What is the Android Development Platform?

The Android Development Platform is a mobile operating system used on droid phones. Created by the Open Handset Alliance — a consortium of mobile phone companies spearheaded by Google — the Android system was developed on an open-source platform, allowing amateur and professional programmers to freely build upon and update Android's operating system. This style of programming was developed by Linux in the early 1990s; Linux kernel open software ultimately served as the genesis of the Android Development Platform. The first phone to sport the Android system, the HTC Dream, made its debut in late 2008.

Since the early 1990s, developers used Linux to constantly work at improving upon open source technology. It was only a matter of time and money before the technology was adapted for use on mobile phones. In 2005, Google first seized upon the idea of creating an Android Development Platform when it purchased Android Inc., a small start-up. By 2007, Google had assembled a super-group of companies to develop the Android mobile technology as well as market and manufacture mobile phones with the Android operating system.

The original Open Handset Alliance consisted of companies that represented all facets of the mobile phone market. The HTC Dream debuted in 2008, and was soon followed by a number of other phones outfitted with the Android Development Platform. The Motorola Droid, introduced in 2009, became the first phone to legally use the ubiquitous "droid" name, a trademark of Lucasfilm Ltd.

Since its introduction, the Android Development Platform has enjoyed popularity among consumers and programmers alike. Techies in particular enjoy the open source possibilities of the Android Development Platform, which allows users unparalleled freedom to modify and change the operating system as they wish. That, however, may not be as easy as it sounds; one still has to know how to write the programming code to make a desired change.

The ability for any programming expert to modify and improve upon the Android Development Platform makes the technology uniquely flexible in an ever-changing mobile phone market. Other mobile phone companies must rely solely on professional developers to develop new and improved versions of an operating system, whereas the Android Development Platform is continually improving and changing thanks to both professional and amateur developers alike. This trait has also made the Android mobile operating system appealing to the average mobile phone user — who isn't likely to spend spare time bothering with programming code — because Android phones come outfitted with unique and easy-to-use features that other users have helped to implement.