Android operating system based on the Linux kernel , and designed primarily for touchscreen mobile devices such as smartphones and tablet computers. Initially developed by Android, Inc., which Google backed financially and later bought in 2005 . Android was unveiled in 2007 along with the founding of the Open Handset Alliance—a consortium of hardware, software, and telecommunication companies devoted to advancing open standards for mobile devices . The first publicly available smartphone running Android, the HTC Dream, was released on October 22, 2008 .
The user interface of Android 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. Internal hardware—such as accelerometers, gyroscopes, and proximity sensors—
is 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. Android allows users to customize their home
screens with shortcuts to applications and widgets,
which allow users to display live content, such as emails and weather
information, directly on the home screen. Applications can further send
notifications to the user to inform them of relevant information, such
as new emails and text messages.
As of 2013, "Android dwarfs any other computing platform" in device shipments, shipping more than Windows and iOS/Mac OS combined . As of July 2013, Android has the largest number of applications ("apps"), available for download in Google Play store which has had over 1 million apps published, and over 50 billion downloads.
