Android is open
source and Google releases the code under the Apache
License. This open source code and permissive licensing allows the software
to be freely modified and distributed by device manufacturers, wireless
carriers and enthusiast developers. Additionally, Android has a large community
of developers writing applications ("apps")
that extend the functionality of devices, written primarily in a customized
version of the Java programming language. In October
2012, there were approximately 700,000 apps available for Android, and the
estimated number of applications downloaded from Google Play,
Android's primary app store, was 25 billion.
These factors have contributed towards making
Android the world's most widely used smartphone platform, overtaking Symbian in the
fourth quarter of 2010, and the software of choice for technology companies who
require a low-cost, customizable, lightweight operating system for high tech
devices without developing one from scratch. As a result, despite being primarily designed
for phones and tablets, it has seen additional applications on televisions, games
consoles, digital cameras and other electronics. Android's
open nature has further encouraged a large community of developers and
enthusiasts to use the open source code as a foundation for community-driven
projects, which add new features for advanced users or bring Android to devices
which were officially released running other operating systems.
Android had a worldwide smartphone market
share of 75% during the third quarter of 2012, with 750 million devices activated
in total and 1.5 million activations per day. The operating system's success has made it a
target for patent litigation as part of the so-called "smartphone
wars" between technology companies. As of May 2013, a total of 900 million Android
devices have been activated and 48 billion apps have been installed from the
Google Play store.
HISTORY
Android, Inc. was founded in Palo Alto, California in October 2003 by Andy Rubin
(co-founder of Danger), Rich Miner
(co-founder of Wildfire Communications, Inc.), Nick Sears (once VP at T-Mobile),
and Chris White (headed design and interface development at WebTV) to develop,
in Rubin's words "smarter mobile devices that are more aware of its
owner's location and preferences". The early intentions of the company
were to develop an advanced operating system for digital
cameras, when it was realised that the market for the devices was not large
enough, and diverted their efforts to producing a smartphone operating system
to rival those of Symbian and Windows
Mobile (Apple's iPhone had not been released at the time). Despite the past accomplishments of the
founders and early employees, Android Inc. operated secretly, revealing only
that it was working on software for mobile phones. That same year, Rubin ran
out of money. Steve Perlman, a close friend of Rubin, brought him
$10,000 in cash in an envelope and refused a stake in the company.
Google acquired Android Inc. on August 17, 2005, making it a
wholly owned subsidiary of Google. Key employees of Android Inc., including
Rubin, Miner and White, stayed at the company after the acquisition. Not much was known about Android Inc. at the
time, but many assumed that Google was planning to enter the mobile phone
market with this move. At Google, the team led by Rubin developed a mobile
device platform powered by the Linux
kernel. Google marketed the platform to handset makers and carriers on the promise of providing a
flexible, upgradable system. Google had 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.[35][36][37]
Speculation about Google's intention to enter
the mobile communications market continued to build through December 2006. Reports from the BBC and the Wall Street Journal noted that Google wanted
its search and applications on mobile phones and it was working hard to deliver
that. Print and online media outlets soon reported rumors that Google was
developing a Google-branded handset.
Some speculated that as Google was defining technical specifications, it was
showing prototypes to cell phone manufacturers and network operators. In
September 2007, InformationWeek covered an Evalueserve
study reporting that Google had filed several patent applications in the area
of mobile telephony.
On November 5, 2007, the Open Handset Alliance, a consortium
of technology companies including Google, device manufacturers such as HTC and Samsung,
wireless carriers such as Sprint Nextel and T-Mobile, and
chipset makers such as Qualcomm and Texas
Instruments, unveiled itself, with a goal to develop open
standards for mobile devices. That day, Android was unveiled as its first
product, a mobile device platform built on the Linux
kernel version 2.6. The first commercially available phone to run Android
was the HTC
Dream, released on October 22, 2008.
Since 2008, Android has seen numerous updates which have incrementally
improved the operating system, adding new features and fixing bugs in previous
releases. Each major release is named in alphabetical order after a dessert or
sugary treat; for example, version 1.5 Cupcake was followed by 1.6 Donut. The
latest release is 4.2 Jelly Bean. In 2010, Google launched its Nexus
series of devices—a line of smartphones and tablets running the Android
operating system, and built by a manufacturer partner. HTC collaborated with
Google to release the first Nexus smartphone, the Nexus One.
