware,[92]
and acts as a
foundation for numerous others.
Historically, device manufacturers and mobile carriers have typically been unsupportive of third-
party firmware development. Manufacturers express concern about improper functioning of
devices running unofficial software and the support costs resulting from this.[93]
Moreover,
modified firmwares such as CyanogenMod sometimes offer features, such as tethering, for
which carriers would otherwise charge a premium. As a result, technical obstacles including
locked bootloaders and restricted access to root permissions are common in many devices.
However, as community-developed software has grown more popular, and following a
statement by the Librarian of Congress in the United States that permits the "jailbreaking" of
mobile devices,[94]
manufacturers and carriers have softened their position regarding third party
development, with some, including HTC,[93]
Motorola,[95]
Samsung[96][97]
and Sony,[98]
providing
support and encouraging development. As a result of this, over time the need to
circumvent hardware restrictions to install unofficial firmware has lessened as an increasing
number of devices are shipped with unlocked or unlockable bootloaders, similar to
the Nexusseries of phones, although usually requiring that users waive their devices' warranties
to do so.[93]
However, despite manufacturer acceptance, some carriers in the US still require that
phones are locked down.[99]
The unlocking and "hackability" of smartphones and tablets remains a source of tension
between the community and industry, with the community arguing that unofficial development is
increasingly important given the failure of industry to provide timely updates and/or continued
support to their devices.[99]

10. Security and privacy
App permissions in the Play Store
See also: Mobile security
Android applications run in a sandbox, an isolated area of the system that does not have access
to the rest of the system's resources, unless access permissions are explicitly granted by the
user when the application is installed. Before installing an application, the Play Store displays all
required permissions: a game may need to enable vibration or save data to an SD card, for
example, but should not need to read SMS messages or access the phonebook. After reviewing
these permissions, the user can choose to accept or refuse them, installing the application only
if they accept.[100]
The sandboxing and permissions system lessens the impact of vulnerabilities and bugs in
applications, but developer confusion and limited documentation has resulted in applications
routinely requesting unnecessary permissions, reducing its effectiveness.[101]
Several security
firms, such asLookout Mobile Security,[102]
AVG Technologies,[103]
and McAfee,[104]
have
released antivirus software for Android devices. This software is ineffective as sandboxing also
applies to such applications, limiting their ability to scan the deeper system for threats.[105]
Research from security company Trend Micro lists premium service abuse as the most common
type of Android malware, where text messages are sent from infected phones to premium-rate
telephone numbers without the consent or even knowledge of the user.[106]
Other malware
displays unwanted and intrusive adverts on the device, or sends personal information to
unauthorised third parties.[106]
Security threats on Android are reportedly growing exponentially;
however, Google engineers have argued that the malware and virus threat on Android is being

11. exaggerated by security companies for commercial reasons,[107][108]
and have accused the
security industry of playing on fears to sell virus protection software to users.[107]
Google
maintains that dangerous malware is actually extremely rare,[108]
and a survey conducted by F-
Secure showed that only 0.5% of Android malware reported had come from the Google Play
store.[109]
Google currently uses their Google Bouncer malware scanner to watch over and scan the
Google Play store apps.[110]
It is intended to flag up suspicious apps and warn users of any
potential issues with an application before they download it.[111]
Android version 4.2 Jelly
Bean was released in 2012 with enhanced security features, including a malware scanner built
into the system, which works in combination with Google Play but can scan apps installed from
third party sources as well, and an alert system which notifies the user when an app tries to
send a premium-rate text message, blocking the message unless the user explicitly authorises
it.[112]
Android smartphones have the ability to report the location of Wi-Fi access points, encountered
as phone users move around, to build databases containing the physical locations of hundreds
of millions of such access points. These databases form electronic maps to locate smartphones,
allowing them to run apps like Foursquare, Google Latitude, Facebook Places, and to deliver
location-based ads.[113]
Third party monitoring software such as TaintDroid,[114]
an academic
research-funded project, can, in some cases, detect when personal information is being sent
from applications to remote servers.[115]
The open source nature of Android allows security contractors to take existing devices and
adapt them for highly secure uses. For example Samsung has worked with General Dynamics
through their Open Kernel Labs acquisition to rebuild Jelly Bean on top of their hardened
microvisor for the "Knox" project.[116][117]
Licensing
The source code for Android is available under free and open-source
software licenses. Google publishes most of the code (including network and
telephony stacks)[118]
under the Apache License version 2.0,[119][120]
and the rest, Linux kernel
changes, under the GNU General Public License version 2. The Open Handset
Alliance develops the changes to the Linux kernel, in public, with source code publicly available
at all times. The rest of Android is developed in private by Google, with source code released
publicly when a new version is released. Typically Google collaborates with a hardware
manufacturer to produce a 'flagship' device (part of the Google Nexusseries) featuring the new
version of Android, then makes the source code available after that device has been
released.[121]
In early 2011, Google chose to temporarily withhold the Android source code to the tablet-only
3.0 Honeycomb release. The reason, according to Andy Rubin in an official Android blog post,

