Android is an open-source, Linux-based operating system for mobile devices that is developed by Google. It has a lower barrier to entry for developers than other platforms and sees over 550,000 new devices activated per day. While iPhone has more apps, Android provides more opportunities for customization. Its open nature and proliferation on many devices has led to a bright future for Android development.

1. Android Development and Its Future
Development of Android application is easier than the development of RIM BlackBerry or Nokia Symbian.
Android is also a robust OS supporting to the operations for which user usually use PC or laptop. Low cost
registration fees also encourage developers to prefer Android platform for an app development project.
Developers just need to pay 25$ and then they can upload their app on the Google Play’s Android App store.
Android developers are also working on the apps which have already been successful on iPhone. Many times
developers simultaneously launch apps for both Android and iPhones platform.
Android now leads the smartphone market in the USA. However it is an incomplete picture because complete
picture further includes smartphone markets in the
UK, Australia, China and India. In the UK Android
holds 50% share of the total Smartphone market.
Though iPhone is said to have more number of
application of which many are missing in the
Android, but Android being an open source provides
more opportunities for the user to create customized
apps according to their requirement, without having
to actually learning coding, with the Droid Generator.
Android dominance is now not limited to a particular
market. This is also a positive phase for Android
application developers because they are equally
responsible to popularize this OS by developing
incredible apps and software solutions. This hints a
bright future ahead for developers/ programmers
engaged in Android apps development.
Incentive for Google
Google makes money even if Android is released under a free and open-source license. The ideology that
Google adopted while acquiring Android Inc in 2005 was to proliferate Android devices in the market, and not
stop at launching just the gPhone. It wanted to develop a platform that would lure multiple manufacturers to
imbibe this in their handsets. Predominantly being a media and advertising company, Google aspires to provide
additional services to its advertisers through handheld devices. 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.
Applications: Applications can be acquired by end-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.
Applications are usually developed in the Java language using the Android Software Development Kit, but 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.

2. Multitasking:
Multitasking was improved with the release of Android 4.0 "Ice Cream
Sandwich". When users hold down a device's home button or press the
multitasking button on available devices, a task manager with a list of recently-
opened apps appear which users may select to resume use of the application in
the status it was last accessed at.
Development, Security and privacy: Android consists of a kernel based on the Linux kernel 2.6 and
Linux Kernel 3.x (Android 4.0 onwards), 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 applications run in a sandbox, an isolated area of the operating system that does not have
access to the rest of the system's resources, unless access permissions are 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, for example, but should not need to read messages or access the
phonebook. After reviewing these permissions, the user can decide whether to install the application or not.
Google partnered with a number of manufacturers and carriers to announce an "Android Update
Alliance", pledging to deliver timely updates for every device for 18 months after its release .
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, the most widely used of which being
CyanogenMod, often bring new features and updates to devices faster
than through the official manufacturer/carrier channels, albeit without as
extensive testing or quality assurance. 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.
licensing and reception: 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. The Open Handset Alliance develops the changes to
the Linux kernel, in public, with source code publicly available at all times.

3. The rest of Android is developed in private, with source code released publicly when a new version is
released
In May 2010, Android's first quarter U.S. sales surpassed that of the rival iPhone platform. According to a
report by the NPD group, Android achieved 25% smartphone sales in the US market, up 8% from the
December quarter. In the second quarter, Apple's iOS was up by 11%, indicating that Android is taking
market share mainly from RIM, and still has to compete with heavy consumer demand for new
competitor offerings
As of June 2011, Google said that 550,000 new Android devices were being activated every
day[122] — up from 400,000 per day a month earlier — and more than 100 million devices had
been activate.
Copyrights and patents: Both Android and Android phone manufacturers have been the target of
numerous patent lawsuits. On August 12, 2010, Oracle sued Google over claimed infringement of
copyrights and patents related to the Java programming language.[138] Oracle originally sought damages
up to $6.1 billion,[139] but this valuation was rejected by a federal judge who asked Oracle to revise the
estimate
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.
Inference:
Android thus, is a Linux-based operating system designed primarily for touch screen mobile devices such as
smartphones and tablet computers, developed by Google.
Android was unveiled in 2007 along with the founding of the Open Handset Alliance, a consortium of 86
hardware, software, and telecommunication companies devoted to advancing open standards for mobile
devices.
Thus android has surpassed all other mobile tablet operating
systems and Google said that 550,000 new Android devices
were being activated every day— up from 400,000 per day a
month earlier — and more than 100 million devices had been
activated which clearly shows how dominant it is .