Android is an operating system (or, more precisely, a software stack) for mobile devices that includes middleware and key applications, and uses a modified version of the Linux kernel. It was initially developed by Android Inc., a firm later purchased by Google, and lately by the Open Handset Alliance. It allows developers to write managed code in the Java language, controlling the device via Google-developed Java libraries.
The unveiling of the Android distribution on 5 November 2007 was announced with the founding of the Open Handset Alliance, a consortium of 65 hardware, software, and telecom companies devoted to advancing open standards for mobile devices. Google released most of the Android code under the Apache License, a free software and open source license.
On 16 February 2010 Google announced that 60,000 cell phones with Android are shipping every day. According to the NPD group, the Android OS was the 2nd most popular smartphone OS in the U.S. in the first quarter of 2010. BlackBerry OS and the iPhone OS are first and third respectively.
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