12. was because Honeycomb was rushed for production of the Motorola Xoom,[122]
and they did not
want third parties creating a "really bad user experience" by attempting to put onto smartphones
a version of Android intended for tablets.[123]
The source code was once again made available in
November 2011 with the release of Android 4.0.[124]
Non-free software
Even though the software is open-source, device manufacturers cannot use Google's Android
trademark unless Google certifies that the device complies with their Compatibility Definition
Document (CDD). Devices must also meet this definition to be eligible to license Google's
closed-source applications, including Google Play.[125]
As the kernel, released under the GNU
GPLv2, and Google's code under the Apache License[11]
have incompatible licenses;[126]
and
also because vital drivers and firmware needed for Android devices are usually proprietary and
because Google Play allows non-free software as well, Richard Stallman and the Free Software
Foundationhave been critical of Android and have recommended the usage of alternatives such
as Replicant.[127][128]
Reception
Android received a lukewarm reaction when it was unveiled in 2007. Although analysts were
impressed with the respected technology companies that had partnered with Google to form the
Open Handset Alliance, it was unclear whether mobile phone manufacturers would be willing to
replace their existing operating systems with Android.[129]
The idea of an open source, Linux-
based development platform sparked interest,[130]
but there were additional worries about
Android facing strong competition from established players in the smartphone market, such as
Nokia and Microsoft, and rival Linux mobile operating systems that were in
development.[131]
These established players were skeptical: Nokia was quoted as saying "we
don't see this as a threat,"[132]
and a member of Microsoft'sWindows Mobile team stated "I don't
understand the impact that they are going to have."[132]
Since then Android has grown to become the most widely used smartphone operating
system[21]
and "one of the fastest mobile experiences available."[133]
Reviewers have highlighted
the open source nature of the operating system as one of its defining strengths, allowing
companies such as Amazon (Kindle Fire), Barnes & Noble (Nook), Ouya, Baidu, and others
to fork the software and release hardware running their own customised version of Android. As
a result, it has been described by technology website Ars Technica as "practically the default
operating system for launching new hardware" for companies without their own mobile
platforms.[21]
This openness and flexibility is also present at the level of the end user: Android
allows extensive customisation of devices by their owners and apps are freely available from
non-Google app stores and third party websites. These have been cited as among the main
advantages of Android phones over others.[21][134]

13. Despite Android's popularity, including an activation rate three times that of iOS, there have
been reports that Google has not been able to leverage their other products and web services
successfully to turn Android into the money maker that analysts had expected.[135]
The
Verge suggested that Google is losing control of Android due to the extensive customization
and proliferation of non-Google apps and services - for instance the Amazon Kindle Fire points
users to the Amazon app store that competes directly with the Google Play store. Google
SVP Andy Rubin, who was replaced as head of the Android division in March 2013, has been
blamed for failing to establish a lucrative partnership with cell phone makers. The chief
beneficiary of Android has been Samsung, whose Galaxy brand has surpassed that of Android
in terms of brand recognition since 2011.[136][137]
Meanwhile other Android manufacturers have
struggled since 2011, such as LG, HTC, and Google's own Motorola Mobility (whose
partnership with Verizon Wireless to push the "DROID" brand has faded since 2010). Ironically,
while Google directly earns nothing from the sale of each Android
device, Microsoft and Applehave successfully sued to extract patent royalty payments from
Android handset manufacturers.
Tablets
The Nexus 7 tablet
Despite its success on smartphones, initially Android tablet adoption was slow.[138]
One of the
main causes was the chicken or the egg situation where consumers were hesitant to buy an
Android tablet due to a lack of high quality tablet apps, but developers were hesitant to spend
time and resources developing tablet apps until there was a significant market for