The series has since been updated with newer devices, such as the Nexus 4
phone and Nexus 10
tablet, made by LG and
Samsung, respectively. Google releases the Nexus phones and tablets to act as
their flagship Android devices, demonstrating Android's latest
software and hardware features.
On 13 March 2013, it was announced by Larry Page
in a blog post that Andy Rubin had moved from the Android division to take on
new projects at Google. He was replaced by Sundar
Pichai, who also continues his role as the head of Google's Chrome
division, which develops Chrome
OS.
Interface
Android's user interface is based on direct manipulation, using touch
inputs that loosely correspond to real-world actions, like swiping, tapping,
pinching and reverse pinching to manipulate on-screen objects. The response to user input is designed to be
immediate and provides a fluid touch interface, often using the vibration
capabilities of the device to provide haptic
feedback to the user. Internal hardware such as accelerometers,
gyroscopes
and proximity sensors are used by some applications to
respond to additional user actions, for example adjusting the screen from
portrait to landscape depending on how the device is oriented, or allowing the
user to steer a vehicle in a racing game by rotating the device, simulating
control of a steering wheel.
Android devices boot to the homescreen, the
primary navigation and information point on the device, which is similar to the
desktop found on PCs. Android homescreens are
typically made up of app icons and widgets; app icons launch the associated
app, whereas widgets display live, auto-updating content such as the weather
forecast, the user's email inbox, or a news
ticker directly on the homescreen. A homescreen may be made up of several
pages that the user can swipe back and forth between, though Android's
homescreen interface is heavily customisable, allowing the user to adjust the
look and feel of the device to their tastes. Third party apps available on Google
Play and other app stores can extensively re-theme the homescreen, and even mimic the look of
other operating systems, such as Windows
Phone. Most manufacturers, and some wireless carriers, customise the look and
feel of their Android devices to differentiate themselves from their
competitors.[49]
Present along the top of the screen is a
status bar, showing information about the device and its connectivity. This status
bar can be "pulled" down to reveal a notification screen where apps
display important information or updates, such as a newly received email or SMS
text, in a way that does not immediately interrupt or inconvenience the user. In
early versions of Android these notifications could be tapped to open the
relevant app, but recent updates have provided enhanced functionality, such as
the ability to call a number back directly from the missed call notification
without having to open the dialer app first. Notifications are persistent until
read or dismissed by the user.
APPLICATIONS
Android has a growing selection of third
party applications, which can be acquired by users either through an app store
such as Google
Play or the Amazon Appstore, or by downloading and installing
the application's APK file from a third-party site. The Play Store
application allows users to browse, download and update apps published by
Google and third-party developers, and is pre-installed on devices that comply
with Google's compatibility requirements. The app filters the list of available
applications to those that are compatible with the user's device, and
developers may restrict their applications to particular carriers or countries
for business reasons. Purchases of unwanted applications can be refunded within
15 minutes of the time of download, and some carriers offer direct carrier
billing for Google Play application purchases, where the cost of the
application is added to the user's monthly bill. As of September 2012, there
were more than 675,000 apps available for Android, and the estimated number of
applications downloaded from the Play Store was 25 billion.
Applications are developed in the Java language using the Android software development kit
(SDK). The SDK includes a comprehensive set of development tools, including a debugger, software
libraries, a handset emulator based on QEMU, documentation,
sample code, and tutorials. The officially supported integrated development environment
(IDE) is Eclipse using the Android Development Tools
(ADT) plugin. Other development tools are available, including a Native Development Kit for applications or
extensions in C or C++, Google App Inventor, a visual environment for
novice programmers, and various cross platform mobile
web applications frameworks.
Development
Android is developed in private by Google
until the latest changes and updates are ready to be released, at which point
the source code is made available publicly. This source code will only run
without modification on select devices, usually the Nexus
series of devices. With others, there are proprietary binaries which
have to be provided by the manufacturer in order for Android to work.
