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What is Android? Is Android a Smart Phone? A Mobile Operating System? A Tablet? A Device?

Tuesday, July 3, 2012 21:15

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Tech is confusing. When someone says Android most people probably think of a specific type of smart phone created by Google that runs one of numerous versions of the Android Operating System – but it isn’t ONE phone.

What IS Android?

Android is actually an open source Linux based Mobile Operating System created by a company named Android, Inc that was bought out by Google in 2005.

The Android OS runs on devices other than Google phones – particularly tablet devices – and naming a phone after an operating system is going to make this confusing forever more. It gets worse. According to the Wikipedia Android page:

“While Android is designed primarily for smartphones and tablets, the open and customizable nature of the operating system allows it to be used on other electronics, including laptops and netbooks, smartbooks,^[63] ebook readers,^[64] and smart TVs (Google TV).

Further, the OS has seen niche applications on wristwatches,^[65] headphones,^[66] car CD and DVD players,^[67] smart glasses (Project Glass), refrigerators, vehicle satnav systems, home automation systems, games consoles, mirrors,^[68] cameras,^[69] portable media players^[70] landlines,^[71] and treadmills.^[72]“

Or consider this Comparison of Android Devices definition:

Android is a software stack for mobile devices that includes an
operating system, middleware, and key applications.^[1]

So technically I suppose you could call ANYTHING running the Android O/S an Android, but it is not even ONE kind of phone!

I’m publishing this post because I’ve been asked to write about Android Apps and to do that well I first have to understand what Android is.

Because there is so much interest in Android I have agreed to share some specific types of Apps and additional information.

For any who wonder, I choose not to use smart phones personally because I have no desire to be tracked wherever I go. For anyone concerned with privacy, I recommend How To See Where Your Android Device Has Been Tracking You.