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Saturday, June 2, 2012
To your surprise, it(Android) didn't make its way so easily in the market as it may seem to you all. It was very difficult for them to get established as the mobile market as getting bigger and better at the same time. Some of the top mobile OS manufacturers such as Apple's iOS and Nokia's Symbian OS were rolling their updates now and then. But then slowly, Android came in the market with its first ever Android OS running "HTC Dream" featuring Android 1.0. To be honest, it wasn't such a hit as Google had expected it to be. The key feature of Android 1.0 was as follows:- Integration with Google Services
- Web Browser with zoom feature (supported full HTML XHTML)
- Android market and updates
- Multi-Tasking,Wi-Fi and Bluetooth
Then, came the Android 1.5 (Cupcake) which had Linux as its kernal. (After that Google named its OS updates with name of desserts and sweets.)This version of Android was appreciated a lot and was kept for further improvements as well. The cupcake was a major improvement and was highlighted. The main features of Android 1.5 or let's say cupcake were as follows :
- Faster camera start-up and Image capture
- Much faster GPS with loaded content quickly
- On-Screen Keyboard
- Capability to directly upload Videos to Youtube and Picassa
- Support for Widgets
- Copy and Paste feature added in the web browser
Well then, the sweet cupcake time was over when Google rolled up the update and name its newer version of OS as Android Donut (1.6) . The update was rolled out on September 15, 2009. The new Android was a lot faster and supported many applications. This was a major improvement by Android and included a lot of new features with attracted a lot of costumers. Some of its key feature were :- Voice search and Search box were added
- Multilingual text-to-speech function
- Galley, Camcorder and Camera were fully integrated
- Battery usage indicator
- CDMA support
- Support for WVGA screens
- Faster OS boot times and fast web browsing experience
Soon enough, Google realized that the updates weren't enough. So, they came up with their brand new Android Eclair(2.0/2.1) OS. Now, that Android was on highlight, mobile manufactures as well thought of having this OS on their mobile straight away. And, that's what happened. HTC, Motorola, LG, Sony Ericsson, etc kept Android as their mobile's OS. Then, the era of Android finally begun. The Android as on market and people started liking it. Even people who used other OS couldn't ignore Android.Some of the main features of Android 2.1 were as follows:- Bluetooth 2.1 Support
- Multiple Account for E-Mail and Synchronization
- Numerous new camera features including support for flash
- New Browser interface with support for HTML 5
- Mircrosoft Exchange support for syncing of E-Mail
- New Calender features
- Support for more screen sizes and resolutions
- Improved Google Maps (3.1.2)
- USB tethering and Wi-Fi Hotspot functionality
- Support for Adobe Flash 10.1
- Faster performance with less lags and unnoticeable bugs
- Improved Exchange Support
- Multiple Keyboard Languages
- Improved Application launcher with better browser
- Support for Extra PPI screen support(320ppi)
Then, came in the revolutionary Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) which is still the major version on which most of the smartphones are running. This the the version which almost took down almost all the other OS including the iOS and the Symbian. It was then a complete OS and people were proud to own a Gingerbread running Smartphone. Google Nexus S was the first smartphone to run in this OS and proved itself worthy enough. Some of the major improvements were as follows :
- Updated User Interface with high efficiency and speed
- Multiple homescreens with widgets
- New download Manager which let download apps and E-Mail content
- Near Field Communication (NFC)
- Internet calling
- One touch word selection and Copy/Paste
- New keyboard for faster word input
- Native support for sensors such as Gyrosensors and Proximity Sensor
- Audio and Graphical Improvements
- Optimized for tablets with huge screens
- Bluetooth Tethering
- Redefined multitasking,rich notification and enhanced widgets
- Built in Media Transfer Protocol
- Quick access to camera features including zooming and using flash
- Re-sizable homescreen Widgets
- Hardware Acceleration
- Support for multi-core processors
- Support for joystick and gamepads
- Multi-Browser tabs
- Ability to encrypt all user data
The most recent and most powerful update rolled out by Google is Android 4.0 (Ice-Cream Sandwich) on which only a few phones run right now including the HTC ONE X and the Samsung Galaxy S3. The new Android comes up with a lot of new features including the Face Unlock feature. The first phone to run on Android 4.0 was the Samsung Galaxy Nexus. Some of its main features are:
- Face Unlock feature
- Support for multi-core processor
- Google Chrome Beta
- New tabbed web browser with support upto 16 tabs
- Virtual button in the UI
- Integrated Screenshot capture
- Wi-Fi Direct
- 1080p Video support for stock Android Devices
- Android Bean (NFC Feature)
- New gallery layout which is much faster and snappier
That's all about the Android OS History. Stay tuned and stay updated!
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Smartphones
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