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INTRODUCTION

Android is a software stack for mobile devices that includes an operating system,
middleware and key applications. Android is a software platform and operating system for
mobile devices based on the Linux operating system and developed by Google and the
Open Handset Alliance. It allows developers to write managed code in a Java-like language
that utilizes Google-developed Java libraries, but does not support programs developed in
native code.

The unveiling of the Android platform on 5 November 2007 was announced with
the founding of the Open Handset Alliance, a consortium of 34 hardware, software and
telecom companies devoted to advancing open standards for mobile devices. When
released in 2008, most of the Android platform will be made available under the Apache
free-software and open-source license.

1.1 THE BIRTH OF ANDROID

1.1.1. Google Acquires Android Inc.

In July 2005, Google acquired Android Inc., a small startup company based in Palo
Alto, CA. Android's co-founders who went to work at Google included Andy Rubin (co-
founder of Danger), Rich Miner (co-founder of Wildfire Communications, Inc.), Nick
Sears (once VP at T-Mobile), and Chris White (one of the first engineers at WebTV). At
the time, little was known about the functions of Android Inc. other than they made
software for mobile phones.

At Google, the team, led by Rubin, developed a Linux-based mobile device OS

which they marketed to handset makers and carriers on the premise of providing a flexible,
upgradeable system. It was reported that Google had already lined up a series of hardware
component and software partners and signaled to carriers that it was open to various
degrees of cooperation on their part

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1.1.2. Open Handset Alliance Founded

On 5 November 2007, the Open Handset Alliance, a consortium of several

companies which include Google, HTC, Intel, Motorola, Qualcomm, T -Mobile, Sprint
Nextel and NVIDIA, was unveiled with the goal to develop open standards for mobile
devices. Along with the formation of the Open Handset Alliance, the OHA also unveiled
their first product, Android, an open source mobile device platform based on the Linux
operating system.

1.1.3. Hardware

Google has unveiled at least three prototypes for Android, at the Mobile World
Congress on February 12, 2008. One prototype at the ARM booth displayed several basic
Google applications. A’d-pad' control zooming of items in the dock with a relatively quick
response.

A prototype at the Google IO conference on May 28, 2008 had a 528 MHz
Qualcomm processor and a Synaptic capacitive touch screen, and used the UMTS cellular
standard. It had 128 MB of RAM and 256 MB of flash, showing that Android's memory
requirements are reasonable. The demo was carried out using a 3.6 Mbps HSDPA
connection.

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1.2 FEATURES

1.2.1. Application Framework

It is used to write applications for Android. Unlike other embedded mobile

environments, Android applications are all equal, for instance, an applications which come
with the phone are no different than those that any developer writes. The framework is
supported by numerous open source libraries such as openssl, SQLite and libc. It is also
supported by the Android core libraries. From the point of security, the framework is based
on UNIX file system permissions that assure applications have only those abilities that
mobile phone owner gave them at install time.

1.2.2. Dalvik Virtual Machine

It is extremely low-memory based virtual machine, which was designed especially

for Android to run on embedded systems and work well in low power situations. It is also
tuned to the CPU attributes. The Dalvik VM creates a special file format (.DEX) that is
created through build time post processing. Conversion between Java classes and .DEX
format is done by included “dx” tool.

1.2.3. Integrated Browser

Google made a right choice on choosing WebKit as open source web browser. They
added a two pass layout and frame flattening. Two pass layout loads a page without waiting
for blocking elements, such as external CSS or external JavaScript and after a while renders
again with all resources downloaded to the Device. Frame flattening converts founded into
single one and loads into the browser. These features increase speed and usability browsing
the internet via mobile phone.

1.2.4. Optimized Graphics

As Android has 2D graphics library and 3D graphics based on OpeGLES 1.0,

possibly we will see great applications like Google Earth and spectacular games like
Second Life, which come on Linux version. At this moment, the adventurous 3D game
was present using Android on the mobile phone named PUBG mobile.
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1.2.5. SQLite

Extremely small (< 500kb) relational database management system, is integrated

in Android. It is based on function calls and single file, where all definitions, tables and
data are stored. This simple design is more than suitable for a platform such as Android.

1.2.6. Handset Layouts

The platform is adaptable to both larger, VGA, 2D graphics library, 3D graphics

library based on OpenGL ES 1.0 specifications, traditional smart phone layouts. An
underlying 2D graphics engine is also included. Surface Manager manages access to the
display subsystem and seamlessly composites 2D and 3D graphic layers from multiple
applications

1.2.7. Data Storage

SQLite is used for structured data storage .SQLite is a powerful and lightweight
relational database engine available to all applications.

1.2.8. Connectivity

Android supports a wide variety of connectivity technologies including GSM,

CDMA, Bluetooth, EDGE, EVDO, 3G and Wi-Fi.

1.2.9. Messaging

SMS, MMS, and XMPP are available forms of messaging including threaded text
messaging.

1.2.10. Web Browser

The web browser available in Android is based on the open-source WebKit

application framework. It includes LibWebCore which is a modern web browser engine
which powers both the Android browser and an embeddable web view.

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1.2.11. Java Virtual Machine

Software written in Java can be compiled into Dalvik byte codes and executed in
the Dalvik virtual machine, which is a specialized VM implementation designed for mobile
device use, although not technically a standard Java Virtual Machine.

1.2.12. Media Support

Android will support advanced audio/video/still media formats such as MPEG-4,

H.264, MP3, and AAC, AMR, JPEG, PNG, GIF.

1.2.13. Additional Hardware Support

Android is fully capable of utilizing video/still cameras, touch screens, GPS,

compasses, accelerometers, and accelerated 3D graphics.

