sometime we get some question like
What is android?? From where we got android?? and so on..
Here comes the answer for all your questions
Android is a Mobile Operating system(OS) based on Linux Kernel. Android Inc. was founded in Palo Alto, California in 2003. The founder of this was Andy Rubin, Rich Miner, Nick Sears, Chris White and many others.
Android was an advance OS which was actually developed for DIGITAL CAMERAS. But, The founder Andy Rubin then realised that the market for digital cameras was not large enough. So, The company diverted their effort to produce a new open source operating system(based on Linux kernel) for smartphones. this aspect totally convinced Larry Page(Founder of the Google search engine) and gave birth to the Mobile division in Google. After that Android Inc. was acquired by Google Inc. on August 17, 2005 with Andy Rubin, Rich miner and chris white and many others.
Later on they started developing the the stack of android and they build the Operating System from stack. With huge efforts of Rubin and all his workers in Google they built the first version of Android which was called as Alpha version and the released a beta version to that later on they released their their first version of android.
Google decided to make this open source operating system to compete with Apple Inc.'s "IOS" os and Microsoft's "windows" OS and offered developers for 10 million USD who would make the best android app from their first version of android SDK.
Google also made OPEN HANDSET ALLIANCE. This consortium of technology was made to further develop this open source android operating system. Many manufacturers like Sony, HTC, Samsung , LG etc., wireless carriers like Sprint T-Mobile etc and Chipset makers such as Qualcomm and texas etc which made a revolution for android development and hence we can see the result now..
After all the attempts google released their first version on october 22nd 2008.
version 1.0:
The android 1.0 was launched in the United States in the T-Mobile G1(AKA HTC Dream) which included the below features which were present in the first version of android.
Android 1.0 was a great first start, but there were still so many gaps in functionality. Physical keyboards and tons of hardware buttons were mandatory, as Android devices were still not allowed to be sold without a d-pad or trackball. Base smartphone functionality like auto-rotate wasn't here yet, either. Updates for built-in apps weren't possible through the Android Market the way they were today. All the Google Apps were interwoven with the operating system. If Google wanted to update a single app, an update for the entire operating system needed to be pushed out through the carriers. There was still a lot of work to do. later they released the android version 1.1.
Version 1.1:
the android platform was updated for the first time in February 2009. This update was not a revolutionary update. It just included all the patches for the long lengthy bugs list and added some features listed below
As Everyone knows that Each android major release is named in Alphabetical order after a dessert or sugary treat and they started that from now..
Version 1.5 Cupcake:
After a flop update of android version 1.1 they updated the android with major features. Google has started to name their major releases with dessert or sugary treat and named this update as cupcake. Here are some of the major features which are added are as follows and was tested on second android device HTC magic without a hardware keyboard. This update was released in april 2009.
Version 1.6 donut:
The fourth version of Android 1.6, Donut launched in September 2009, five months after Cupcake hit the market. Despite the myriad of updates, Google was still adding basic functionality to Android. Donut brought support for different screen sizes, CDMA support, and a text-to-speech engine.
version 2.0 - Eclairs
After 41 days of donut released the next android version 2.0 was released and named it as Eclairs(alphabetic E). This major update was a very big update for android and was launched in october 2009. this version was tested on THE MOTOROLA DROID the first "second generation" android device.
One of the first things Android 2.0 presented to the user was a new lock screen. Slide-to-unlock was patented by Apple, so Google went with a rotary-phone-inspired arc unlock gesture. Putting your finger on the lock icon and sliding right would unlock the device, and sliding left from the volume icon would silence the phone. A thumb naturally moves in an arc, so this felt like an even more natural gesture than sliding in a straight line. For the first time, multiple Google accounts could be added to the same device separate work and personal accounts, for instance with access to email and contacts from each. Support for Exchange accounts was added, too.
In January 2010, Google launched its Nexus series of devices a line of smartphones and tablets running the Android operating system, and built by manufacturing partners. HTC collaborated with Google to release the first Nexus smartphone , appropriately called the "Nexus One". The device was a huge milestone for Google. It was the first phone designed and branded by the company, and Google planned to sell the device directly to consumers. The HTC-manufactured Nexus One had a 1GHz, single-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S1 SoC, 512MB of RAM, 512MB of storage, and a 3.7-inch AMOLED display.
The Nexus One was meant to be a pure Android experience free of carrier meddling and crapware. Google directly controlled the updates. It was able to push software out to users as soon as it was done, rather than having to be approved by carriers, who slowed the process down and were not always eager to improve a phone customers already paid for.
Android 2.1 came out with the launch of the Nexus One, which was only three months after the release of 2.0. The new OS wasn't a huge release, so it still kept the codename "Éclair." Android development was chugging along at an unheard-of pace, with Google averaging a new OS release every two-and-a-half months over the last 15 months.
Version 2.2 Froyo
Android 2.2 came out four months after the release of 2.1, in May 2010. Froyo featured major under-the-hood improvements for Android, all made in the name of speed. The biggest addition was just-in-time (JIT) compilation. JIT automatically converted java bytecode into native code at runtime, which led to drastic performance improvements across the board.
