The Droid that changed the World!

Android is a word which has become so popular in the past decade that even a person with the least technical knowledge will be able to tell you that it is a mobile operating system. Its simple interface designed for touchscreen devices is based on gestures like pinching, tapping and swiping (which you are probably doing while reading this if you’re using a smartphone ;)) which make it quite user-friendly.

Let us learn a few interesting facts about this widely used operating system.

  • The word droid means a robot. Android means a robot with human appearance. The symbol of the Android operating system clearly shows this.

android-logo

  • Android was developed by Android Inc. which was founded in October 2003. It was acquired by Google in 2005 for a sum of $50 million.
  • The first commercially available smartphone running on Android was the HTC Dream, also known as T-Mobile G1, announced on September 23, 2008.

t-mobile-g1.jpg

It neither had a virtual keyboard nor a 3.5 mm headset jack!

  • Google has released 24 versions of the Android operating system since 2008 and continues to make substantial investments to develop, grow, and improve the OS.
  • Google Maps calculates traffic by tracking how fast Android devices are moving on the road.

maps-local-search1-ss-1920-800x450

  • By being an open-source platform, Android’s source code is available for anyone to view, download, modify, enhance, and redistribute without requiring any sort of fees, royalties, or other costs.
  • Initially, the software was developed as a platform for digital cameras. The focus later shifted to smartphones as the developers saw potential here.
  • About 81.7% of the smartphones sold in the fourth quarter of 2016 run on Android.
  • As of February 2017, the number of Android devices in the world is estimated to be over 1.6 billion!
  • One of the best features of Android is the number of apps in its app store Google Play. It has about 2.8 billion apps, most of which are free.
  • The names of all the versions of Android follow an alphabetical order and except Android 1.0 and 1.1, all the others are named after sweet treats.

Android Astro (Android 1.0):

Related image

Bender (Android 1.1):

Image result for android bender

Cupcake (Android 1.5):

android_and_cupcake_google_campus

Donut (Android 1.6):

android_160_donut_logo

Eclair (Android 2.x):

Android-Eclair

Froyo (Android 2.2.x):

Android-Froyo1

Gingerbread (Android 2.3.x):

android-gingerbread-cookies-ars

Honeycomb (Android 3.x):

hon

Ice cream Sandwich (Android 4.0.x):

ICS_Android

Jellybean (Android 4.x):

12_-_1

KitKat (Android 4.4.x):

Google-Plus-KikKat-Page

Lollipop (Android 5.x):

NBAYK8V

Marshmallow (Android 6.0):

Google-Android-Marshmallow

Nougat (Android 7.0):

AndroidPIT-Android-N-Nougat-2480

Oreo (Android 8.0):

Food for thought? Probably!

Image sources: Digitaltrends, Talk Android, Android Authority
                                                             
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