1.2.14. Development Environment

Includes a device emulator, tools for debugging, memory and performance

profiling, and a plug-in for the Eclipse IDE. There are a number of hardware dependent
features, for instance, a huge media and connections support, GPS, improved support for
Camera and simply GSM telephony. A great work was done for the developers to start
work with Android using device emulator, tools for debugging and plug-in for Eclipse
IDE.

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 2. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE TOPIC

2.1 OPERATION

2.1.1. Android Runtime

Android includes a set of core libraries that provides most of the functionality
available in the core libraries of the Java programming language. Every Android
application runs in its own process, with its own instance of the Dalvik virtual machine.
Dalvik has been written so that a device can run multiple VMs efficiently.

The Dalvik VM executes files in the Dalvik Executable (.dex) format which is
optimized for minimal memory footprint. The VM is register-based, and runs classes
compiled by a Java language compiler that have been transformed into the .dex format by
the included "dx" tool. The Dalvik VM relies on the Linux kernel for underlying
functionality such as threading and low-level memory management.

2.1.2. Linux Kernel

Android relies on Linux version 2.6 for core system services such as security,
memory management, process management, network stack, and driver model. The kernel
also acts as an abstraction layer between the hardware and the rest of the software stack.

It helps to manage security, memory management, process management, network

stack and other important issues. Therefore, the user should bring Linux in his mobile
device as the main operating system and install all the drivers required in order to run it.

Developers have full access to the same framework APIs used by the core
applications. The application architecture is designed to simplify the reuse of components;
any application can publish its capabilities and any other application may then make use
of those capabilities (subject to security constraints enforced by the framework). This same
mechanism allows components to be replaced by the user. Underlying all applications is a
set of services and systems.

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2.2. ARCHITECTURE

The following diagram shows the major components of the Android operating
system. Each section is described in more detail below.

Fig 2.1 Architecture of Android

2.2.1. Linux Kernel

Android Architecture is based on Linux 2.6 kernel. It helps to manage security,

memory management, process management, network stack and other important issues.
Therefore, the user should bring Linux in his mobile device as the main operating system
and install all the drivers required in order to run it. Android provides the support for the
Qualcomm MSM7K chipset family. For instance, the current kernel tree supports
Qualcomm MSM 7200A chipsets, but in the second half of 2008 we should see mobile
devices with stable version Qualcomm MSM 7200, which includes major features:

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 WCDMA/HSUPA and EGPRS network support
 Bluetooth 1.2 and Wi-Fi support
 Digital audio support for mp3 and other formats
 Support for Linux and other third-party operating systems
 Java hardware acceleration and support for Java applications
 Qcamera up to 6.0 megapixels
 gpsOne – solution for GPS

2.2.2. Libraries

In the next level there are a set of native libraries written in C/C++, which are
responsible for stable performance of various components. For example, Surface Manager
is responsible for composing different drawing surfaces on the mobile screen. It manages
the access for different processes to compose 2D and 3D graphic layers. OpenGL ES and
SGL make a core of graphic libraries and are used accordingly for 3D and 2D hardware
acceleration. Moreover, it is possible to use 2D and 3D graphics in the same application in
Android. The media framework was provided by Packet Video, one of the members of
OHA. It gives libraries for a playback and recording support for all the major media and
static image files. Free Type libraries are used to render all the bitmap and vector fonts.
For data storage, Android uses SQLite. As mentioned before, it is extra light rational
management system, which locates a single file for all operations related to database.
WebKit, the same browser used by Apples’ Safari, was modified by Android in order to fit
better in a small size screens.

2.2.3. Android Runtime

At the same level there is Android Runtime, where the main component Dalvik
Virtual Machine is located. It was designed specifically for Android running in limited
environment, where the limited battery, CPU, memory and data storage are the main issues.
Android gives an integrated tool “dx”, which converts generated byte code from .jar to .dex
file, after this byte code becomes much more efficient to run on the small processors.


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 
Fig 2.2 Conversion from .java to .dex file

As the result, it is possible to have multiple instances of Dalvik virtual machine

running on the single device at the same time. The Core libraries are written in Java
language and contains of the collection classes, the utilities, IO and other tools.

2.2.4. Application Framework

After that, there is Application Framework, written in Java language. It is a toolkit

that all applications use, ones which come with mobile device like Contacts or SMS box,
or applications written by Google and any Android developer. It has several components.

The Activity Manager manages the life circle of the applications and provides a
common navigation back stack for applications, which are running in different processes.
The Package Manager keeps track of the applications, which are installed in the device.
The Windows Manager is Java programming language abstraction on the top of lower level
services that are provided by the Surface Manager.

The Telephony Manager contains of a set of API necessary for calling applications.

2.2.5. Application Layer

At the top of Android Architecture we have all the applications, which are used by
the final user. By installing different applications, the user can turn his mobile phone into
the unique, optimized and smart mobile phone. All applications are written using the Java
programming language.

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2.3 DEVELOPING APPLICATIONS

2.3.1. Application Building Blocks

We can think of an Android application as a collection of components, of various

kinds. These components are for the most part quite loosely coupled, to the degree where
you can accurately describe them as a federation of components rather than a single
cohesive application.

Generally, these components all run in the same system process. It's possible (and
quite common) to create multiple threads within that process, and it's also possible to create
completely separate child processes if you need to. Such cases are pretty uncommon
though, because Android tries very hard to make processes transparent to your code.

Google provides three versions of SDK for Windows, for Mac OSX and one for
Linux. The developer can use Android plug-in for Eclipse IDE or other IDEs such as
intelliJ.First step for Android developer is to decompose the prospective application into
the components, which are supported by the platform. The major building blocks are these:
 Activity
 Intent Receiver
 Service
 Content Provider
2.3.2. AndroidManifest.xml

The AndroidManifest.xml file is the control file that tells the system what to do
with all the top-level components (specifically activities, services, intent receivers, and
content providers described below) you've created. For instance, this is the "glue" that
actually specifies which Intents your Activities receive.

