Android Software

Android is a software stack for mobile devices such as mobile telephones and tablet computers developed by Google Inc and the Open Handset Alliance.
Google purchased the initial developer of the software, Android Inc., in 2005. The unveiling of the Android distribution on 5 November 2007 was announced with the founding of the Open Handset Alliance, a consortium of 80 hardware, software, and telecommunication companies devoted to advancing open standards for mobile devices.Google released most of the Android code under the Apache License, a free software license.The Android Open Source Project (AOSP) is tasked with the maintenance and further development of Android.
Android consists of a mobile operating system based on the Linux kernel, with middleware, libraries and APIs written in C and application software running on an application framework which includes Java-compatible libraries based on Apache Harmony. Android uses the Dalvik virtual machine with just-in-time compilation to run compiled Java code.Android has a large community of developers writing applications ("apps") that extend the functionality of the devices. Developers write primarily in Java.There are currently more than 250,000 apps available for Android.Android Market is the online app store run by Google, though apps can also be downloaded from third-party sites.