Tech Term of the Week: What is Android?
If you are at all familiar with smartphones, you no doubt have heard the term "Android" plenty of times. However, if you are not all that tech savvy, you may wonder exactly what it refers to.
Android is an operating system designed for use on mobile devices like smartphones and tablets. It was developed by a company called Android, which was purchased by Google in July of 2005. With more people using mobile devices for accessing the Internet, Google certainly made a pretty smart decision.
Android Plays Nice With Others
An important aspect of Android is that Google allows and encourages other companies to use Android in their products. This process is called licensing, and when you purchase a smartphone or tablet with Android, the manufacturer has obtained a license from Google to install it on their device. This means that the operating system can be found on phones and tablets made by Samsung, LG, HTC, Sony and other manufacturers.
Google's licensing of Android also allows manufacturers to customize the look of their smartphone or tablet with a unique design. As a result, while all Android devices use the Android operating system, each one can be a little different based on the customization the manufacturer did for their device.
Google also runs a few Web sites and services that just happen to work well with Android devices. Services you like gmail and Google Calendar are easy to setup and use with an Android device. And Google has it's own cloud storage and apps for documents, spreadsheets, and presentations. So for anyone already using Google services, Android is a very nice fit.
Not all Android devices use the same version of Android since the choice of which version to use is up to the manufacturer. As a result, the smartphones and tablets using the most recent version of Android, have all the newest features. But the devices using older versions of Android are limited to the features available in the Android version used on the device.
Keep this in mind if you're considering an Android device. Be sure to check to see what version of Android is uses, and if it can be updated, because some devices don't support updates. Often the free or less expensive devices cost less because they use older versions of Android.
Apps for Android
The ability of manufacturers to customize and choose which version of Android they use on a device has made Android the world's most popular mobile operating system for smartphones.
As a result, Android apps are readily available and there now almost as many apps available for Android as there are for Apple's iOS operating system.
Google runs an app marketplace called Google Play, where Android owners can browse and purchase apps, but Google also allows others to sell apps for Android devices. Amazon, which uses a version of Android in their Kindle Fire product, has an app marketplace, and several cellular providers run their own app marketplaces.
Is Android Right for You?
With Android being a very capable mobile operating system you now have more competition and choice, which is good for the consumer. Some of your choices to change from one mobile operating system to another will have more to do with the content and apps rather than the device itself. If you have a lot invested in music, apps, or other content you've purchased for an iPhone, you'll have to replace all of that investment, with the possible exception of music. If you like using iTunes on your computer, or have been an iPod user, then an Apple device is probably the way to go since you're already familiar with Apple products.
If you are going to use a mobile device for email, messaging, social networks, taking pictures, or browsing the Web, and don't need the hand-holding support available from Apple, then Android is a good solution, as many have discovered.
For tablets, however, Android still lags behind Apple in the number of apps specifically built for the iPad, and the content available for movies, TV, and other media on Apple is second to none, which is why iPads still are the leading tablet sold worldwide.