Linux
ARCHITECTURE DIAGRAM
Android's Linux kernel has further
architecture changes by Google outside the typical Linux kernel development
cycle. Android does not have a native X
Window System by default nor does it support the full set of standard GNU libraries, and this
makes it difficult to port existing Linux applications or libraries to Android.
Support for simple C and SDL applications is possible by injection
of a small Java shim and usage of the JNI[66]
like, for example, in the Jagged
Alliance 2 port for Android.
Certain features that Google contributed back
to the Linux kernel, notably a power management feature called
"wakelocks", were rejected by mainline kernel developers partly
because they felt that Google did not show any intent to maintain its own code.
Google announced in April 2010 that they would hire two employees to work with
the Linux kernel community, but Greg Kroah-Hartman, the current Linux kernel maintainer
for the stable branch, said in December 2010 that he was concerned that Google
was no longer trying to get their code changes included in mainstream Linux.
Some Google Android developers hinted that "the Android team was getting
fed up with the process," because they were a small team and had more
urgent work to do on Android.
In August 2011, Linus
Torvalds said that "eventually Android and Linux would come back to a
common kernel, but it will probably not be for four to five years". In
December 2011, Greg Kroah-Hartman announced the start of the
Android Mainlining Project, which aims to put some Android drivers,
patches and features back into the Linux kernel, starting in Linux 3.3. Linux
included the autosleep and wakelocks capabilities in the 3.5 kernel, after many
previous attempts at merger. The interfaces are the same but the upstream Linux
implementation allows for two different suspend modes: to memory (the
traditional suspend that Android uses), and to disk (hibernate, as it is known
on the desktop). The merger will be complete starting with Kernel 3.8, Google
has opened a public code repository that contains their experimental work to
re-base Android off Kernel 3.8.
The flash
storage on Android devices is split into several partitions, such as
"/system" for the operating system itself and "/data" for user
data and app installations. In contrast to desktop Linux distributions, Android
device owners are not given root access to the operating system and sensitive
partitions such as /systems are read-only.
However, root access can be obtained by exploiting security flaws in Android, which is used
frequently by the open
source community to enhance the capabilities of their devices, but also by
malicious parties to install viruses
and malware.
Whether or not Android counts as a Linux
distribution is a widely debated topic, with the Linux
Foundation and Chris DiBona, Google's open source chief, in favour.
Others, such as Google engineer Patrick Brady disagree, noting the lack of
support for many GNU tools, including glibc, in Android.
Memory management
Since Android devices are usually
battery-powered, Android is designed to manage memory (RAM) to keep power consumption at a minimum,
in contrast to desktop operating systems which generally assume they are
connected to unlimited mains electricity. When an Android app is no
longer in use, the system will automatically suspend it in memory - while the
app is still technically "open," suspended apps consume no resources
(e.g. battery power or processing power) and sit idly in the background until
needed again. This has the dual benefit of increasing the general responsiveness
of Android devices, since apps don't need to be closed and reopened from
scratch each time, but also ensuring background apps don't waste power
needlessly.
Android manages the apps stored in memory
automatically: when memory is low, the system will begin killing apps and
processes that have been inactive for a while, in reverse order since they were
last used (i.e. oldest first). This process is designed to be invisible to the
user, such that users do not need to manage memory or the killing of apps
themselves. However, confusion over Android memory management has resulted in
third-party task killers becoming popular on the Google
Play store; these third-party task killers are generally regarded as doing
more harm than good.
Update schedule
Google provides major updates, incremental in
nature, to Android every six to nine months, which most devices are capable of
receiving over the air. The latest major update is
Android 4.2 Jelly Bean.
Compared to its chief rival mobile operating
system, namely iOS,
Android updates are typically slow to reach actual devices. For devices not
under the Nexus brand, updates often arrive months from the time
the given version is officially released. This is caused partly due to the
extensive variation in hardware of Android devices, to which each update
must be specifically tailored, as the official Google source code only runs on
their flagship Nexus devices. Porting Android
to specific hardware is a time- and resource-consuming process for device
manufacturers, who prioritize their newest devices and often leave older ones
behind. Hence, older smartphones are frequently not updated if the manufacturer
decides it is not worth their time, regardless of whether the phone is capable
of running the update. This problem is compounded when manufacturers customize
Android with their own interface and apps, which must be reapplied to each new
release. Additional delays can be introduced by wireless carriers who, after
receiving updates from manufacturers, further customize and brand Android to
their needs and conduct extensive testing on their networks before sending the
update out to users.