A developer should predefine and list all components, which he wants to use in the
specific AndroidManifest.xml file. It is a required file for all the applications and is located
in the root folder. It is possible to specify all global values for the package, all the

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components and its classes used, intent filters, which describe where and when the certain
activity should start, permissions and instrumentation like security control and testing.

Here is an example of AndroidManifest.xml file:

1. <? Xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
2. <manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
3. package="dk.mdev.android.hello">
4. <application android: icon="@drawable/icon">
5. <activity class=".Hello Android" android: label="@string/app_name">
6. <intent-filter>
7. <action android: value="android.intent.action.MAIN" />
8. <category android: value="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER"/>
9. </intent-filter>
10. </activity>
11. </application>
12. </manifest>

The line 2 is a namespace declaration, which makes a standard Android

Attributes available for that application. In the line 4 there is a single <application>
element, where the developer specifies all application level components and its properties
used by the package. Activity class in the line 5 represents the initial screen the user sees
and it may have one or more <intent-filter> elements to describe the actions that activity
supports.

2.3.3. Application Lifecycle

In Android, every application runs in its own process, which gives better
performance in security, protected memory and other benefits. Therefore, Android is
responsible to run and shut down correctly these processes when it is needed.

It is important that application developers understand how different application

components (in particular Activity, Service, and Broadcast Receiver) impact the lifetime

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of the application's process. Not using these components correctly can result in the system
killing the application's process while it is doing important work.

To determine which processes should be killed when low on memory, Android places
each process into an "importance hierarchy" based on the components running in them
and the state of those components. These process types are (in order of importance).
1. A foreground process is one that is required for what the user is currently doing.
Various application components can cause its containing process to be considered
foreground in different ways. A process is considered to be in the foreground if any of
the following conditions hold:
1.1. It is running an Activity at the top of the screen that the user is interacting with
(it’s on Resume () method has been called).
1.2. It has a Broadcast Receiver that is currently running (it’s
BroadcastReceiver.onReceive () method is executing).
1.3. It has a Service that is currently executing code in one of its callbacks
(Service.onCreate (), Service.onStart (), or Service.onDestroy ()).
1.4. There will only ever be a few such processes in the system, and these will only
be killed as a last resort if memory is so low that not even these processes can
continue to run. Generally, at this point, the device has reached a memory paging
state, so this action is required in order to keep the user interface responsive.
2. A visible process is one holding an Activity that is visible to the user on-screen but not
in the foreground (its onPause () method has been called). This may occur, for example,
if the foreground Activity is displayed as a dialog that allows the previous Activity to
be seen behind it. Such a process is considered extremely important and will not be
killed unless doing so is required to keep all foreground processes running.
3. A service process is one holding a Service that has been started with the startService ()
method. Though these processes are not directly visible to the user, they are generally
doing things that the user cares about (such as background mp3 playback or
background network data upload or download), so the system will always keep such
processes running unless there is not enough memory to retain all foreground and
visible process.

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4. A background process is one holding an Activity that is not currently visible to the user
(its onStop () method has been called). These processes have no direct impact on the
user experience. Provided they implement their Activity life-cycle correctly
(See Activity for more details), the system can kill such processes at any time to reclaim
memory for one of the three previous processes types. Usually there are many of these
processes running, so they are kept in an LRU list to ensure the process that was most
recently seen by the user is the last to be killed when running low on memory
5. An empty process is one that doesn't hold any active application components. The only
reason to keep such a process around is as a cache to improve startup time the next
time a component of its application needs to run. As such, the system will often kill
these processes in order to balance overall system resources between these empty
cached processes and the underlying kernel caches.

Fig 2.3 Flowchart Showing the Lifecycle of an Activity

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 In the following example we will display a process flow from the Android System
point of view to get a clear idea how the applications behave. Let assume the

Possible scenario: A user talks to his friend via mobile phone and he is asked to browse
the internet (a talk is hold for a moment), find a picture of him in his Picasa Album, send
it via Email back to his friend and resume a talk.
In this situation, there are 4 different applications and 4 different processes running,
but from the user point of view none of them are important, as Android manages CPU work
and memory usage by itself. It means the user can travel through the applications forward
and back without thinking about how much memory is left or which processes are run at
the time. Firstly, as the user is talking to his friend, a specific Talk application is opened,
which contains the activity manager. In the following stack we can see two processes
running, the main system process and Talk application process. Moreover, before going to
Web Browser application, the system saves a Talk state T in order to remember that
process:

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 At this point, as a user holds a talk and opens a web browser, the system creates a
new process and new web browser activity is launched in it. Again, the state of the last
activity is saved (W):

After that, the user browses the internet, finds his picture in Picasa album and saves
it to particular folder. He does not close a web browser, instead he opens a folder to find
saved picture. The folder activity is launched in particular process:

At this point, the user finds his saved picture in the folder and he creates a request
to open an Email application. The last state F is saved. Now assume that the mobile phone
is out of the memory and there is no room to create a new process for Email application.
Therefore, Android looks to kill a process. It cannot destroy Folder process, as it was used
previously and could be reused again, so it kills Web Browser process as it is not useful
anymore and locates a new Email process instead;

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 The user opens Email application and sends a picture to his friend via email. Now
he wants to go back to the Talk application and to resume a talk to his friend. Because of
the previously saved states, this work is done fast and easily. In this example, Email
application is popped out and the user sees a previous Folder application:

Next, the user goes back to Web Browser application. Unfortunately, web browser
process was killed previously so the system has to kill another process (in our case it is
Email application process, which is not used anymore) in order to locate Web Browser
process and manage the stack memory:

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 Now the user comes back to the Talk application and resumes his talk with his
friend. Because of the saved states, going back procedure is fast and useful, because it
remembers previous activities and its views.

