PROJECT

REPORT
ON
ANDROID OS
By Soni Ketan
5th BY
Roll No-28

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ACKNOWLEDGME
NT
I am very glad for having such an
intelligent and useful guide throughout the
project and thankful to Purvi Patel Madam
from her support and encouragement
throughout my journey on this project. Purvi
Patel Madam had enlightened the path of
glory with her views and knowledge for us.

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ABSTRACT
What is Android? Android is a software
platform and operating system for mobile
devices, based on the Linux operating
system, and developed by Google and later
the Open Handset Alliance. It allows
developers to write managed code in a
Java-like language that utilizes Googledeveloped Java libraries, but does not
support programs developed in native code.
It is one of the worlds fastest growing
mobile operating system. Initially it is used
for mobile applications only but now a days
it is also used in making full fledge
applications.

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INDEX
Introduction
..5

A brief history of Android...............................8

The Android
platform10

Android Application
Architecture.12
Required
tools.16
Android
Phones..22
Google Nexus One VS IPhone
3GS25
Resources
27
Advantages of
Android..29
Conclusion
..32
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 Bibliography
..34
Glossary
.35

INTRODUCTION
The BlackBerry and iPhone, which have
appealing
and
high-volume
mobile
platforms, are addressing opposite ends of
a spectrum. The BlackBerry is rock-solid for
the enterprise business user. For a
consumer device, it's hard to compete with
the iPhone for ease of use and the "cool
factor." Android, a young and yet-unproven
platform, has the potential to play at both
ends of the mobile-phone spectrum and
perhaps even bridge the gulf between work
and play.

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Today, many network-based or networkcapable appliances run a flavor of the Linux

kernel. It's a solid platform: cost-effective to
deploy and support and readily accepted as
a good design approach for deployment.
The UI for such devices is often HTML-based
and viewable with a PC or Mac browser. But
not every appliance needs to be controlled
by a general computing device. Consider a
conventional appliance, such as a stove,
microwave or bread maker. What if your
household appliances were controlled by
Android and boasted a color touch screen?
With an Android UI on the stove-top, the
author might even be able to cook
something.
What is Android? Android is a software
platform and operating system for mobile
devices, based on the Linux operating
system, developed by Google and later the
Open Handset Alliance. It allows developers
to write managed code in a Java-like
language that utilizes Google-developed
Java libraries, but does not support
programs developed in native code.
Android has been criticized for not being
all open source software despite what was
announced by Google. Parts of the SDK are
proprietary and closed source and some
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believe this is so that Google can control

the platform. Google will continue to make
money from online advertising, but now
seeks to extend this onto mobile devices.
With Android being part of the Open
Handset Alliance, the other members of the
alliance will follow T-Mobiles lead and
unveil their products for Android. For
instance Qualcomm have announced that it
is working on more than five Android based
handsets to be released during Q1 2009.

Android being free also means that

smaller handset manufacturers dont have
to worry about the (very large) headache of
writing and maintaining an operating
system.

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A BRIEF
HISTORY
A BRIFE HISTORY OF
ANDROID
The Android platform is the product of
the Open Handset Alliance, a group of
organizations collaborating to build a better

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mobile phone. The group, led by Google,

includes mobile operators, device handset
manufacturers, component manufacturers,
software solution and platform providers,
and marketing companies. From a software
development standpoint, Android sits
smack in the middle of the open source
world.
The first Android-capable handset on
the
market
was
the
G1
device
manufactured by HTC and provisioned on TMobile. The device became available after
almost a year of speculation, where the
only software development tools available
were some incrementally improving SDK
releases. As the G1 release date neared,
the Android team released SDK V1.0 and
applications began surfacing for the new
platform.
To spur innovation, Google sponsored
two
rounds
of
"Android
Developer
Challenges," where millions of dollars were
given to top contest submissions. A few
months after the G1, the Android Market
was released, allowing users to browse and
download applications directly to their
phones. Over about 18 months, a new
mobile platform entered the public arena.
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ANDROID
PLATFORM
With Android's breadth of capabilities, it
would be easy to confuse it with a desktop
operating system. Android is a layered
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environment built upon a foundation of the

Linux kernel, and it includes rich functions.
The UI subsystem includes:
Windows
Views
Widgets
for
displaying
common
elements such as edit boxes, lists, and
drop-down lists
Android
includes
an
embeddable
browser built upon WebKit, the same open
source browser engine powering the
iPhone's Mobile Safari browser.
Android boasts a healthy array of
connectivity
options,
including
WiFi,
Bluetooth, and wireless data over a cellular
connection (for example, GPRS, EDGE, and
3G). A popular technique in Android
applications is to link to Google Maps to
display an address directly within an
application. Support for location-based
services (such as GPS) and accelerometers
is also available in the Android software
stack, though not all Android devices are
equipped with the required hardware. There
is also camera support.
Historically, two areas where mobile
applications have struggled to keep pace
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with their desktop counterparts are

graphics/media, and data storage methods.
Android addresses the graphics challenge
with built-in support for 2-D and 3-D
graphics, including the OpenGL library. The
data-storage burden is eased because the
Android platform includes the popular open
source SQLite database. Figure 1 shows a
simplified view of the Android software
layers.