14. them.[139][140]
The content and app "ecosystem" proved more important than hardwarespecs as
the selling point for tablets. Due to the lack of Android tablet-specific apps in 2011, early Android
tablets had to make do with existing smartphone apps that were ill-suited to larger screen sizes,
whereas the dominance of Apple's iPad was reinforced by the large number of tablet-
specific iOS apps.[140][141]
Despite app support in its infancy, a considerable number of Android tablets (alongside those
using other operating systems, such as the HP TouchPad and BlackBerry PlayBook) were
rushed out to market in an attempt to capitalize on the success of the iPad.[140]
InfoWorld has
suggested that some Android manufacturers initially treated their first tablets as a
"Frankenphone business", a short-term low-investment opportunity by placing a smartphone-
optimized Android OS (before Android 3.0 Honeycomb for tablets was available) on a device
while neglecting user interface. This approach, such as with the Dell Streak, failed to gain
market traction with consumers as well as damaging the early reputation of Android
tablets.[142][143]
Furthermore, several Android tablets such as the Motorola Xoomwere priced the
same or higher than the iPad, which hurt sales. An exception was theAmazon Kindle Fire, which
relied upon lower pricing as well as access to Amazon's ecosystem of apps and content.[140][144]
This began to change in 2012 with the release of the affordable Nexus 7 and a push by Google
for developers to write better tablet apps.[145]
Android tablet market share surpassed the iPad's
in Q3 2012.[146]
Market share and rate of adoption
Research company Canalys estimated in the second quarter of 2009 that Android had a 2.8%
share of worldwide smartphoneshipments.[147]
By the fourth quarter of 2010 this had grown to
33% of the market, becoming the top-selling smartphone platform.[19]
By the third quarter of
2011 Gartner estimated that more than half (52.5%) of the smartphone market belongs to
Android.[148]
By the third quarter of 2012 Android had a 75% share of the global smartphone
market according to the research firm IDC.[23]
In July 2011, Google said that 550,000 new Android devices were being activated every
day,[149]
up from 400,000 per day in May,[150]
and more than 100 million devices had been
activated[151]
with 4.4% growth per week.[149]
In September 2012, 500 million devices had been
activated with 1.3 million activations per day.[152][24]
Android market share varies by location. In July 2012, Android's market share in the United
States was 52%,[153]
and rose to 90% in China.[154]
Usage share of Android versions

15. Usage share of the different versions collected during a 14-day period ending on March 4, 2013
Usage share of the different versions as of March 4, 2013.[155]
Over half of Android devices in
Q2 2013 still run a pre 4.x OS version -mostly 2.3 Gingerbread that was released on December
6, 2010, due to many lower-end devices still being released with it. But more than half of
Android devices will run Android 4 or 5 as of Q3 2013.
Version Code name Release date APIlevel
Distribution (March 4,
2013)
4.2.x Jelly Bean November 13, 2012 17 1.6%
4.1.x Jelly Bean July 9, 2012 16 14.9%
4.0.x
Ice Cream
Sandwich
December 16, 2011 15 28.6%
3.2 Honeycomb July 15, 2011 13 0.9%
3.1 Honeycomb May 10, 2011 12 0.3%
2.3.3–2.3.7 Gingerbread February 9, 2011 10 44%
2.3–2.3.2 Gingerbread December 6, 2010 9 0.2%