This example shows, that it does not matter how many applications and processes are
active or how much available memory is left, Android it manages fast and without a user
interaction.

2.3.4. Application Framework

Developers have full access to the same framework APIs used by the core
applications. The application architecture is designed to simplify the reuse of components;
any application can publish its capabilities and any other application may then make use
of those capabilities (subject to security constraints enforced by the framework). This same
mechanism allows components to be replaced by the user.

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Underlying all applications is a set of services and systems, including:

1. A rich and extensible set of Views that can be used to build an application, including
lists, grids, text boxes, buttons, and even an embeddable web browser
2. Content Providers that enable applications to access data from other applications (such
as Contacts), or to share their own data
3. A Resource Manager, providing access to non-code resources such as localized strings,
graphics, and layout files
4. A Notification Manager that enables all applications to display custom alerts in the
status bar
5. An Activity Manager that manages the life cycle of applications and provides a
common navigation backtrack
2.3.5. Library
 Android includes a set of C/C++ libraries used by various components of the Android
system. These capabilities are exposed to developers through the Android application
framework. Some of the core libraries are listed below:
 System C library - a BSD-derived implementation of the standard C system library
(libc), tuned for embedded Linux-based devices
 Media Libraries - based on Packet Video’s Open CORE; the libraries support playback
and recording of many popular audio and video formats, as well as static image files,
including MPEG4, H.264, MP3, AAC, AMR, JPG, and PNG
 Surface Manager - manages access to the display subsystem and seamlessly composites
2D and 3D graphic layers from multiple applications.
 3D libraries - an implementation based on OpenGL ES 1.0 APIs; the libraries use either
hardware 3D acceleration (where available) or the included, highly optimized 3D
software rasterizer.

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2.4 SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT

The feedback on developing applications for the Android platform has been mixed.
Issues cited include bugs, lack of documentation, inadequate QA .The first publicly
available application was the Snake game.

2.4.1. Software Development kit

It includes development and debugging tools, a set of libraries, a device emulator,

documentation, sample projects, tutorials, and FAQs. Requirements also include Java
Development Kit, Apache Ant, and Python 2.2 or later. The only officially supported
integrated development environment (IDE) is Eclipse 3.2 or later, through the Android
Development Tools Plug-in, but programmers can use command line tools to create, build
and debug Android applications.

Partial Listing of Open Handset Alliance Participants

Fig 2.4 Partial Listing of Open Handset Alliance Participants

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2.5 SECURITY ISSUES

Android mobile phone platform is going to be more secure than Apple’s iPhone or
any other device in the long run. There are several solutions nowadays to protect Google
phone from various attacks. One of them is security vendor McAfee, a member of Linux
Mobile (LiMo) Foundation. This foundation joins particular companies to develop an open
mobile-device software platform. Many of the companies listed in the LiMo Foundation
have also become members of the Open Handset Alliance (OHA).

As a result, Linux secure coding practice should successfully be built into the
Android development process. However, open platform has its own disadvantages, such as
source code vulnerability for black-hat hackers. In parallel with great opportunities for
mobile application developers, there is an expectation for exploitation and harm. Stealthy
Trojans hidden in animated images, particular viruses passed from friend to friend, used
for spying and identity theft, all these threats will be active for a long run.

Another solution for such attacks is SMobile Systems mobile package. Security
Shield –an integrated application that includes anti-virus, anti-spam, firewall and other
mobile protection is up and ready to run on the Android operating system. Currently, the
main problem is availability for viruses to pose as an application and do things like dial
phone numbers, send text messages or multi-media messages or make connections to the
Internet during normal device use. It is possible for somebody to use the GPS feature to
track a person’s location without their knowledge. Hence SMobile Systems is ready to
notify and block these secure alerts. But the truth is that it is not possible to secure your
mobile device or personal computer completely, as it connects to the internet. And neither
the Android phone nor other devices will prove to be the exception.

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2.6 COMPARISON

2.6.1 Speculations with Cellular Carriers

Google Android enters a tangled mess of cellular carrier world. As a new player in
the mobile market, Android brings an open platform with the new rules. On the one hand
there is OHA with major companies and carries, such as T -Mobile and Sprint. On the other
hand, there are two largest cellular carries AT&T and Verizon Wireless in United States,
which have a vested interest in operating systems of their own. It is predictable, that Sprint
or T-Mobile will be first carriers providing devices with Google Android. This ensures
equal development time for the networks, GSM side and CDMA. But the main problem,
which faces all the cellular carriers around the world, is the availability to download and
use free applications that could block almost every communications product they sell. A
user does not need to pay for GPS mapping service anymore. He can simply download a
free one that taps into Google Maps.

In fact, why pay for cellular minutes at all when a user can download Skype, Gtalk
or other client and just use his data plan? OS’s such as Android threaten carriers with a
loss of control over the applications on the phones on their network and they may find
themselves becoming nothing more than wireless Internet service providers, forced to
compete on price and bandwidth.

2.6.2 Manufacturers’ War

Presently, Google main competitors like Nokia, Microsoft and Apple do not see
Google Android as a serious rival or threat to their business strategies. However, the
current situation is not so unsophisticated. There is a huge flurry in the companies, which
are not in the list of OHA.

For instance, Nokia, which is the largest handset manufacturer in the world,
nowadays owning some 39% market share, was one of the companies snubbed on the
invitation list to the 34-party Open Handset Alliance that is growing daily.

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 In contrast, Nokia is buying companies and dumping cash into development, while
Google is releasing an open platform hoping the applications and services will build
themselves with the help of a strong developer community, development contests and large
alliance of grand companies.

Despite of this, Nokia is ready to combat whatever Google has to throw with
Google Android in 2008. Another company Apple has already stroked the market with
iPhone and its closed operating system. Accordingly, iPhone in the US remains loyal to
AT&T mobile carrier for five years.

