A consumer has many various choices when deciding which smartphone to buy. There are different operating systems, different brands, and different handsets available. Perhaps the top mobile operating system is the Google Android system.
The Google Android system is based off a version of Linux kernel that is modified. This system was initially put out by Android Inc. But is now owned and operated by Google. Google has been the key component in ensuring the Android growth since taking them over in 2008.
The first release of Android was 1.1 in February 2009. Since then the operating system has been updated several times, each time with a dessert nickname. Two months after the release of 1.1, 1.5 was released as Cupcake. Five months after Cupcake was released, Donut 1.6 became available. The month after Donut came Eclair which was the first 2.0 update. In 2010, there has been only one update and that was 2.1 Froyo in May. There is scheduled to be a new system available in the beginning of 2011 and that will be the 2.2 release of Gingerbread.
The numerous updates to this system highlight Google's commitment to continually updating Android phones. By doing this, customers have been able to get many improvements to the system that helps in overall functionality. Some of the things that have been improved include multimedia improvements, optimized speed of the hardware, virtual keyboard, and gaining the ability to act as a WiFi hotspot or tether by USB plug.
Unfortunately, because of the series of updates not all Android handsets were able to accept the updates. Phones available for the Android system are presently running somewhere from Android 1.1 to 2.1. The updates are not always available to each handset due to various limits on the handsets memory, speed of the processor, or the mobile carrier not wanting to issue an upgrade.
Google Vice President, Andy Rubin, announced that Google will only be updating the Android system once per year from now on. Because it was a new system Google saw a lot of improvement opportunities when Android was first announced, so that is why there were so many quick and rapid updates. Now that the system is where Google would like to see it, the updates now will be less frequent but better planned out overall. This will give Google and developers an opportunity to work with a system for an extended period and ensure that it is being optimized. A negative of this is that when breaking technology comes out the Android system may not receive an update quickly with it.
Recent market share numbers show that Android's growth is continuing at a tremendous rate. ComScore is a ranking system for the various operating systems and for a recent three month period they showed Android increasing its market share by 6.6% to 19.6% of all smartphones owned in the United States. Blackberry is still ranked number one at this time but showed a 4.1% decrease, while Apple stayed steady with a 0.2% decrease.
Any consumer can choose between Blackberry, Apple iPhone, Nokia Symbian, or Google Android when picking their new smartphone. The advancements in improving the Android operating system show that Google is looking to improve an already great system. Having those vast improvements and a large application market would help tilt a decision to the Android system.
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