FIG SHOWS ANDROID ARCHITECTURE.

ANDROID
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ARCHITECHTURE
ANDROID ARCHITECHURE
As mentioned, Android runs atop a Linux
kernel. Android applications are written in
the Java programming language, and they
run within a virtual machine (VM). It's
important to note that the VM is not a JVM
as you might expect, but is the Dalvik
Virtual
Machine,
an
open
source
technology. Each Android application runs
within an instance of the Dalvik VM, which
in turn resides within a Linux-kernel
managed process, as shown below.

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An Android application consists of one or

more of the following classifications:

Activities
An application that has a visible UI is
implemented with an activity. When a user
selects an application from the home
screen or application launcher, an activity is
started.

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Services
A service should be used for any
application that needs to persist for a long
time, such as a network monitor or updatechecking application.

Content providers
You can think of content providers as a
database server. A content provider's job is
to manage access to persisted data, such
as a SQLite database. If your application is
very simple, you might not necessarily
create a content provider. If you're building
a larger application, or one that makes data
available
to
multiple
activities
or
applications, a content provider is the
means of accessing your data.

Broadcast receivers
An Android application may be launched
to process a element of data or respond to
an event, such as the receipt of a text
message.
An Android application, along with a file
called AndroidManifest.xml, is deployed to a
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device. AndroidManifest.xml contains the

necessary configuration information to
properly install it to the device. It includes
the required class names and types of
events the application is able to process,
and
the
required
permissions
the
application needs to run.
For example, if an application requires
access to the network to download a file,
for example this permission must be
explicitly stated in the manifest file. Many
applications
may
have
this
specific
permission enabled. Such declarative
security helps reduce the likelihood that a
rogue application can cause damage on
your device.

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REQUIRED
TOOLS
Required tools
The easiest way to start developing
Android applications is to download the
Android
SDK
and
the
Eclipse
IDE
(see Resources). Android development can
take place on Microsoft Windows, Mac
OS X, or Linux.
This article assumes you are using the
Eclipse IDE and the Android Developer Tools
plug-in for Eclipse. Android applications are
written in the Java language, but compiled
and executed in the Dalvik VM (a non-Java
virtual machine). Coding in the Java
language within Eclipse is very intuitive;
Eclipse provides a rich Java environment,
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including context-sensitive help and code

suggestion hints. Once your Java code is
compiled cleanly, the Android Developer
Tools make sure the application is
packaged
properly,
including
the
AndroidManifest.xml file.
It's
possible
to
develop
Android
applications without Eclipse and the Android
Developer Tools plug-in, but you would
need to know your way around the Android
SDK.
The Android SDK is distributed as a ZIP
file that unpacks to a directory on your hard
drive. Since there have been several SDK
updates, it is recommended that you keep
your
development
environment
well
organized so you can easily switch between
SDK installations. The SDK includes:

android.jar
Java archive file containing all of the
Android SDK classes necessary to build your
application.
documention.html and docs directory
The SDK documentation is provided locally
and on the Web. It's largely in the form of
JavaDocs, making it easy to navigate the
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many
packages
in
the
SDK.
The
documentation also includes a high-level
Development Guide and links to the
broader Android community.

Samples directory
The samples subdirectory contains full
source code for a variety of applications,
including ApiDemo, which exercises many
APIs. The sample application is a great
place to explore when starting Android
application development.

Tools directory
Contains all of the command-line tools
to build Android applications. The most
commonly employed and useful tool is
the adb utility (Android Debug Bridge).

usb_driver
Directory containing the necessary
drivers to connect the development
environment to an Android-enabled device,
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such as the G1 or the Android Dev 1

unlocked development phone. These files
are only required for developers using the
Windows platform.
Android applications may be run on a real
device or on the Android Emulator, which
ships with the Android SDK. Figure shows
the Android Emulator's home screen.

Android Emulator.

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There is one IDE available for writing

your executable codes for android.

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Life Cycle of an Activity.

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Life cycle not directly controlled by

application. System can kill an application
to free up memory. Control through
onCreate(), onPause(), onStop() ... methods

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ANDROID
PHONES
LGs first Android
Superphone with Tegra 2,
4 screen leaked

Talking specs-wise, it will come with huge 4

inch display, nVidia Tegra 2 processor, 8 MP
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camera with 1080p HD recording, front

facing camera, tock Android [2.3 expected],
and 1500 mAh battery.

Acer Liquid E

It seems the season of Android updates and

devices are getting them everywhere. From
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SE Xperia X10 to HTC Legend, every Android

has got one of the other update. Today, it is
the turn of AcerLiquid E users in Canada.

Samsung Galaxy Apollo/3 to

get Android 2.2 update
after Galaxy S

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This are some of Smart Phones featuring

Android as its Operating System. By the
time this project is submitted no of Phones
released will be very large.

NEXUS VS
IPhone

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Page | 28

This certain differences between Nexus and

IPhone
3GS.

