What is the "android", or What is the secret of the most successful operating system for mobile devices?

A few years ago, no one thought that the word "android", which was usually used by science fiction writers and Hollywood directors to designate humanoid robots, will acquire a completely different meaning. And now, at the mention of this term, millions of people mentally see a smartphone with a logo in the form of a funny green character. Let's briefly plunge into history and find out what "android" is in the modern world of information technology and where this "creature" came from.

To begin with, let's go back to the 2005 not so far away. This year, a modest company, Android Inc., developing its operating system for communicators, was acquired by all the famous corporation Google. From this moment active work on the "operating system" on the basis of Linux begins, which in a few years will make a real revolution in the market of tablet PCs, digital players, netbooks, electronic readers and, of course, smartphones. But first things first.

In 2007, Google announces the creation of an alliance that jointly develops software for various mobile devices. This union united thirty-four companies, among which were not only communicator manufacturers and software developers, but also major chip manufacturers. And at this point, there is a package for developing applications for a new operating system called Android.

In September next year, HTC, Google and T-Mobile, the mobile operator, introduced the first device running the Android operating system. Since then, only a few years have passed, and this OS with a serious gap from its closest competitors has secured the title of the most popular platform for mobile devices. Let's try to look at the success of this "operating system" from different angles and try to answer as broadly as possible the question, what is android?

Firstly, this project from Google is not limited to the operating system alone and the release of gadgets running on it. The success of the multiplatform OS is largely related to the possibility of developing applications for Android by third-party developers who have the opportunity to upload their products in a special online store. Therefore, these days not only every self-respecting software developer, but any advanced user knows what an android is. After all, to place their programs and games on the Android Market (this is the name of the popular "Google" resource for the distribution of content), anyone can.

Thus, the Google operating system, called the Android OS, has revolutionized the mobile gadget market, leaving behind more eminent competitors. And an important role in the victory over "Apple OS", "Winds Mobile", "Symbian" and other popular platforms has played the opportunity to develop applications to all comers. Given that the software for "OSes" from Google is created in the popular programming language called Java, in our days only a lazy and inexperienced programmer does not know what an android is.

At the time of writing, the latest version of the platform is Android 4.0, which is used not only in smartphones and communicators, but also in tablet computers, electronic books and even laptops of a huge number of manufacturers. But what is an android for users? This is, first of all, a convenient operating system, for which hundreds of programs and games are written daily. It should be noted that the movers from Google are not going to stop there and already in the near future they plan to push their competitors even more in the world market of mobile gadgets. And looking at the stunning success of Android 4.0, many analysts believe that in the future the most popular mobile operating system will be even more detached from its pursuers and will win the hearts of new users.