Android
Creator – Google
Initial Release - 2008
Current Version – 4.0.3 (“Ice Cream Sandwich”)
Australian Market Share – Estimated to be running on 49% of Australian smartphones, across several manufacturers
Available Apps – 250,000+
Licence – Open
Tablet compatible – Yes, as of Android 3.0 (“Honeycomb”)
Flagship model – Samsung Galaxy Nexus
Pro
Android is open-licensed. That means anyone (and we mean the makers of mobile phones and tablets) can download the software for free, put it onto their device, and start making changes. It’s not the only open-license mobile software, but it comes with the most features built right in. These features include other free bits of Google software, like Gmail, Google maps and Google Docs. Because Google controls the development of all these bits and pieces, it has the best opportunity to make them all work well together. Android also utilizes popular development software that most software writers already have, meaning it is cheap and easy to write new games and software.
Con
It’s also easy to write malicious software for Android. This can mean virus (or virus-like) software that offers very little utility, or takes personal information from your phone and sends it away to persons unknown. It’s not as easy as it sounds, but Google’s approach to openness makes this sort of hijacking possible. But the real problem with this openness is not in malicious software, but software that is trying to help you.
Android is designed to fit on screens of a certain size. Most of the apps are too. With so many manufacturers looking to distinguish themselves from one another, phones get built with different screen sizes. Some are built with buttons. Some are built with mouse-like tracking balls. With all this variation, it is impossible for Android to cater to everything in a way that makes Android work the way Google intends for it to. This fragmentation, and the openness of the software to changes, leads manufacturers to develop “skins” to go over the top of Android. Some of this is to get around the various hardware differences. Some of it is to allow the manufacturer, or network carrier, to get its branding in front of the customer’s eyes. Unfortunately, the best software developers tend to work for software companies, so these attempts are usually more of a confusing eyesore than a pleasant, seamless interface. It also takes away from Android’s own brand.
Overall
Android will be both everywhere and nowhere for a while. It’s too good and too free to be ignored by the big hardware manufacturers who don’t have their own operating system. HTC’s “Sense” skin over Android does a good job of staying out of the way, as does LG’s stylish Prada skin. Samsung is the current testing ground for Android with the Galaxy Nexus handset. This means that new Android revisions are tested using the Nexus, and the phone is released without any manufacturer’s skin, for the ‘pure’ or ‘optimized’ Android experience that Google intends. With Motorola now being a part of Google, many expect Motorola to win that coveted spot.