RESOURCES
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The Open Handset Alliance is a group of

47 technology and mobile companies who
have come together to accelerate
innovation in mobile and offer consumers
a richer, less expensive, and better
mobile experience. Together, they have
developed Android, the first complete,
open, and free mobile platform.
The Android
developers
site offers
documentation, downloads, blogs, and
more.
Learn more
Machine.

about

the Dalvik

Virtual

Check out the tutorials hosted on YouTube

that discuss the internals of the Dalvik
VM.
Unlocking
Android:
A
Developer's
Guide provides
concise,
hands-on
instruction for the Android operating
system and development tools.
To listen to interesting interviews and
discussions for software developers,
check out developerWorks podcasts.
Stay
current
developerWorks' Technical
webcasts.

events

with
and

Page | 30

Follow developerWorks on Twitter.

Check out upcoming conferences, trade
shows,
webcasts,
and
other Events around the world that are of
interest to IBM open source developers.
Visit the developerWorks Open source
zone for extensive how-to information,
tools, and project updates to help you
develop with open source technologies
and use them with IBM's products.
Watch and learn about IBM and open
source technologies and product functions
with the no-cost developerWorks On
demand demos.

Get
products
technologies

Download the Android SDK.

Get the latest Eclipse IDE.

and

Innovate
your
next
open
source
development
project
with IBM
trial
software, available for download or on
DVD.

Page | 31

ADVANTAGES
Android
developers

is

appealing

to

Android apps can be developed on any

platform (Windows XP and Vista, Linux, and
Mac OS X) where iPhone apps can only be
developed on a fairly new Mac.

iPhone apps require developers to learn

Objective-C (which is used almost nowhere
outside Apple). But Android is Java which all
mobile app developers are familiar with.

Anyone can develop and launch an

Android

app

whereas

Apple

has

strict

control of their App Store.

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Getting your iPhone app available in the

App Store requires you to jump through the
hoops of an approval process which can
take 2-3 months (and could be rejected for
competing with a native application!) But
Android apps can be available in the
Android Market instantly.

Android is feature rich

Android can support the same hardware as

the iPhone: touch screen, accelerometer,
GPS,

Wi-Fi,

SMS

&

still

camera;

plus

features that the iPhone doesnt support:

MMS, video camera & Bluetooth

Android has some fresh ideas like Google

Maps street view and customizable home
page

Unlike the iPhone, apps on an Android

handset can run in parallel (e.g. an app
running in the background can send an
alert)

The Android platform is open source and

extensible by the developer community
where as the iPhone is controlled by Apple
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Android
is
manufacturers

Android is

appealing

to

free OS so an Android-enabled

Smartphone should be cheaper than a

normal

Smartphone.

All

the

major

manufacturers are looking at using it.

In the US, AT&T has exclusive rights to sell

the iPhone 3G (for the next 5 years), but
Android is license and operator independent

Android
Advertisers

is

appealing

to

Unlike iPhone apps, which sell on the app

store within iTunes, there is no structured
marketplace for Android apps

This is good news as the users will get free

apps, and an advertising model will emerge
more quickly than for iPhone apps where an
(initially) successful subscription model will
decrease the urgency to find a work-able
advertising solution
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CONCLUSION
Giants like Nokia and Microsoft are not
the part of the OHA, so Android wont
become so powerful for now. It depends on
the stability and continuous support for the
platform.
Microsofts windows mobile has a big
selling point in the form of , its integrity
with Microsoft Office and other MicrosoftPage | 35

owned tools, So, Android has to concentrate

on developing PC compatibility apps using
the Google Office Apps.
We are not talking about the very success
of Android, since it has its own challenges,
like its development task. Though, Android
is a complete mobile handset platform,
encompassing a mobile operating system, a
browser, some middle ware, and other
application environment, that all depends
upon
the
future
investments,
and
innovations upon the development of an all
encompassing new technology.

Apart from Google, Apps developers and

vendors are predicted to be the major
beneficiaries, since they would make most
out of the Android with its wider market
structure backed by all the members of
OHA, developing different versions of
Android, and driving the Android's apps
market to a new edge,
Defeating all the others.

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BIBLOGRAPHY
From Gizmo dos
http://gizmodo.com/5395801/android-20review-almost-human
Learn Android
http://developer.android.com/guide/basics/
what-is-android.html
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 Introduction to Android by Jason Chen

who is developer advocate at Google
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1ZZR3p_w8
What Apple did for Smartphones, Google
may do for all the rest
http://www.economist.com/displaystory.cfm
?story_id=12304882&fsrc=nwl

GLOSSARY
OHA - Open Handset Alliance
GSM - Global System for Mobile
EDGE - Enhanced Data Rates for GSM
Evolution
3G - 3rd Generation mobile phones
HSCSD - High Sped Circuit Switched Data
HTC - High Tech Corporation
OEM - Original Equipment Manufacturer
OS - Operating System
Page | 38

 RIM - Research In Motion

MPEG- Moving Picture Experts Group
AAC - Advanced Audio Coding
AMR - Adaptive Multi-Rate (Patented
audio data
Compression)
JPEG - Joint Photographic Experts Group
PNG - Portable Network Graphics
GIF- Graphics Interchange Format
VM - Virtual Machine
AT&T- American Telegraph & Telephones
Corporation

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