Android : "A brif history"

Android is the mobile operating system developed by Google. Android OS is a Linux-based platform for mobile phones. Android was released under the Apache v2 open source license. Android was developed by Google and the Open Handset Alliance (OHA), a coalition of hardware, software and telecommunications companies. More than 30 companies were involved in the OHA, Broadcom, HTC, Inte
l, Samsung and Motorola etc. Android began its life as a Palo Alto-based startup company, founded in 2003. That company was subsequently acquired by Google in 2005. Android is an array of software intended for mobile devices that features an operating system, core applications and middleware. An Android device may be a smartphone, tablet PC, e-book reader or any type of mobile device that requires an OS. Android comes with an Android market which is an online software store. It was developed by Google. It allows Android users to select, and download applications developed by third party developers and use them. There are around 2.0 lack+ games, application and widgets available on the market for users. Android applications are written in java programming language. Android is available as open source for developers to develop applications which can be further used for selling in android market. There are around 200000 applications developed for android with over 3 billion+ downloads. Android relies on Linux version 2.6 for core system services such as security, memory management, process management, network stack, and driver model. For software development, Android provides Android SDK (Software development kit).
The version history of the Android mobile operating system began with the
release of the Android beta in November 2007. The first commercial version, Android 1.0, was released in September 2008. Android is under ongoing development by Google and the Open Handset Alliance (OHA), and has seen a number of updates to its base operating system since its initial release.The most recent major Android update is Android 5.0 "Lollipop", which was released on November 3, 2014. Since April 2009, Android versions have been developed under a confectionery-themed code name and released in alphabetical order, beginning with Android 1.5 "Cupcake"; the earlier versions 1.0 and 1.1 were not released under specific code names:

• Cupcake (1.5)
• Donut (1.6)
• Eclair (2.0–2.1)
• Froyo (2.2–2.2.3)
• Gingerbread (2.3–2.3.7)
• Honeycomb (3.0–3.2.6)
• Ice Cream Sandwich (4.0–4.0.4)
• Jelly Bean (4.1–4.3.1)
• KitKat (4.4–4.4.4, 4.4W–4.4W.2)
• Lollipop (5.0–5.1.1)
• Marshmallow (developer preview 3)