According to Wikipedia, "Android is a Linux-based operating system
designed primarily for touch screen mobile devices such as Smartphone's and
tablet computers. Initially developed by Android, Inc., which Google backed
financially and later purchased in 2005, Android was unveiled in 2007 along
with the founding of the Open Handset Alliance: a consortium of hardware,
software, and telecommunication companies devoted to advancing open standards
for mobile devices. The first Android-powered phone was sold in October 2008.
Android is open source and Google releases the code under the Apache
License. This open source code and permissive licensing allows the software to
be freely modified and distributed by device manufacturers, wireless carriers
and enthusiast developers. Additionally, Android has a large community of
developers writing applications ("apps") that extend the
functionality of devices, written primarily in a customized version of the Java
programming language. In October 2012, there were approximately 700,000 apps
available for Android, and the estimated number of applications downloaded from
Google Play, Android's primary app store, was 25 billion.
These factors have allowed Android to become the world's most widely
used smartphone platform and the software of choice for technology companies
who require a low-cost, customizable, lightweight operating system for high
tech devices without developing one from scratch. As a result, despite being
primarily designed for phones and tablets, it has seen additional applications
on televisions, games consoles and other electronics. Android's open nature has
further encouraged a large community of developers and enthusiasts to use the
open source code as a foundation for community-driven projects, which add new
features for advanced users or bring Android to devices which were officially
released running other operating systems."
