ANDROID OPERATING SYSTEM
by JB Burke
Q: What is Android and what does it have to do with smartphones? Do all
tablet computers run Android?
A: Android is an Operating System (OS) created by Google, the search engine
folks. After Apple came out with the iPhone, there was a need for a
competitive offering, and Google met that need by creating the Android OS.
They made it available to all the smart phone manufacturers (Motorola,
Nokia, Samsung, etc.). Prior to 2011, Per Wikipedia, "A smartphone is a
mobile phone built on a mobile computing platform, with more advanced
computing ability and connectivity than a feature phone" Today, the majority
of smartphones do run on Android.
Apple took the lead in tablets with the iPad, still rated by many as the
best tablet computer available. From Wikipedia "A tablet computer, or a
tablet, is a mobile computer, larger than a mobile phone or personal digital
assistant, integrated into a flat touch screen and primarily operated by
touching the screen rather than using a physical keyboard". Tablet computers
are the fastest growing segment of the computer market because they make a
personal computer very portable. Weighing in at about 1.5 pounds, they are
easier to tote around than a laptop or netbook, and the battery charge lasts
longer. People are finding more and more uses for them. Tablets can surf the
web, and they can be used to read books, magazines and newspapers. They can
be used to watch movies, take notes and prepare and give presentations.
Android is not the only OS used on smartphones and tablets. There is iOS (on
the iPhone and iPad from Apple), Android (on many phones and tablets from
many manufacturers) and Windows Phone OS on the Windows Phone. Also there
will be Windows 8, coming later this year, and it will have tablet friendly
features, alongside support for traditional PCs. Now Google has announced
hardware (the Nexus 7 tablet) and Microsoft has announced the Windows
tablet. So competition is heating up.
Published: Courier 7/15/12 - Page 4C