That is plenty of time for Google to conquer the market with open Android.
Obvious advantage of Android is cost: while iPhone is priced at a weighty $400, Google
says it hopes to reach a more mainstream market by pricing Android-powered devices at
around $200. Microsoft, selling 21 million copies of Windows Mobile software, stays calm
at this point, waiting for some particular results from Google Android.

2.6.3 Market Research

A new generation of mobile device users is coming in the next decade. These users
are going to explore the mobile internet afresh with its new features, compatible mobile
phones, new services and applications.

This is a huge leap for mobile advertisement business, where revenue could rise 8
times more by 2012. Google Android is going to present new solutions through the fast
search engine, open source applications and other services.

The Kelsey Group, which works with public opinion polls and statistics, published
the results released October 11 2007, which say, that one hundred out of 500, or 20 percent
of people would be interested in purchasing a Google phone. Despite the fact, that Google
Android is in alpha version and it is unknown for the customers and mobile market, the
results look promising.

The diagram below shows the study, which was conducted in September 2007 via
an online 30-question survey of 500 U.S. mobile phone users aged 18 and older. People do
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not find a good Internet experience in their phones today, so they are more interested in
gravitating toward an Internet or technology company telephone

Fig 2.5 Survey in Sept. 2007 at US

Because they think connectivity between devices and to the Internet is going to be much
better on those phones. They use Google search, Gmail, Google Maps, Picasa albums and
other popular services on their computers, and this is what they expect to have in their
mobile devices in the close future.

2.6.4 Mobile Ads

Jaiku - an activity stream and sharing service that works from the Web and mobile
phones was bought by Google as important investment into the mobile advertisement.
People wondered why Google preferred the micro-blogging service to Twitter, which is
much more popular nowadays.

The answer lies in Jaiku’s unique ability to combine micro-blogging with user’s
location. An integral part of the service is a Jaiku client application for Symbian S60

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platform mobile phones, which should come to Android platform as well. The client uses
location APIs within device to get the handset and the users’ location based on nearby
cellular network towers.

Though the location is not very precise, the mobile phone is able to broadcast it
automatically. At that point the text can be connected to users’ location and create a list of
preferences for each place the user frequently visits.

Using such a technology, it is simple to track down a user via phone’s IP address,
whenever he comes into McDonald or is sitting in the airport. Google is not a million miles
away from being able to push advanced advertising to individuals based on their profile,
their location and their availability. They already offer regional and local targeting for ads
for desktop users, but this could be much more useful for a mobile phone. And if the ads
are truly relevant, interesting and unobtrusive, people might actually start to like them.

2.6.5 Mobile Services

Adding to its fast growing suite of mobile applications and services, Google has
applied for a patent for a mobile payments service that would allow users to make payments
at retail shops using their mobile phones.

Fig 2.6 Figure describes Google’s mobile focused payments called GPay
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 Described as "a computer-implemented method of effectuating an electronic on-
line payment," the system mentioned in the patent application is similar to existing mobile
payment services.

2.6.6 What makes Android special?

There are already many mobile platforms on the market today, including Symbian,
iPhone, Windows Mobile, BlackBerry, Java Mobile Edition, Linux Mobile (LiMo), and
more.

While some of its features have appeared before, Android is the first environment that
combines:

 A truly open, free development platform based on Linux and open source.
Handset makers like it because they can use and customize the platform without
paying a royalty. Developers like it because they know that the platform "has
legs" and is not locked into any one vendor that may go under or be acquired.
 A component-based architecture inspired by Internet mash-ups. Parts of one
application can be used in another in ways not originally envisioned by the
developer. You can even replace built-in components with your own improved
versions. This will unleash a new round of creativity in the mobile space.
 Tons of built-in services out of the box. Location based services use GPS or cell
tower triangulation to let you customize the user experience depending on
where they are. A full-powered SQL database lets you harness the power of
local storage for occasionally connected computing and synchronization.
Browser and Map views can be embedded directly in your applications. All
these built-in capabilities help to raise the bar on functionality while lowering
your development costs.
 Automatic management of the application life cycle. Programs are isolated
from each other by multiple layers of security, which will provide a level of
system stability not seen before in smart phones. The end user will no longer
have to worry about what applications are active, or close some programs so

25
 that others can run. Android is optimized for low-power, low-memory devices
in a fundamental way that no previous platform has attempted.
 High quality graphics and sound. Smooth, anti-aliased 2D vector graphics and
animation inspired by Flash is melded with 3D accelerated OpenGL graphics
to enable new kinds of games and business applications. Codec’s for the most
common industry standard audio and video formats are built right in, including
H.264 (AVC), MP3, and AAC.
 Portability across a wide range of current and future hardware. All your
programs are written in Java and executed by Android’s Dalvik virtual machine
so your code will be portable across ARM, x86, and other architectures. Support
for a variety of input methods is included such as keyboard, touch, tilt, camera,
voice, and trackball. User interfaces can be customized for any screen resolution
and orientation. Android is a fresh take on the way mobile applications interact
with users, along with the technical underpinnings to make it possible. But the
best part of Android is the software that you are going to write for it. This book
will help you get off to a great start.

2.6.7 Android and Java ME

Java Platform, Micro Edition or Java ME (previously known as Java 2 Platform,

Micro Edition or J2ME) is a specification of a subset of the Java platform aimed at
providing a certified collection of Java APIs for the development of software for small,
resource-constrained devices. Though, do not confuse it with Google Android, even there
are some similarities:

 Eclipse plug-ins for J2ME and Android look very similar and interface very well
with their respective SDKs;

 Both J2ME and Android seem to share the same core Java APIs, such as java.util
and java.net. But their APIs for graphics, UIs, etc. are very dissimilar and
philosophies for developing applications are very different;

26
 Android seems to be more tightly integrated (up to even the OS services provided
and how they interact with the APIs), while J2ME is far more liberal in its
specifications for the developer and mobile device manufacturer.

