The Operating system is a base infrastructure software component of a

computerized system. It controls all basic operations of the computer (or other

electronic devices such as PDA, smartphone, etc.). The Operating System

allows the user to install and execute third-party applications (commonly called

apps for short), usually adding new functionality to the device.

Among the most popular computer operating systems are Microsoft's Windows

and Apple's Mac OS, along with the various distributions of Linux.

The most popular OS's for mobile devices (smartphones and tablets) are

Apple's iOS and Google's Android and they are the only ones that still show

growth. Down the ranks there are RIM's BlackBerry OS and Microsoft's

Windows Phone. Symbian holds a distant fifth place, while merely a year ago it

was still the most widely used mobile OS.

Symbian held its top position for years but its market share has been slowly

fading away ever since touch-operated smartphones became the norm and

Symbian failed to deliver an intuitive touch UI. Almost ten years ago, Microsoft's

Windows Mobile was a strong player too, offering the first touchscreen

smartphone experience with the PocketPCs powered by their OS.

Today mobile devices with a proper OS are called smartphones and users have

a wide choice of applications, such as games, productivity apps,

communication or social media apps, digital maps, etc.

Standardized operating system platforms make it possible to provide a

consistent user interface (and experience) across devices from different

hardware manufacturers. Yet, Android smartphone manufacturers like to

customize the user experience so each offers a slightly modified version of the

stock Android UI.

While the major players these days are clear, over the years we've seen the

emergence of numerous mobile OS projects including but not limited to Palm's

webOS, Samsung's Bada OS, Nokia's Maemo OS, Nokia's MeeGo OS, LiMo

OS, Tizen, BlackBerry's Playbook OS and more recently, the Jolla's Sailfish OS

and Mozilla's Firefox OS.

Android is a Linux-based smartphone operating system and software platform

created by Google.

Android beta

The beta release of Android OS was released on 5 November 2007. The first

SDK was released a week later, on 12 November 2007.

Android 1.0

Android 1.0 was the first commercially available release of the OS. It was

available on the pioneering device - the T-Mobile G1 (released October 2008

in the US and the UK) along with the Android source code.

Android 1.1

Android 1.1 was pushed out on 9 February 2009, coinciding with the

announcement of theHTC Dream, an internationally available twin of the T-

Mobile G1.

Android 1.5 Cupcake

Android 1.5 Cupcake was released on 30 April 2009. It was the first major

Android overhaul and it also was the first Android release to be pet-named after

a dessert - a tradition that has been kept alive ever since. Every subsequent

Android release was named after a dessert, whose name started with the next

letter of the alphabet.

Version 1.5 Cupcake introduced the software on-screen keyboard to Android

and allowed the production of touch devices sans QWERTY keyboards such as

the HTC Magic (announced February 2009). Equally importantly, it enabled

Android smartphones to shoot video.

Along with that, v. 1.5 Cupcake added support for third-party software

keyboards, third-party widgets, stereo Bluetooth, copy and paste in the web

browser, screen auto-rotation, and an option to upload media to YouTube and

Picasa.

Android 1.6 Donut

Android 1.6 Donut was released on 15 September 2009. It added text-to-

speech, updated Android Market now offered app screenshots, and it

introduced support for WVGA screens. The camera became faster, and the

gallery, camera and camcorder got deeply integrated with each other.

Android 2.x Eclair

Android 2.0 Eclair SDK was released on 26 October 2009. Android 2.0

introduced multiple account sync, Microsoft Exchange email support, Bluetooth

2.1, the Quick Contact feature, showing a pop-up for call, SMS and email, as

soon as you tap on a contact's avatar. The camera received new features such

as flash support, digital zoom, scene mode, white balance, color effect and

macro focus. The web browser UI was updated and some new features were

added such as double-tap to zoom.

We saw the much overdue native support for multi-touch interaction with

software. Live wallpapers were first introduced with Eclair, as well. The UI was

redesigned, there were multiple performance improvements and we welcomed

the support for more screen sizes and resolutions.

Google Maps Navigation was also introduced alongside Android 2.0 Eclair,

quickly turning into a key selling point for Android smartphones in the supported

countries.

Android 2.1 was a subsequent release, which was dubbed Eclair, too, as it

wasn't a major update in terms of functionality. This sort of minor upgrades

between major releases became commonplace in future versions.

Along with Android 2.1 Eclair Google introduced its first Nexus devices as well.

Manufactured by HTC, but sold directly by Google, the Google Nexus

One was released in January 2010 and in May 2010 it also became the first

phone to be updated to Android 2.2 Froyo.

Android 2.2.x Froyo

Android 2.2 Froyo SDK was released on 20 May 2010. Froyo brought

significant performance improvements over Eclair. Storage access and

applications became faster thanks to the added JIT compiler. The web browser

got a speed boost too, courtesy of the new JavaScript engine.

Android 2.2 Froyo also introduced push notifications, USB tethering and Wi-Fi

hotspot functionality, an updated Android Market with automatic updates and

batch install. The web browser could use embedded file upload fields. For the

first time users could officially install applications to the external memory. The

Adobe Flash support was another major new feature of the web browser.

Minor revisions were later released as updates such as Android 2.2.1, 2.2.2,

and 2.2.3.

Android 2.3.x Gingerbread

Android 2.3 Gingerbread SDK was released on 6 December 2010. This

Android release offered an updated user interface and even better performance

optimization.

It added native support for SIP VoIP internet telephony, improved text input and

keyboard accuracy, enhanced copy/paste functionality (word-by-word

selection), Near Field Communication (NFC) support, new audio effects such

as headphone virtualization and bass boost, new system-wide download

manager, and native support for a front-facing camera.

Developers also received a number of under-the-hood enhancements, giving

them lower-level access to audio, graphics, and inputs, plus concurrent

garbage collection for increased performance and native support for extra

sensors such as gyroscopes and barometers. All this allowed devs to write

faster native code.

Newer phones, which came out of the box with Gingerbread, now used the

newer ext4 file system.