What is Android? There are a couple of ways to answer that question. We can examine the composition, consider how to build with Android or for what purposes Android can fulfill.

Android is a mash-up of many portable open source projects integrated and exposed by Java libraries to form a mobile device platform.

Taking a look at the architecture[1] of Android there are quite a few components. Many are not new and are respectable software projects in their own right. For example, the Linux[2] kernel is used to control the hardware. Linux has been ported to many architectures including successful ports to mobile devices. There are Java libraries from Apache Harmony[3], SSL libraries from OpenSSL[4], webpage rendering from Webkit[5], a database from SQLite[6] and font rendering from FreeType[7]. Driving the integration of all those packages is the Dalvik virtual machine. It runs all the Java applications which combine all the resources into a user experience. Dalvik is based on the open specification of Java, but not a certified Java VM. So Dalvik leverages the Java experience of developers, but keeps the VM free of interference by their mobile competitor Sun.

Android is there to build on and where a developer can brings his or her experience to bear to create applications.

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Android is a new operating system and platform for mobile devices. Where did it come from and where is it going?

Well, back in 2005 Google bought the two year old startup Android Inc. Android operated in secret, with evidence pointing to that Android was about wireless and mobile software. Google just mentioned that it acquired talented engineers and great technology[1]. The two next big things were the formation of the Open Handset Alliance[2] and the SDK release[3] in 2007. The Open Handset Alliance wants to improve the mobile experience for consumers. Two of the founding members of the alliance, namely T-Mobile and HTC, are currently most visible by bringing Android to consumers with the G1 smart phone. Google has been a driving force behind the platform software. One thing was the $10 million dollar developer challenge to kickstart community developed software. The result was a plethora of applications on the beta version of the Android platform. The continuation of this initial boost can be seen in the Android application Market to this day.

The Android platform is open. Contributers and users are mobile operators, handset manufacturers, semiconductor companies, software companies and more. This openness is not only in words, it is also clearly demonstrated by the openness of the Android sources. The Android sources are available under the open source Apache License[4]. This enables Android to move beyond a single operator, a single brand, a single software vendor or even beyond a fixed device concept.

So with Android in place, Google and its partners are in a position to challenge and change  the mobile market. It is time to welcome our new Google overlords or start wearing tinfoil hats. At the very least it is good to take a closer look at what Android entails.

[1] Google Buys Android for Its Mobile Arsenal
[2] Industry Leaders Announce Open Platform for Mobile Devices
[3] Open Handset Alliance Releases Android SDK
[4] Android Open Source Project