 A slower application development and performance – these are the main

disadvantages Java's J2ME have for today. J2ME apps are second-rate citizens in
the phones. They do not have an access to most of the low-level features, like call
API, external connectivity (USB) and other. There is no way to replace or extend
built-in phone apps like contacts, calendar and calls.

 For instance, J2ME applications in Nokia devices with S60 work great for standard
tasks. But more advanced users find difficulties handling Wi-Fi access points with
S60, because APIs simply do not seem to be exposed to J2ME. A user may find
difficulties synchronizing Google Calendar with his device – nobody seems to
have been able to figure out how to make the J2ME calendar interfaces work
correctly on S60, Even though S60 probably has one of the best Java
implementations.

 Android fills a void in Java Mobile applications by providing API to build richer
applications- more useful for Smart Phones which contain the ability to provide
these types of functionalities. If J2ME filled every void, Android as an API
wouldn’t be needed (though Android as an OS could still fill a void).

 Google has written its own virtual machine for Android most likely as a way to get
around licensing issues with Sun. However, Android does not include a complete
and complaint Java stack (neither JME nor JSE); only a subset and therefore it is
technically not the Java platform, it just looks a lot like it.

27
2.6.8 Advantages

 Open - Android allows you to access core mobile device functionality through
standard API calls.

 All applications are equal - Android does not differentiate between the phone's
basic and third-party applications -- even the dialer or home screen can be replaced.

 Breaking down boundaries - Combine information from the web with data on the
phone -- such as contacts or geographic location -- to create new user experiences.

 Fast and easy development - The SDK contains what you need to build and run
Android applications, including a true device emulator and advanced debugging
tools.

2.6.9 Disadvantages

 Security - Making source code available to everyone inevitably invites the attention
of black hat hackers.

 Open Source - A disadvantage of open-source development is that anyone can

scrutinize the source code to find vulnerabilities and write exploits.

 Login - Platform doesn't run on an encrypted file system and has a vulnerable log-
in.

 Incompetence - Google’s dependence on hardware and carrier partners puts the

final product out of their control.

 

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 3. History of Android

3.1 Story of Android

The version history of the Android mobile operating system began with the public
release of the Android beta on November 5, 2007. The first commercial version, Android
1.0, was released on September 23, 2008. Android is continually developed by Google
and the Open Handset Alliance, and it has seen a number of updates to its base operating
system since the initial release.
Android code names are confectionery-themed and have been in alphabetical
order since 2009's Android 1.5 Cupcake. The most recent version of Android is Android
9 Pie, which was released in August 2018.
Versions 1.0 and 1.1 were not released under specific code names, although
Android 1.1 was unofficially known as Petit Four.
The following table will give a clear idea about the Android version and their
Code names:
Code name Version
Alpha(No Code name) 1.0
Petit Four 1.1
Cupcake 1.5
Donut 1.6
Éclair 2.0-2.1
Froyo 2.2-2.2.3
Gingerbread 2.3-2.3.7
Honey Comb 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
Lollipop 5.0-5.1.1
Marshmallow 6.1-6.0.1
Nougat 7.0-7.1.2
29
 Oreo 8.0-8.1
Pie 9.0

3.2 Android Version and Kernel Version

3.2.1 Alpha

There were at least two internal releases of the software inside Google and the OHA
before the beta version was released.

To avoid confusion, the code names "Astro Boy" and "Bender" were only known
to be tagged internally on some early pre-1.0 milestone builds, and thus were never used
as the actual code names of the 1.0 and 1.1 release of the OS, as many people are mistakenly
calling and repeating on the web.

Dan Morrill created some of the first mascot logos, but the current Android logo
was designed by Irina Blok.

Kernel version introduced in this version of android was 2.6.23 and was released
on September 23, 2008.

3.2.2 Beta (Petit four)

The beta was released on November 5, 2007, while the software development kit
(SDK) was released on November 12, 2007. The November 5 date is popularly celebrated
as Android's "birthday".

Kernel version was upgraded to 2.6.25.

3.2.3 Cupcake

User Interface refinements like UI elements enhancements, Animation (off by

default), Accelerometer-based palliation rotations were made.

UI was polish for the in-call experience, Contacts, call logo, favorites, SMS, MMS,
Browser, Gmail, Calendar, Email, Camera, Gallery and application management.
30
 Performance was improved in this version like faster camera capture and Camera
startup, much faster acquisition of GPS Location (powered by SULP AGPS), Smother page
scrolling in Browser, Speedier Gmail, conversation list Scrolling.

Kernel version was upgraded to 2.6.27 and was released on April 27, 2009 with
version Android 1.5.

3.2.4 Donut

Android official discretional statement about this version is “Donut brought the
world’s information to your fingertips with the Quick Search Box. It also planted the seeds
for Android to come in all shapes and sizes – and meanwhile, Android Market came of
age.”

The above statement clearly describes about the 3 features updated in this version
which are explained below:

1. Quick Search Box: Android’s ubiquitous Quick search Box was introduced a while
ago with Donut. Get search results from the web and from your phone’s local content
all at once from a single box on the home screen.
2. Screen Size Diversity: Android comes in all shapes and sizes thanks to capabilities
launched with Donut which allowed Android to run on a variety of Screen resolution
and aspect ratios. This opened for phones featuring displays other than 320 x 480
portrait.
3. Google Play: Before there was Google Play, there was Android Market. Launched in
2008, Android Market was redesigned with Donut to expose top free and paid apps
just as Android’s third-party app catalogue started to explode.

Kernel version was upgraded to 2.6.29 and was released on September 15, 2009 with
version Android 1.6.

31
3.2.4 Eclair

Android official discretional statement about this version is “with Éclair, high
density displays showed off stunning live wallpapers that respond to your touch. Drive
anywhere with turn-by-turn Navigation and real time traffic information, straight from your
phone.”

