Research paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words - 1

Research Paper Example Android is considered a game changer in the mobile developer community since it is well placed to address the growing needs of the mobile marketplace. Introduction According to Haseman, Android is a Linux based operating system and a platform for which applications are developed. The Android operating system was originally designed and produced for touch screen mobile devices such as tablets and smart phones (2008). The android was originally released in 2007 and sold the first Android powered device in 2008. Android is open source software released under the Apache license and therefore the Android software can be freely modified and distributed by developers and device manufacturers. Being that android is a platform for application development in addition to the fact that it is open source, it has a large community of application developers presenting unlimited applications for the mobile devices running on android. The ease of application development on android platform has presen ted a variety of applications for mobile device customization which in turn has seen android as the most popularly used mobile platforms especially for Smartphones. The Android operating system has grown to be used on game console and television applications despite the fact that it was originally designed for tablets and mobile phones. The applications developed on android extend the functionality of the mobile devices (Haseman, 2008). Interface The user interface provides the display and the user control or command of the Android operating system. It gives the user the power to interact with the operating system directly by use of touch manipulation objects on the display. The display is supported by the fluid enabled interface designed to aid the interaction process between the user and the Operating System. The interface is fully-touch screen enabled with operations such as flicking your finger across the screen to flip to the next page of items. The user interface comes in seve ral shapes and sizes. The user interface is also enabled by simple configuration applications that can make the text on screen appear bigger and clearer such as text size and screen size configuration preferences(Udell, 2009). Android Operating System user interface has a home-screen that hosts the operational application icons and widgets. Icons are graphic symbols that take up the commands to open up the application while widget displays the graphic user interface directly on the screen. The operational application icons and widgets displayed on the home-screen are known as Android views that include Context menu, Options menu, Digital clock and Web view. These applications offer additional options and links to different pages that are not directly visible on the main Menu driven interface on the home-screen. The menu applications also play a vital role in displaying information directing the user on what command it initiates. In addition, the Menu driven interface gives notice on notification messages (Hoog & McCash, 2011). Processes Process management is a distinctive operating system that uses several complex data structures and algorithms to process data on Android devices. Â  Android uses this data processing technique in control