The lack of after-sale support from
manufacturers and carriers has been widely criticised by consumer groups and
the technology media. Some commentators have noted that the industry has a
financial incentive not to update their devices, as the lack of updates for
existing devices fuels the purchase of newer ones, an attitude described as
"insulting". The Guardian has complained that the complicated
method of distribution for updates is only complicated because manufacturers
and carriers have designed it that way. In 2011, Google partnered with a number
of industry players to announce an "Android Update Alliance",
pledging to deliver timely updates for every device for 18 months after its
release. As of 2013, this alliance has never been mentioned since.
OPEN SOURCE COMMUNITY
Android has an active community of developers
and enthusiasts who use the Android source code to develop and distribute their
own modified versions of the operating system. These community-developed
releases often bring new features and updates to devices faster than through
the official manufacturer/carrier channels, albeit without as extensive testing
or quality assurance; provide continued support for older devices that no
longer receive official updates; or bring Android to devices that were
officially released running other operating systems, such as the HP
TouchPad. Community releases often come pre-rooted
and contain modifications unsuitable for non-technical users, such as the
ability to overclock
or over/undervolt the device's processor. CyanogenMod
is the most widely used community firmware, and acts as a foundation for
numerous others.
Historically, device manufacturers and mobile
carriers have typically been unsupportive of third-party firmware
development. Manufacturers express concern about improper functioning of
devices running unofficial software and the support costs resulting from this.
Moreover, modified firmwares such as CyanogenMod sometimes offer features, such
as tethering,
for which carriers would otherwise charge a premium. As a result, technical
obstacles including locked bootloaders and restricted access to root permissions are
common in many devices. However, as community-developed software has grown more
popular, and following a statement by the Librarian of Congress in the United
States that permits the "jailbreaking"
of mobile devices, manufacturers and carriers have softened their position
regarding third party development, with some, including HTC, Motorola, Samsung and Sony, providing support and encouraging
development. As a result of this, over time the need to circumvent hardware restrictions to install unofficial
firmware has lessened as an increasing number of devices are shipped with
unlocked or unlockable bootloaders, similar to the Nexus
series of phones, although usually requiring that users waive their devices'
warranties to do so. However, despite manufacturer acceptance, some carriers in
the US still require that phones are locked down.
The unlocking and "hackability" of
smartphones and tablets remains a source of tension between the community and
industry, with the community arguing that unofficial development is
increasingly important given the failure of industry to provide timely updates
and/or continued support to their devices.
SECURITY AND PRIVACY
Android applications run in a sandbox, an isolated area of the system
that does not have access to the rest of the system's resources, unless access
permissions are explicitly granted by the user when the application is
installed. Before installing an application, the Play Store
displays all required permissions: a game may need to enable vibration or save
data to an SD
card, for example, but should not need to read SMS messages or access the
phonebook. After reviewing these permissions, the user can choose to accept or
refuse them, installing the application only if they accept.
The sandboxing and permissions system lessens
the impact of vulnerabilities and bugs in applications, but developer confusion
and limited documentation has resulted in applications routinely requesting
unnecessary permissions, reducing its effectiveness. Several security firms,
such as Lookout Mobile Security, AVG
Technologies, and McAfee, have released antivirus software for Android devices.
This software is ineffective as sandboxing also applies to such applications,
limiting their ability to scan the deeper system for threats.
Research from security company Trend
Micro lists premium service abuse as the most common type of Android
malware, where text messages are sent from infected phones to premium-rate telephone numbers
without the consent or even knowledge of the user. Other malware displays
unwanted and intrusive adverts on the device, or sends personal information to
unauthorised third parties. Security threats on Android are reportedly growing
exponentially; however, Google engineers have argued that the malware and virus
threat on Android is being exaggerated by security companies for commercial
reasons, and have accused the security industry of playing on fears to sell
virus protection software to users. Google maintains that dangerous malware is
actually extremely rare, and a survey conducted by F-Secure showed that only
0.5% of Android malware reported had come from the Google Play store.