The above statement clearly describes about the 3 features updated in this version
which are explained below:

1. Google Maps Navigation: Google Maps Navigation gave new meaning to definition
of a smartphone. Turn-by-Turn directions using Google Maps data included many
features found in a typical in-car navigation system: a forward-looking 3D view, voice
guidance and traffic information – all for free.
2. Home screen customization: Android has always let you make your home screen just
how you want it with customized ring tones, wallpapers and the ability to arrange apps
and widgets across multiple screens and in folders. Éclair introduced live wallpapers
that come to life on an unheard-of 853 x x480 display.
3. Speech-to-text: Well before the days “OK Google” voice actions, you could tap the
microphone icon to dictate right to your phone. Éclair replaced the comma key on the
soft keyboard with a microphone; with a simple tap, your spoken words appear straight
on your screen.

Kernel version was upgraded to 2.6.29 and was released on September 15, 2009 with
versions Android 2.0-2.1.

3.2.5 Froyo

Android official discretional statement about this version is “Froyo unveiled

lightning fast phones that can be controlled by the sound of your voice and hotspot
capabilities ensured that you’re always connected on the go.”

32
The above statement clearly describes about the 3 features updated in this version which
are explained below:

1. Voice Actions: Froyo took Android voice capabilities to the next level with Voice
Actions which let you perform key functions on your phone - searching, getting
directions, making notes, setting alarms and more – with just the sound of your voice.
2. Portable Hotspot: with tethering, Froyo let you turn your phone into a portable Wi-
Fi hotspot so that you could stay connected even when on the go.
3. Performance: Froyo introduced the Dalvik JIT compiler which delivered up to 5X
performance improvement in CPU-bound code. It also brought the V8 JavaScript
engine to the Android browser resulting in 2-3X improvement in JavaScript
performance.

Kernel version was upgraded to 2.6.32 and was released on May 20, 2010 with
versions Android 2.2-2.2.3.

3.2.6 Gingerbread

Android official discretional statement about this version is “Gingerbread made the
Android experience simpler and faster for both users and developers. Gaming reached new
heights, battery life lasted longer and NFC support spawned a whole new category of
apps.”

The above statement clearly describes about the 3 features updated in this version which
are explained below:

1. Gaming APIs: Gingerbread catapulted Android gaming to new heights. App

developers were able to build rich, graphics-intensive 3D games, thanks to new lower-
level access to audio, device controls, graphics and storage.
2. NFC: Several years before in-store mobile payments took off, Android launched Near
Field Communication (“NFC”) support which let you transmit information between
devices just by bringing them close together. With NFC, Gingerbread launched a slew
of possibilities for delivering services with simple tap of device.
33
3. Battery Management: Gingerbread helped you get the most life out of your battery
by knowing exactly how your device uses it; find out how much battery each aspect
of your device consumes, from screen brightness to any active app.

Kernel version was upgraded to 2.6.35 and was released on December 6, 2010 with
versions Android 2.3-2.3.7.

3.2.7 Honeycomb

Android official discretional statement about this version is “Honeycomb ushered

in the era of tablets with a flexible interface design that showcases large imagery and
seamless on-screen navigation.”

The above statement clearly describes about the 3 features updated in this version which
are explained below:

1. Tablet-friendly design: Honeycomb made the most of your tablets on-screen real
estate. With a larger layout pattern, it enhanced the experience of reading books,
watching videos, exploring maps and more.
2. System Bar: Gone are the days of a physical Home, Back and Menu button. With
Honeycomb, a new system bar enabled on-screen navigation controls on your Android
device.
3. Quick Settings: The new Quick Settings let you access essential information more
easily: see the time, date, and battery life and connection status of your device all in
one place.

Kernel version was upgraded to 2.6.36 and was released on February 22, 2011 with
versions Android 3.0-3.2.6.

3.2.8 Ice Cream Sandwich

Android official discretional statement about this version is “Ice Cream Sandwich
upped the ante on customization and user control – tailor your home screen, define how
much data you use and instantly share content when you want.”
34
The above statement clearly describes about the 3 features updated in this version which
are explained below:

1. Customize home screen: Ice Cream Sandwich introduced app folders and a favorite’s
tray. Widgets, which embed live app content directly on your home screen, became
more flexible: expand your widget to show more content or shrink to save space.
2. Data usage control: Manage your network data usage to keep mobile costs under
control. Track how much data you use, set warning levels and hard limits, and disable
your service if you reach the limit.
3. Android Beam: Futuristic at the time, Android Beam allowed two phones to instantly
share content via NFC by simply touching them together. Share apps, contacts, music
and Videos with someone else – all without needing to open a menu, an app or pair a
phone.

Kernel version was upgraded to 3.0.1 and was released on October 18, 2011 with versions
Android 4.0-4.0.4.

3.2.9 Jelly Bean

Android official discretional statement about this version is “Intelligence

permeated all facets of Jelly Bean which ushered in the era of personalized mobile
assistance with Google Now. It also made notifications more actionable and allowed one
device to work for multiple user accounts.”

The above statement clearly describes about the 3 features updated in this version which
are explained below:

1. Google Now: Get the information you need at just the right time with Google Now.
Pioneering a new level of mobile assistance, Google Now gives you today’s weather
as you’re getting dressed and commute times before you walk out the door.
2. Actionable notifications: With Jelly Bean, notifications expand to show more
information and let you respond in the moment; take action directly from the
notification.
35
3. Accounting Switching: Jelly Bean enabled multiple users on one device. Each
account has its own customized space from home screen to wallpaper, widgets and
apps so you can share a device and not your info. Multi-user launched with tablets and
later rolled out to phones with Lollipop.

Kernel version was upgraded to 3.0.31 to 3.4.39 and was released on July 9, 2012 with
versions Android 4.1-4.3.1.