Froyo also included a completely redesigned Gallery app that showcased the platform's 3D chops for the very first time: tilting the phone would cause the images to tilt on the screen, for instance, and it included a variety of high-quality animates when moving between individual galleries and photos. Really, though, the app was little more than a one-off, not an indication of Android's direction as a platform (Google had actually outsourced its development to an outside firm).
version 2.3 Gingerbread
Gingerbread was released in December 2010, a whopping seven months after the release of 2.2. The wait was worth it, though, as Android 2.3 changed just about every screen in the OS. It was the first major overhaul since the initial formation of Android in version 0.9. 2.3 would kick off a series of continual revamps in an attempt to turn Android from an ugly duckling into something that was capable of holding its own—aesthetically—against the iPhone.
Android 2.3 focused a lot on the interface design, but with no direction or design documents, many apps ended up getting a new bespoke theme. Some apps went with a flatter, darker theme, some used a gradient-filled, bubbly dark theme, and others went with a high-contrast white and green look. While it wasn't cohesive, Gingerbread accomplished the goal of modernizing nearly every part of the OS. It was a good thing, too, because the next phone version of Android wouldn’t arrive until nearly a year later.
Gingerbread’s launch device was the Nexus S, Google’s second flagship device and the first Nexus manufactured by Samsung. While today we are used to new CPU models every year, back then that wasn't the case. The Nexus S had a 1GHz Cortex A8 processor, just like the Nexus One. The GPU was slightly faster, and that was it in the speed department. It was a little bigger than the Nexus One, with a 4-inch, 800×480 AMOLED display
version 3.0 Honeycomb
By Google's own admission, Honeycomb—released in February 2011—was rushed out the door. At this time Google made wrong step and launched this OS which was only designed for Tablets(bigger size devices). This doesn't work quiet enough as Google thought it would but it made manufacturer to hope for launching large screen devices. the physical buttons have been removed in the version of android so we can call it as "Death for Physical button operating system". THis was tested on Motorola XOOM a 10-Inch tablet.
Android 3.1 and 3.2 were primarily maintenance releases (hence their continued use of the Honeycomb name), but they did produce a couple important features that have been retroactively deployed to most Android 3.0 tablets on the market. 3.1 added support for resizable home screen widgets using anchors that appear when pressing and holding; a variety of third-party skins had supported widget resizing previously, but Android 3.1 pulled the functionality into the core platform.
In 2010, Google launched its Nexus series of devices – a line of smartphones and tablets running the Android operating system, and built by manufacturing partners. HTC collaborated with Google to release the first Nexus smartphone, the Nexus One. Google has since updated the series with newer devices.Samsung Galaxy Nexus, one of the first Android phones with a 720p screen. Along with the higher resolution, the Galaxy Nexus pushed phones to even larger sizes with a 4.65-inch screen—almost a full inch larger than the original Nexus One. This was called "too big" by many critics, but today many Android phones are even bigger. (Five inches is "normal" now.) Ice Cream Sandwich required a lot more power than Gingerbread did, and the Galaxy Nexus delivered with a dual core, 1.2Ghz TI OMAP processor and 1GB of RAM.
Version 4.0 Ice cream Sandwich
ICS was Released in October 2011, Android 4.0, Ice Cream Sandwich, got the OS back on track with a release spanning phones and tablets, and it was once again open source. It was the first update to come to phones since Gingerbread, which meant the majority of Android's user base went almost a year without seeing an update. 4.0 was all about shrinking the Honeycomb design to smaller devices, bringing on-screen buttons, the action bar, and the new design language to phones.
Multitasking is a key strength of Android and it's made even easier and more visual on Android 4.0. The Recent Apps button lets users jump instantly from one task to another using the list in the System Bar. The list pops up to show thumbnail images of apps used recently tapping a thumbnail switches to the app.
Version 4.1 Jelly Bean
Android Jelly Bean was the next version after the Ice Cream Sandwich. It comprised of the versions 4.1 - 4.3.1. The version 4.1 was announced at the Google's I/O developer conference in June 2012, then later 4.2 and 4.3 were released on October 2012 and July 2013 respectively. Jelly Bean update was mainly focused on improving notifications, that lead to the introduction of "Quick Settings" and "Expandable Notifications".
Version 4.4 KitKat
Android 4.4 Kitkat (4.4–4.4.4) was released in September 2013 was the 10th major version of Google's Android OS. The name KitKat came from a promotional tie-in with candy maker Nestle. Nexus 5 was the 1st device to get the Kitkat update when it rolled out on October 31, 2013. It was internally called "Project Svelte" at Google. Later Android KitKat was added with Wearable support.Version 5.0 Lollipop
Android 5.0 Lolipop (5.0 – 5.0.2) was released in June 2014 in the Google I/O and it was the 11th major version of Google's Android OS. Nexus 5 and Nexus 6 were the device to get the Lollipop update when it rolled out first. Lollipop was main focussed on "Material design" and it is the first OS which is intentionally made for all devices including cars and TV's. The Latest of Version of this OS is 5.0.2 but it is only running on Nexus 7(2013).
Conclusion:
I've learned through my research that Android is a much more diverse operating system than iOS and Windows Phone Mobile. Android has grown rapidly over the past 4 years becoming the most used smartphone operating system in the world. It's because Android doesn't release 1 phone from 1 company with 1 new OS every year, but countless phones from numerous companies, adding their own twist, throughout the year, developing gradually day-by-day. Android's ability to customize is unparalleled compared to Apple's and Microsoft's software allowing the user to change and customize nearly every aspect of Android which most iPhone and Windows 7 users wouldn't dream possible. I am not one to say that Android is better or worse than one OS, but is unique and incomparable to other mobile operating systems.
