Today Android celibrates its 5th birthday

[digital.l0gic]

Before you guys pounce on me by saying "how could that be?, it was first released in Sept 23, 2008", I hasten to add that the birth-date I refer to is the one when the Open handset Alliance was first announced. The Android operating system was first mentioned there.

Here is the original article from 5 years ago

http://www.openhandsetalliance.com/press_110507.html

Industry Leaders Announce Open Platform for Mobile Devices
November 5, 2007

Group Pledges to Unleash Innovation for Mobile Users Worldwide
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.; BONN, Germany; TAOYUAN, Taiwan; SAN DIEGO, Calif.; SCHAUMBERG, Ill., November 5, 2007 — A broad alliance of leading technology and wireless companies today joined forces to announce the development of Android, the first truly open and comprehensive platform for mobile devices. Google Inc., T-Mobile, HTC, Qualcomm, Motorola and others have collaborated on the development of Android through the Open Handset Alliance, a multinational alliance of technology and mobile industry leaders.

This alliance shares a common goal of fostering innovation on mobile devices and giving consumers a far better user experience than much of what is available on today's mobile platforms. By providing developers a new level of openness that enables them to work more collaboratively, Android will accelerate the pace at which new and compelling mobile services are made available to consumers.

With nearly 3 billion users worldwide, the mobile phone has become the most personal and ubiquitous communications device. However, the lack of a collaborative effort has made it a challenge for developers, wireless operators and handset manufacturers to respond as quickly as possible to the ever-changing needs of savvy mobile consumers. Through Android, developers, wireless operators and handset manufacturers will be better positioned to bring to market innovative new products faster and at a much lower cost. The end result will be an unprecedented mobile platform that will enable wireless operators and manufacturers to give their customers better, more personal and more flexible mobile experiences.

^^ More in the source Link.

I remember reading this news article 5 years ago. I knew the moment I read this that within a few years Android will become the dominant OS. Today we customers benefit due to the existence of Android. Competition drives innovation and reduces prices. The customer is a definite winner thanks to Android.

Also, Who can dislike the cute green robot....or the cuter Jellybean Mascot

Happy Birthday Android!

 

[cynics]

If we are talking about BIRTH day Android itself would be 9 years 1 month old since Android Inc was founded in Oct 2003. The later purchased by Google in 2005.

 

[digital.l0gic]

If we are talking about BIRTH day Android itself would be 9 years 1 month old since Android Inc was founded in Oct 2003. The later purchased by Google in 2005.

yep, you are right..I should have said Announcement-day

PS: I didn't know that Android Inc was funded by Google ventures even in 2003...(I knew they and they bought it outright in 2005). Google must have been thinking of a Mobile Operating system even earlier than generally thought of.

 

[cynics]

yep, you are right..I should have said Announcement-day

PS: I didn't know that Android Inc was funded by Google ventures even in 2003...(I knew they and they bought it outright in 2005). Google must have been thinking of a Mobile Operating system even earlier than generally thought of.

Shhhhh.....don't let the secret out....

 

[digital.l0gic]

Shhhhh.....don't let the secret out....

Yep...people still think Google copied/copied the concept of a mobile OS after Schmidt joined the Apple board. Google had bought Android even before Schmidt joined the board, and furthermore they were funding android from 2003 onwards

 

[NutsNGum]

Yep...people still think Google copied/copied the concept of a mobile OS after Schmidt joined the Apple board. Google had bought Android even before Schmidt joined the board, and furthermore they were funding android from 2003 onwards

Dunno if you saw the original Android format, when it was released, it was a Blackberry OS clone. A far cry from what it subsequently became post-iOS.

 

[digital.l0gic]

Dunno if you saw the original Android format, when it was released, it was a Blackberry OS clone. A far cry from what it subsequently became post-iOS.

Nope, this is a oft repeated myth.
Android is Not a phone. It is an OS, and from the early days it supported full screen phones (Btw there were full touchscreen phones before the iPhone)

http://www.osnews.com/story/25264/Did_Android_Really_Look_Like_BlackBerry_Before_the_iPhone_


Did Android Really Look Like BlackBerry Before the iPhone?



"As an online discussion about iOS vs. Android grows longer, the probability of someone bringing up this link approaches 1." The argument goes that before the iPhone, Android looked like a BlackBerry clone, and after the iPhone, it suddenly turned into an iOS clone. While this argument, with its pictures, is snappy and easily digestible, it doesn't actually seem to be supported by the facts.

To summarise the argument: before the iPhone, Android looked like a BlackBerry clone, and after the iPhone, it looked like an iOS clone. The proof that Android used to look like a BlackBerry clone is a photo of a prototype Android device, sent to Gizmodo by an anonymous source. Gizmodo published this photo December 17, 2007.

This photo is invoked very often in online discussions about iOs vs. Android, a discussion we see popping up more and more due to the various legal battles between Apple, Microsoft, and Oracle and one side, and Google and the various Android device makers on the other. However, I always recalled seeing a video where alongside the BlackBerry-esque prototype, Google also showed off a device with a full touch screen.

As it turns out, my memory isn't playing tricks on me. We're talking November 12 2007, and Google released the fist SDK for Android. Other than the keyboard-driven BlackBerry-esque style, the SDK also supported touch screens just fine. And, just as I remembered, Google showed off a reference design with a full touch screen (and, by the looks of it, it's capacitive) - looking suspiciously similar to the HTC Dream, the first Android device - including gestures and flicks.

Here is the video (check from 3 min mark)

http://youtu.be/1FJHYqE0RDg