Google currently uses their Google
Bouncer malware scanner to watch over and scan the Google Play store apps.
It is intended to flag up suspicious apps and warn users of any potential issues
with an application before they download it. Android version 4.2 Jelly Bean was
released in 2012 with enhanced security features, including a malware scanner
built into the system, which works in combination with Google Play but can scan
apps installed from third party sources as well, and an alert system which
notifies the user when an app tries to send a premium-rate text message,
blocking the message unless the user explicitly authorises it.
Android smartphones have the ability to
report the location of Wi-Fi access points, encountered as phone users move around, to
build databases containing the physical locations of hundreds of millions of
such access points. These databases form electronic maps to locate smartphones,
allowing them to run apps like Foursquare,
Google
Latitude, Facebook Places, and to deliver location-based ads.
Third party monitoring software such as TaintDroid, an academic research-funded
project, can, in some cases, detect when personal information is being sent
from applications to remote servers.
The open source nature of Android allows
security contractors to take existing devices and adapt them for highly secure
uses. For example Samsung has worked with General Dynamics through their Open
Kernel Labs acquisition to rebuild Jelly Bean on top of their hardened
microvisor for the "Knox" project.
Licensing
The source
code for Android is available under free and open-source software
licenses. Google
publishes most of the code (including network and telephony stacks)
under the Apache License version 2.0, and the rest, Linux
kernel changes, under the GNU General Public License version 2.
The Open Handset Alliance develops the changes to
the Linux kernel, in public, with source code publicly available at all times.
The rest of Android is developed in private by Google, with source code
released publicly when a new version is released. Typically Google collaborates
with a hardware manufacturer to produce a 'flagship' device (part of the Google
Nexus series) featuring the new version of Android, then makes the source
code available after that device has been released.
In early 2011, Google chose to temporarily
withhold the Android source code to the tablet-only 3.0 Honeycomb release. The
reason, according to Andy Rubin in an official Android blog post, was because
Honeycomb was rushed for production of the Motorola
Xoom, and they did not want third parties creating a "really bad user
experience" by attempting to put onto smartphones a version of Android
intended for tablets. The source code was once again made available in November
2011 with the release of Android 4.0.
Even though the software is open-source,
device manufacturers cannot use Google's Android trademark unless Google
certifies that the device complies with their Compatibility Definition Document
(CDD). Devices must also meet this definition to be eligible to license
Google's closed-source applications, including Google
Play. Richard Stallman and the Free Software Foundation have been
critical of Android and have recommended the usage of alternatives such as Replicant, because drivers and
firmware vital for the proper functioning of Android devices are usually
proprietary, and because Google Play allows non-free software.
Reception
Android received a lukewarm reaction when it
was unveiled in 2007. Although analysts were impressed with the respected
technology companies that had partnered with Google to form the Open Handset
Alliance, it was unclear whether mobile phone manufacturers would be willing to
replace their existing operating systems with Android. The idea of an open
source, Linux-based development platform sparked interest, but there
were additional worries about Android facing strong competition from
established players in the smartphone market, such as Nokia and Microsoft, and
rival Linux mobile operating systems that were in development. These
established players were skeptical: Nokia was quoted as
saying "we don't see this as a threat," and a member of Microsoft's Windows
Mobile team stated "I don't understand the impact that they are going
to have."
Since then Android has grown to become the
most widely used smartphone operating system and "one of the fastest
mobile experiences available." Reviewers have highlighted the open source
nature of the operating system as one of its defining strengths, allowing
companies such as Amazon (Kindle Fire), Barnes
& Noble (Nook), Ouya, Baidu, and others to
fork the software and release hardware
running their own customised version of Android. As a result, it has been
described by technology website Ars
Technica as "practically the default operating system for launching
new hardware" for companies without their own mobile platforms. This
openness and flexibility is also present at the level of the end user: Android
allows extensive customisation of devices by their owners and apps are freely
available from non-Google app stores and third party websites. These have been
cited as among the main advantages of Android phones over others.
