Android is a software stack for mobile devices that includes an operating system, middleware and key applications. The Android SDK provides the tools and APIs necessary to begin developing applications on the Android platform using the Java programming language. It is developed by Google. Android is unique because Google is actively developing the platform but giving it away for free to hardware manufacturers and phone carriers who want to use Android on their devices.
With the release of Google's Android Software Developer's Kit (SDK), software developers have been given the freedom to design applications for mobile phones as they have previously know in designing applications for the desktop. But due to the openness implicit in Android, starting the design process for applications to be used in a mobile open-source environment can be intimidating.
The Android platform consists of an operating system, middleware, a user-friendly interface and powerful applications. This fully integrated bundle of software will significantly lower the current costs of developing mobile devices and services.
Android does not differentiate between the phone's core applications and third-party applications. They can all be built to have equal access to a phone's capabilities providing users with a broad spectrum of applications and services. With devices built on the Android Platform, users are able to fully tailor the phone to their interests. They can swap out the phone's homescreen, the style of the dialer, or any of the applications. They can even instruct their phones to use their favorite photo viewing application to handle the viewing of all photos.
Android is an exciting platform for consumers and developers. It is the philosophical opposite of the iPhone in many ways. Where the iPhone tries to create the best user experience by restricting hardware and software standards, Android tries to insure it by opening up as much of the operating system as possible.
