"When we're looking for outsourcing software development, we look for a responsive, committed development partner, not just a technical resource. LTechIndia has been a valuable partner for many years and we look forward to several more high-quality projects with them."Android is managed by a group of more than 34 companies that includes Google, Motorola, Sony Ericsson, and Vodafone Group Plc etc.
There are few versions of android operating system. They are Android 1.5, 1.6, 2.0/2.1, 2.2 (also called Froyo) and Gingerbread. Third party developers can also use the open source operating system to develop android applications. According to various sources, the next android operating system developed by Google would be called Honeycomb.
The advantage of android is that though it is based on Linux, android applications can be also developed on other platforms, for e.g. Mac OS X and Windows. The market of android based smartphones is growing with a boom. There are several other advantages of using android platform for mobile application development. It provides ample scope for using libraries for audio, video, image files, 2D and 3D graphics. It supports various types of audio-visual formats. Mobile phones based on android technology include various interesting features like touchscreen, magnetometer and accelerometer etc. The mobile device can interchange data using different technologies like Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, GSM, CDMA, and EDGE etc. Android mobile devices also include thermometers, GPS, pressure sensors, etc. The mobile devices using android platform can support Google Talk.
If you are a developer, though you primarily need to use the Java software development kit particular for android you can also use any Java integrated development environment for application programming. Another tool called Android Native Development Kit (NDK) is used for writing performance critical codes in C, C++ and other native codes.
The development environment of Java SDK is provided with debugging tools, sample codes, tutorials and performance profiling tools etc. Initially the developers used to access the development tools free of cost. But after February 2009 paid applications are also available.
