Android, the Mobile OS system by Google, creates expectation at the Barcelona Mobile World Congress
The long-awaited Android, the first completely open and free Mobile platform, led by Google, was one of the main attractions at the recent Barcelona Mobile World Congress.
The Congress, the largest event in the world for the mobile telephone industry, was attended by 47,000 executives and professionals from the main players in the telephone and Internet industries — Vodafone, Microsoft, Google, Nokia, MySpace etc. who came together to get to know and personally try out new products.
Android is a Linux based software platform and operating system for Smart phones. This beta version of the Android SDK provides the instruments and APIs necessary to develop on the platform which uses the Java programming language. Many developers have already used the APi to add HTML, JavaScript od style sheets.
Google seems ready to take the battle to the market leaders, Symbian - the system used on the majority of mobile phones, and Windows Mobile by Microsoft.
Software characteristics
Beginning with a series of base applications and utilities, the Android platform allows the user to create distinct applications which take advantage of the characteristics and functionality of the specific telephone, even making combinations between the various apps. Among other things, Android optimises hardware resources and the memory of the telephone with the objective of optimising the functioning of the app.
The multiple task environment means that the applications can work in parallel so that while one function is being used another application can notify the user.
One of the strong points of the new operating system is that it can use all of the apps downloaded to the telephone and create new, more complex applications through Android.
It also allows the creation of applications which use data taken from many sources — the data stored on the telephone or a database found on Internet for example, and also detect the most recent data and add it automatically to the library.
Android is designed so that all the applications are easy to use. Being an open source operating system, any programmer can modify it easily, which means that the development of new applications is expected to be exponential.