3.2.10 KitKat

Android official discretional statement about this version is “Android KitKat

helped you get things done with just the sound of your voice – just say “OK Google” to
launch voice search, send a text, get directions or even play a song. And when you are
hands on with your device, a new immersive design brings your content to center stage.”

The above statement clearly describes about the 3 features updated in this version which
are explained below:

1. Voice: OK Google: Get things done without touching your screen. Just say “OK
Google” to launch voice search, send a text, get directions or even play a song.
2. Immersive design: Immerse yourself in what you’re doing. Whether you’re reading a
book, playing a game or watching a movie, KitKat’s immersive design hides
everything except what you really want to see.
3. Smart dialer: KitKat prioritizes the contacts that you talk to most and you can search
for nearby places directly from the dialer. Whenever you get a call from an unknown
phone number, your phone will look for matches from local listing on Google Maps.

Kernel version was upgraded to 3.10 and was released on October 31, 2013 with versions
Android 4.4-4.4.4.

36
3.2.11 Lollipop

Android official discretional statement about this version is “Android arrives on

screens big and small – from phones and tablets to watches, TVs and Cars. Lollipop has a
bold visual style and the fluid tactile response of Material Design.”

The above statement clearly describes about the 3 features updated in this version which
are explained below:

1. Material design: Android gets an entirely new look and feel that makes it easier to
navigate your device. Based on shadows and motion, Material Design unites the classic
principles of good design with the innovation of what’s possible through technology.
2. Multiscreen: with Lollipop you can seamlessly move from your phone to your tablet,
Android Wear watch or Android TV. Since Lollipop works on all your devices, you
can pick up where you left off with songs, apps, photos and even recent searches.
3. Notifications: Notifications move to the lock screen where they appear in neatly
segmented cards, Catch up at a glance, or even view and respond to messages directly
from your lock screen. Granular controls let you customize the content appearing on
your lock screen.

Kernel version was upgraded to 3.16 and was released on November 12, 2014 with versions
Android 5.0-5.1.1.

3.2.12 Marshmallow

Android official discretional statement about this version is “Now there’s more to
love about your mobile device: easy shortcuts to smart answers with Now on Tap, battery
life that can last longer and new app permissions that give you more control.”

The above statement clearly describes about the 3 features updated in this version which
are explained below:

1. Now on Tap: Get assistance without having to leave what you’re doing – whether
you’re in an app or on a website. Just tap and hold the Home button.
37
2. Permission: Define what you want to share with apps on your device and when. Turn
off permissions at any time, too.
3. Battery: Enjoy a battery that works smarter, not harder. Marshmallow optimizes your
juice for what matters most with features like Doze and App Standby.

Kernel version was upgraded to 3.18 and was released on October 5, 2015 with versions
Android 6.0 -6.0.1.

3.2.13 Nougat

Android official discretional statement about this version is “Made for you with
more ways to make Android your own, Android Nougat is out sweetest release yet.”

The above statement clearly describes about the 3 features updated in this version which
are explained below:

1. The OS that speak your languages: Bring your words to life with updated and
entirely new emoji, and the ability to use two or more languages at the same time.
1.1.1. Over 1500 emoji including 72 new Ones
1.1.2. Multi Locale language settings
2. Be in two places at once: Now you can switch between apps with a double tap, and
run two apps side by side. So go ahead and watch a movie while texting, or read a
recipe with your timer open.
2.1.1. Multi-Window view
2.1.2. Quick switch between apps
3. Experience Android in a new dimension: PUBG mobile is a game changer with high
performance 3D graphics. On supported devices, see apps spring to life with sharper
graphics and eye-candy effects.

Kernel version was upgraded to 4.4 and was released on August 22, 2016 with versions
Android 7.0 -7.1.2.

38
3.2.14 Oreo

Android official discretional statement about this version is “Open Wonder –

Smarter, faster, more powerful and sweeter than ever. The world’s favorite cookie is your
new favorite Android release.”

The above statement clearly describes about in features updated in this version which are
explained below:

1. Swift moves, behind the scenes

1.1.1. 2x faster:
Get started on your favorite tasks more quickly with 2x the boot speed when
powering up.
1.1.2. Background limits:
Android Oreo helps minimize background activity in the apps that you use
least. It’s the super power you can’t even see.
2. AutoFill: with your permission, AutoFill remembers ours logins to get into your
favorite apps at a supersonic speed.
3. Picture-in-picture: Allows you to see two apps at once. It’s like having super strength
and laser vision.
4. Dive into more apps with fewer taps
4.1.1. Notification Dots:
Press the notification dots quickly see what’s new and easily clear them by
swiping away
4.1.2. Android instant Apps:
Teleport directly into new apps straight from your browser, no installation
needed.
5. Adaptive Brightness: Don’t worry about changing your brightness-your phone learns
how you like to set it and automatically adjusts.
6. Adaptive Battery: Go more with a single charge. Adaptive Battery learns how you
like to use your phone, so the apps and services you don’t use ad much aren’t a battery
drain.
39
Kernel version was upgraded to 4.10 and was released on August 21, 2017 with versions
Android 8.0 -8.1.

3.2.15 Pie

Android official discretional statement about this version is “Adjust less, Scroll
less, Charge less, Tap less, and Get more.”

The above statement clearly describes about in features updated in this version which are
explained below:

1. Auto Adjustable Brightness’ as per required.

2. Enhanced battery Environment.
3. Gestures for moving back.
4. Full Screen Display with no navigation button (Disabled by default).

Kernel version was upgraded to 4.4.107, 4.9.84 and 4.14.42 and was released on August 6,
2018 with version Android 9.0.

40
 4. References

 Https://www.google.co.in
 Https://www.android.com
 Https://www.scribid.com
 Https://www.wikipedia.com

41