Android

Android

Android is an operating system based on the Linux kernel, and designed primarily for touchscreen mobile devices such as smartphones and tablet computers.

It was initially developed by the  Android, Inc. and later Google bought in 2005.

Features of Android include:

• Messaging
• Web browser
• Voice based features
• Multi-touch
• Multitasking
• Screen capture
• Video calling
• Multiple language support
• Accessibility
• Streaming media support
• External storage
• Java support

Each version of Android since 1.5 has been developed with a specific codename. These codenames are chosen alphabetically, and have thus far all been dessert items (or, generically, sweet/sugary foods). 

The following names are used for the currently existing Android releases. Note that versions 1.0 and 1.1 were not publicly named. 

Android 1.0 and 1.1

Android was born in 2008 on the gawky, gangly but ultimately powerful and fun T-Mobile G1. Made by HTC but flogged by T-Mo, this early version of Anroid was full of potential, but we deemed it best suited to early adopters and gadget hounds.

Although the G1 couldn't beat the nascent Apple iPhone in the style stakes, it offered most of the major Android features that we've come to know and love.

What you get:

• The Android Market served up apps without the stringent entry rules of the Apple App Store, leading to a vibrant selection of apps, ranging from the sublime to the ridiculous.
• The Android browser made surfing the Web on your phone a pleasure rather than a pain, thanks to the ability to render pages quickly and accurately.
• Google Maps used the phone's GPS and Wi-Fi to pinpoint your location on an infinite map, so you need never be lost again.
• Syncing with our contacts, email and calendar online initially made us wary of sharing all our data with Google, but our privacy concerns were soon vanquished by the sheer convenience of accessing everything, from anywhere.

Android 1.5 Cupcake

The sugary code-names started with Cupcake, the first major update to Android, which dropped in May 2009. Cupcake was packed with new features, but perhaps the most significant was the virtual keyboard, which paved the way for buttonless blowers such as the HTC Magic.

What you get:

• Shortcuts and widgets on the home screen meant our mobiles could now be obsessively tweaked and personalised.
• An on-screen keyboard meant tapping virtually could replace typing on the real thing, making phones lighter and leaner.
• Video recording was added to the camera, and the ability to upload videos straight to YouTube helped fulfil our dreams of stardom.
• Stereo Bluetooth lets you listen to music without wires.
• The Web browser gets a speed boost and the copy and paste function.

Android 1.6 Donut

In October 2009, we bit into Donut. It offered fewer major improvements, now that most of the key features were in place. But it brought Android to a new crowd, thanks to the addition of support for CDMA -- the technology used by some American mobile networks.

What you get:

• The universal search function helped us pinpoint our apps and contacts on the phone, or jump to searching the Web.
• Support for more screen resolutions opened the door to Android phones of different sizes.
• Google Maps Navigation added free turn-by-turn sat-nav.

Android 2.0 and 2.1 Eclair

We didn't have to wait long before Android 2.0 arrived, a mere month after Donut, in November 2009. Eclair reached out to the suits with support for Microsoft Exchange server, which most businesses use for email.

Android 2.1 Eclair arrived in January 2010. It fixed some bugs and let app developers play with more features, but it didn't add any features for users. 

What you get:

• Exchange support, so you can finally get your Outlook email. There's also a unified email inbox. However, it's still kept with POP and IMAP email in a separate app to Gmail.
• Support for multiple Google accounts lets you stock up on all your Gmail.
• Camera settings including support for a flash, digital zoom, white balance and color effects.
• Searching within text messages and MMS messages.
• Multi-touch support in the on-screen keyboard helps it figure out what you're trying to say if you accidentally type two letters at once. The dictionary incorporates your contacts so you get people's names right, too.
• The Web browser gets a refresh with a new address bar and thumbnails for a sneak peek at your bookmarks.

Android 3.0 and 3.1 Honeycomb

Honeycomb expanded Android to fit the big screens of tablet computers. This version of Android is a separate branch that's only for tablets, and will never come to phones.

Android 3.1 was announced in May 2011, and adds a peck of user interface refinements to Honeycomb. We haven't tested this version yet, but Google writes that the tweaks will make "UI elements easier to see understand and use". Widgets will also gain the ability to be dragged bigger or smaller, to suit your screen. Android 3.1 also adds support for plugging USB flash drives into your tablet to transfer files without connecting to a computer, as well as USB keyboards, mice and joysticks.

What you get:

• A blue wire frame design gives Honeycomb a Tron-inspired look.
• Home screens appear to rotate on a 3D carousel as you swipe through them.
• Widgets are bigger and bolder to suit the tablet-size screen.
• The hardware buttons -- home and back -- have been moved on to the screen as virtual buttons that move with you as you rotate your tablet. Meanwhile, the app menu is re positioned to the upper right-hand corner. There's also a new button that fires up a list of currently running apps, visible as thumbnail images.
• Key apps, such as Gmail and YouTube, are heavily redesigned to take advantage of the space available.
• The Web browser introduces tabbed browsing, a feature familiar from desktop browsers such as Chrome. There's also an incognito mode to browse on the quiet.
• A larger, multi-touch keyboard lets you hold down multiple keys to temporarily switch between letters and numbers, for example.

Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich

Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS) was announced at the Google I/O conference in May 2011. We had to wait until the Samsung Galaxy Nexus landed in our laps in December before we could see it first-hand. ICS was designed to merge Gingerbread -- Android for phones -- together with Honeycomb, which was designed for tablets.

Below are top 10 reasons why ICS is better than Gingerbread. 

• Browser
• Declining calls with a text message
• Better data usage management
• More app storage space
• Better camera software
• New Action Bar
• Face unlock
• Widget previews
• Improved folders
• Live Effects

What you get:  

• A speedier, smoother browser.
• A data traffic monitor to help you avoid busting your network data limit.
• More storage space for apps.
• A new user-friendly action bar replacing the Menu button.
• Face recognition for unlocking your phone.
• The ability to decline calls with pre-penned text messages.
• And most fun of all, live video effects for making your mates look grotesquely disfigured.
• One drawback is the fact that ICS lacks support for Adobe Flash, but it's no longer such an issue since the company has already confirmed that it's dropping support for it.

Android 4.1 Jelly Bean

Jelly Bean, announced in June 2012, may not be a big jump in version number, but adds a host of important updates to Android. Here are the features you can expect to see in Android 4.1.

What you get:  

• Google Now, an assistant tool that displays relevant information based on your search history and location data.
• A higher frame rate makes swooping through menus and home screens feel buttery smooth.
• View photos you've taken quickly by swiping from the camera to filmstrip view.
• Widgets and apps politely move out of the way when you add new ones.
• Notifications now include more information, such as photos or subject lines in emails.
• Search results can now display answers to questions, rather than simply a list of Google web links.
• A new gestures mode to improve accessibility for blind users, letting you navigate the UI using touch and swipe gestures, in combination with speech output.
• The first device to run Jelly Bean will be the quad-core, astonishingly cheap Google Nexus 7tablet. If you want more information on this version of Android, check out our in-depth guide to Jelly Bean.

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