Despite Android's popularity, including an
activation rate three times that of iOS, there have been reports that Google
has not been able to leverage their other products and web services
successfully to turn Android into the money maker that analysts had expected. The Verge
suggested that Google is losing control of Android due to the extensive
customization and proliferation of non-Google apps and services - for instance
the Amazon Kindle Fire points users to the Amazon app store that
competes directly with the Google Play store. Google SVP Andy Rubin,
who was replaced as head of the Android division in March 2013, has been blamed
for failing to establish a lucrative partnership with cell phone makers. The
chief beneficiary of Android has been Samsung, whose Galaxy
brand has surpassed that of Android in terms of brand recognition since 2011. Meanwhile
other Android manufacturers have struggled since 2011, such as LG, HTC, and
Google's own Motorola Mobility (whose partnership with Verizon
Wireless to push the "DROID" brand has faded since 2010).
Ironically, while Google directly earns nothing from the sale of each Android
device, Microsoft
and Apple
have successfully sued to extract patent royalty payments from Android handset
manufacturers.
Tablets
Despite its success on smartphones, initially
Android tablet adoption was slow. One of the main causes was the chicken or the egg situation where consumers
were hesitant to buy an Android tablet due to a lack of high quality tablet
apps, but developers were hesitant to spend time and resources developing
tablet apps until there was a significant market for them. The content and app
"ecosystem" proved more important than hardware specs as the selling point for
tablets. Due to the lack of Android tablet-specific apps in 2011, early Android
tablets had to make do with existing smartphone apps that were ill-suited to
larger screen sizes, whereas the dominance of Apple's iPad was reinforced by
the large number of tablet-specific iOS apps.
Despite app support in its infancy, a
considerable number of Android tablets (alongside those using other operating
systems, such as the HP TouchPad and BlackBerry PlayBook) were rushed out to market
in an attempt to capitalize on the success of the iPad. InfoWorld has suggested
that some Android manufacturers initially treated their first tablets as a
"Frankenphone business", a short-term low-investment opportunity by
placing a smartphone-optimized Android OS (before Android 3.0 Honeycomb for
tablets was available) on a device while neglecting user interface. This
approach, such as with the Dell Streak, failed to gain market traction with
consumers as well as damaging the early reputation of Android tablets.
Furthermore, several Android tablets such as the Motorola
Xoom were priced the same or higher than the iPad, which hurt
sales. An exception was the Amazon Kindle Fire, which relied upon lower pricing as well as
access to Amazon's ecosystem of apps and content.
This began to change in 2012 with the release
of the affordable Nexus 7 and a push by Google for developers to write better
tablet apps. Android tablet market share surpassed the iPad's in Q3 2012.
Market share and rate of adoption
Research Company Canalys estimated in the
second quarter of 2009 that Android had a 2.8% share of worldwide smartphone
shipments. By the fourth quarter of 2010 this had grown to 33% of the market,
becoming the top-selling smartphone platform. By the third quarter of 2011 Gartner
estimated that more than half (52.5%) of the smartphone market belongs to
Android. By the third quarter of 2012 Android had a 75% share of the global
smartphone market according to the research firm IDC.
In July 2011, Google said that 550,000 new
Android devices were being activated every day, up from 400,000 per day in May,
and more than 100 million devices had been activated with 4.4% growth per week.
In September 2012, 500 million devices had been activated with 1.3 million
activations per day. In May 2013, at Google I/O,
Sundar Pichai announced that 900 million Android devices had been activated.
Android market share varies by location. In
July 2012, Android's market share in the United States was 52%, and rose to 90%
in China.
Usage share of Android versions
Usage share of the different versions
collected during a 14-day period ending on May 1, 2013
Usage share of the different versions as of
June 3, 2013.
|
Version
|
Code name
|
Release date
|
|
Distribution (May 1, 2013)
|
|
|
|
November 13, 2012
|
17
|
4.0%
|
|
|
|
July 9, 2012
|
16
|
29.0%
|
|
|
|
December 16, 2011
|
15
|
25.6%
|
|
|
|
July 15, 2011
|
13
|
0.1%
|
|
|
|
May 10, 2011
|
12
|
|
|
|
|
February 9, 2011
|
10
|
36.4%
|
|
|
|
December 6, 2010
|
9
|
0.1%
|
|
|
|
May 20, 2010
|
8
|
3.2%
|
|
|
|
October 26, 2009
|
7
|
1.5%
|
|
|
|
September 15, 2009
|
4
|
0.1%
|
|
1.5
|
Cupcake
|
April 30, 2009
|
3
|
|
Application piracy
There has been some concern about the ease
with which paid Android apps can be pirated. In a May 2012 interview
with Eurogamer,
the developers of Football Manager stated that the ratio of pirated
players vs legitimate players was 9:1 for their game Football Manager Handheld.
