A huge number of smartphone users own Android devices but how much do you know about your favorite mobile OS?
Check out some amazing facts about the Android platform:
- The Android operating system was developed by Android Inc.Google bought it in 2005 at a price of $50 million.
- Samsung rejected the offer to buy Android Inc., before Google bought it.
- Android OS was developed as a platform for digital cameras. But the makers later changed their focus to smart phones as they saw its potential.
- Google launched Android operating system in November 5, 2007, which is a Linux based software system.
- HTC Dream or T-Mobile G1 is the first ever smartphone to run on the Android operating system, this mobile phone was released in the year 2008.
- Google’s Android operating system, has attained over 2 billion activations on smart devices.
- Android powers about 88% of all smartphones globally, while iOS accounts for only 11%.
- Andy Rubin is the creator of Android
- Android OS versionsare named after confectionery and desserts, and follows an alphabetical naming convention. The names are:
- Android Astro (1.0),
- Bender (1.1),
- Cupcake (1.5),
- Donut (1.6),
- Éclair (2.0),
- Froyo (2.2),
- Gingerbread (2.3),
- Honeycomb (3.0),
- Ice Cream Sandwich (4.0),
- Jelly Bean (4.1)
- KitKat (4.4),
- Lollipop (5),
- Marshmallow (6.0),
- Nougat (7.0),
- Oreo (8.0), and
- …P, which will be launched later this year.
- Android is the male robot, while Gynoid is the female robot.
- Android is an open source software and Google is a member of Open Handset Alliance (OHA). This means individuals can modify the source code of the OS and add new features.
- NASA equipped floating space robots with Nexus S handsets. These devices run on Android Gingerbread.
- The Google play store has more than 48 billion app installs; most of them are free.
- Microsoft makes around $2 billion yearly in patent royalties from sales of Android devices.
