The History of Android

Back in 2005, two years before Apple would revolutionize the phone world with the iPhone, Google bought a small, two-year-old company founded by Andy Rubin. Rubin was best known at the time for starting Danger, Inc., which created the T-Mobile–branded Sidekick phones. Rubin's new company, Android, also included Richard Minor from Orange (a UK phone company), Chris White from WebTV, and Andy McFadden from WebTV and Moxi. Originally, Rubin approached Google for possible startup money, but Google instead ended up acquiring Android and the talented team behind it.

What was so different about Android? Previous phone operating systems were either made by the device manufacturer or licensed to them for a fee. Rubin's idea was to give away the operating system and find some other way to make money. Since Google gives away most of its Web products for free and makes money from advertising, the idea resonated with Google.

On November 5, 2007, Google announced the Android OS and the Open Handset Alliance, a group of companies that would help develop it. Open Handset Alliance members include phone carriers, software developers, device manufacturers, and component makers.

Android has a very different philosophy compared to Apple and the iPhone. Anyone can use Android in devices for free, anyone can modify Android, and anyone can develop apps for it without the complicated pre-approval process required of iPhone apps.

Google also seeded the Android app market by holding developer contests with cash prizes. So, by the time the first Android phone arrived in stores, there was a selection of apps already available for download. The picture on the right shows the G1, the 2008 model that became the first Android phone to hit the market.

Today, Android has moved beyond the phone. It's powering e-book readers, photo frames, Google TV, netbooks, and even car stereos. Its low cost and easy customization lend it to all sorts of applications for portable devices.

The most important of these Android devices for this book is, of course, the Android tablet. You might wonder why it took so long for Android tablets to hit the market, especially after Apple introduced the iPad. There were Android tablets available, but they required modified versions of Android; and, with the exception of the Samsung Galaxy Tab, they never had much of a market. Why? Google was counting on Honeycomb.