However, not every developer agreed that piracy rates were an issue; for
example, in July 2012 the developers of the game Wind-up Knight said that
piracy levels of their game were only 12%, and most of the piracy came from
China, where people cannot purchase apps from Google Play.
In 2010, Google released a tool for
validating authorised purchases for use within apps, but developers complained
that this was insufficient and trivial to crack.
Google responded that the tool, especially its initial release, was intended as
a sample framework for developers to modify and build upon depending on their
needs, not as a finished security solution. In 2012 Google released a feature
in Android 4.1 that encrypted paid applications so that they would only work on
the device on which they were purchased, but this feature has been temporarily
deactivated due to technical issues.
Copyrights and patents
Both Android and Android phone manufacturers
have been involved in numerous patent lawsuits. On August 12, 2010, Oracle sued Google over claimed infringement of
copyrights and patents related to the Java programming language. Oracle
originally sought damages up to $6.1 billion, but this valuation was rejected
by a United States federal judge who asked Oracle to revise the estimate. In
response, Google submitted multiple lines of defense, counterclaiming that
Android did not infringe on Oracle's patents or copyright, that Oracle's
patents were invalid, and several other defenses. They said that Android is
based on Apache Harmony, a clean
room implementation of the Java class libraries, and an independently
developed virtual machine called Dalvik. In May 2012 the jury in this case found
that Google did not infringe on Oracle's patents, and the trial judge ruled
that the structure of the Java APIs used by Google was not copyrightable.
In addition to lawsuits against Google
directly, various proxy wars have been waged against Android indirectly by
targeting manufacturers of Android devices, with the effect of discouraging
manufacturers from adopting the platform by increasing the costs of bringing an
Android device to market. Both Apple
and Microsoft
have sued several manufacturers for patent infringement, with Apple's ongoing legal action against
Samsung being a particularly high-profile case. In October 2011 Microsoft
said they had signed patent license agreements with ten Android device
manufacturers, whose products account for 55% of the worldwide revenue for
Android devices. These include Samsung and HTC. Samsung's patent settlement with Microsoft includes an
agreement that Samsung will allocate more resources to developing and marketing
phones running Microsoft's Windows Phone operating system.
Google has publicly expressed its frustration
for the current patent landscape in the United States, accusing Apple, Oracle
and Microsoft of trying to take down Android through patent litigation, rather
than innovating and competing with better products and services. In 2011–12,
Google purchased Motorola Mobility for US$12.5 billion, which was
viewed in part as a defensive measure to protect Android, since Motorola
Mobility held more than 17,000 patents. In December 2011 Google bought over a
thousand patents from IBM.
BEYOND SMARTPHONES AND TABLETS
The open and customizable nature of Android
allows it to be used on other electronics, including laptops and netbooks, smartbooks smart TVs (Google TV)
and cameras (Nikon Coolpix S800c and Galaxy
Camera). In addition, the Android operating system has seen applications on
smart glasses (Google Glass), wristwatches, headphones,
car CD and DVD players, mirrors, portable media players and landlines and Voice over
IP phones. Ouya,
an upcoming videogames console running Android, became one of the most
successful Kickstarter campaigns, crowdfunding
US$8.5m for its development, and was later followed by other Android-based
video games consoles such as Project
Shield from Nvidia.
In 2011, Google demonstrated
"Android@Home", a new home automaton technology which uses Android to
control a range of household devices including light switches, power sockets
and thermostats. Prototype light bulbs were announced that could be controlled
from an Android phone or tablet, but Android head Andy Rubin was cautious to
note that "turning a lightbulb on and off is nothing new," pointing
to numerous failed home automation services. Google, he said, was thinking more
ambitiously and the intention was to use their position as a cloud
services provider to bring Google products into customers' homes.
