Reason behind the huge success of Android

Android is the most successful mobile operating system in the market. But the success does not come over the night. There was lots of hard work and determination belongs behind the success. Let's see, how Android is becoming the dominator of the smartphone world.

The reasons behind the success of Android operating system

Open Source

The ability to take the base version of Android and expand upon it has resulted in wonderful and diverse device experiences. At the core of it is what is called AOSP, the Android Open Source Project, built and maintained primarily by Google. When you are free to do anything, the creativity flows out of mind. As a device manufacturer, you don't need to worry about the software, it is available to you at your doorstep, don't need to have a separate software development team. So manufacturers preferred using Android.

Interface

Android use touch interfaces that have - swiping, tapping and pinch-and-zoom. It boots to a home screen, which is similar to a computer desktop. While an iOS home screen only contains rows of app icons, Android allows the use of widgets, which display auto-updating information such as weather and email. The iOS user interface features a dock where users can pin their most used applications. A status bar runs across the top on Android, offering information such the time, WiFi or cell signal, and battery life; on Android, the status bar also shows the number of newly received emails, messages, and reminders.

Stability

Phone versions of Android are more stable than their tablet versions. Android 2.3 hardly crash rate at 1.7%; Ice Cream Sandwich, Jelly Bean, and KitKat have a crash rate of 0.7%.

User-friendly

An android environment provides a very user-friendly platform for the users compared to windows phones.

Software upgrades

Google updates Android frequently. But it's true that phone manufacturers decide whether and when to offer software upgrades. They may not offer an upgrade to the latest version of Android for all the phones and tablets in their product line. Even when an upgrade is offered, it is usually several months after the new version of Android has been released.

Behind the Android

Android is not powered by Google alone. The Open Handset Alliance plays a key part in the development of Android. The Open Handset Alliance (OHA) is a consortium of 84 firms to develop open standards for mobile devices. Member firms include Google, HTC, Sony, Dell, Intel, Motorola, Qualcomm, Texas Instruments, Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics, T-Mobile, Sprint Corporation, NVidia, and Wind River Systems. Android, the flagship software of the alliance, is based on an open source license and has competed against mobile platforms from Apple, Microsoft, Nokia (Symbian), HP (formerly Palm), Samsung Electronics/Intel (Tizen/Bada) and BlackBerry. It is clear that the backing of handset manufacturers plays a key role in the success of Android.

Maps

Apps like Google Maps, Waze and Bing are available for Android. When Google released its maps app for iOS in December 2012, the iOS version surpassed the version available for Android in terms of features, design, and ease of use. The Android version is not expected to stay behind.

Language support

Smartphones are not for business executives alone. Even people who are unfamiliar with English use smartphones. Although many of them tend to stick with the English interface, it is still an advantage that a system ships non-English interfaces. Android supports its interface in 70 languages, which means a vast group of people can experience the OS in their mother tongues.

Deeper integration with Facebook and Twitter

It is easier to post updates and share on social networks using Android because of how deeply integrated these platforms are with it.

Better privacy controls

Android offers better control over the access apps have to users' private information such as contacts and location.

Security

Android apps run in a sandbox, an isolated area. But explicit permissions can be granted during installation. This doesn't happen without the permission from the user. But there is no built-in encryption facility for data storage.

Massiveness in hardware selection

A large number of Android devices are available at various price points, with varying hardware capabilities, screen sizes, and features.

Highly customizable user experience

The home screen can be customized with not just app icons but widgets that allow the user to stay connected or informed. SwiftKey modifies your Android smartphone’s keyboard and apps that emulate older gaming consoles. Google has fewer restrictions than Apple on what kinds of apps it allows in its Play store. Moreover, you can choose to install Android apps from places other than the Google Play store.

Android-based devices suit the budget phone

With development and advancement of iPhone, there was a need of some cheap solution similar to iOS which can be affordable to masses. Android-based devices suit masses for their budget phone. Also, some features are really cool in Android which is not available in iPhone due to restrictive nature of iOS to counter security-related threats.

Google Play Store

There are around 1.5 Million apps available on App store (Google Play Store) and a huge number of Apps are free. Most popular Apps are always social networking apps which are liked by almost everyone. Youngsters like chatting and dating apps which are another bigger attraction for going for Android.

Find out: how to restore deleted App icons on Android?

Aviary

Android’s developer features allow Aviary to iterate builds up to three times faster than other platforms while maintaining a regular dialogue with its users.

Hardware

Android supports a large number of platforms including 32- and 64-bit: ARM architectures, x86, x86-64, MIPS and MIPS64. This enables Android to be used in devices other than limited mobile phones. From 2012 onwards, Android tablets using Intel processors have been available. Android-x86 can run on desktop PCs.

Android's RAM requirements start from 512MB (normal cases), which is low compared to Ubuntu Touch (1GB).

Strong community

We all know that there are a variety of custom ROMs for a start, each offering unique features, porting the default Android experience to the handset which would otherwise go without, and some aiming to improve system performance. ROMs like CyanogenMod have proven hugely popular because of their punctual updates for handsets which otherwise would go without the latest versions of Android, and others like Paranoid Android are intent on innovating on the default Android experience. Some community driven developments, like notification features, for example, have even gone on to be incorporated into official versions of Android. With more minds working on the same problem, you’re far more likely to achieve superior results than deciding everything with a select group of individuals behind closed doors. With 35 million members in 22 countries, BlaBlaCar is the world’s largest ride sharing community, and Android is at the heart of the company’s success.

Advanced integration

Android is well-known for providing advanced integration options to businesses. They can integrate web application, social media platforms, document sharing features, ERP, CRM & other systems, eCommerce sites and much more into their Android app.

Business opportunity

Android also provides a business the option to distribute its applications through multiple channels. Businesses can use Google Android Market to promote and distribute their apps to a wider reach. Android also allows you to form your own distribution and sales channel and even create your own app stores. You can choose your own promotional strategy and reach Android’s large user-base.

 

In the end, Android is all about choice and diversity, and healthy competition among multiple manufacturers is a key part of that equation. Hope you like this article. You can share your comment in the comments. Thank you!