16. Version Code name Release date APIlevel
Distribution (March 4,
2013)
2.2 Froyo May 20, 2010 8 7.6%
2.0–2.1 Eclair October 26, 2009 7 1.9%
1.6 Donut
September 15,
2009
4 0.2%
1.5 Cupcake April 30, 2009 3
Application piracy
There has been some concern about the ease with which paid Android apps can
be pirated.[156]
In a May 2012 interview withEurogamer, the developers of Football
Manager stated that the ratio of pirated players vs legitimate players was 9:1 for their game
Football Manager Handheld.[157]
However, not every developer agreed that piracy rates were an
issue; for example, in July 2012 the developers of the game Wind-up Knight said that piracy
levels of their game were only 12%, and most of the piracy came from China, where people
cannot purchase apps from Google Play.[158]
In 2010, Google released a tool for validating authorised purchases for use within apps, but
developers complained that this was insufficient and trivial to crack. Google responded that the
tool, especially its initial release, was intended as a sample framework for developers to modify
and build upon depending on their needs, not as a finished security solution.[159]
In 2012 Google
released a feature in Android 4.1 that encrypted paid applications so that they would only work
on the device on which they were purchased, but this feature has been temporarily deactivated
due to technical issues.[160]
Copyrights and patents
Further information: Oracle v. Google, Smartphone wars, and Patent troll
Both Android and Android phone manufacturers have been involved in numerous patent
lawsuits. On August 12, 2010, Oracle sued Google over claimed infringement of copyrights and
patents related to the Java programming language.[161]
Oracle originally sought damages up to
$6.1 billion,[162]
but this valuation was rejected by a United States federal judge who asked

17. Oracle to revise the estimate.[163]
In response, Google submitted multiple lines of defense,
counterclaiming that Android did not infringe on Oracle's patents or copyright, that Oracle's
patents were invalid, and several other defenses. They said that Android is based on Apache
Harmony, aclean room implementation of the Java class libraries, and an independently
developed virtual machine called Dalvik.[164]
In May 2012 the jury in this case found that Google
did not infringe on Oracle's patents, and the trial judge ruled that the structure of the Java APIs
used by Google was not copyrightable.[165][166]
In addition to lawsuits against Google directly, various proxy wars have been waged against
Android indirectly by targeting manufacturers of Android devices, with the effect of discouraging
manufacturers from adopting the platform by increasing the costs of bringing an Android device
to market.[167]
Both Apple and Microsoft have sued several manufacturers for patent
infringement, with Apple's ongoing legal action against Samsung being a particularly high-profile
case. In October 2011 Microsoft said they had signed patent license agreements with ten
Android device manufacturers, whose products account for 55% of the worldwide revenue for
Android devices.[168]
These include Samsung and HTC.[169]
Samsung's patent settlement with
Microsoft includes an agreement that Samsung will allocate more resources to developing and
marketing phones running Microsoft's Windows Phone operating system.[167]
Google has publicly expressed its frustration for the current patent landscape in the United
States, accusing Apple, Oracle and Microsoft of trying to take down Android through patent
litigation, rather than innovating and competing with better products and services.[170]
In 2011–
12, Google purchased Motorola Mobility for US$12.5 billion, which was viewed in part as a
defensive measure to protect Android, since Motorola Mobility held more than 17,000
patents.[171]
In December 2011 Google bought over a thousand patents from IBM.[172]
Beyond smartphones and tablets
The Sony SmartWatch: an example of how Android is used on electronics other than smartphones and tablets

18. The open and customizable nature of Android allows it to be used on other electronics,
including laptopsand netbooks, smartbooks[173]
smart TVs (Google TV) and cameras (Nikon
Coolpix S800c and Galaxy Camera).[174][175]
In addition, the Android operating system has seen
applications on smart glasses (Google Glass), wristwatches,[176]
headphones,[177]
car CD and
DVD players,[178]
mirrors,[179]
portable media players[180]
and landlines[181]
and Voice over IP
phones.[182]
Ouya, an upcoming videogames console running Android, became one of the most
successful Kickstarter campaigns, crowdfundingUS$8.5m for its development,[183][184]
and was
later followed by other Android-based video games consoles such as Project Shield from Nvidia.
In 2011, Google demonstrated "Android@Home", a new home automaton technology which
uses Android to control a range of household devices including light switches, power sockets
and thermostats.[185]
Prototype light bulbs were announced that could be controlled from an
Android phone or tablet, but Android head Andy Rubin was cautious to note that "turning a
lightbulb on and off is nothing new," pointing to numerous failed home automation services.
Google, he said, was thinking more ambitiously and the intention was to use their position as
a cloud services provider to bring Google products into customers' homes.[186]
See also
Google portal
Free software portal
Android version history
List of GPS software for mobile phones
Comparison of mobile operating systems
Android rooting
Index of Android OS articles