Android is not always the same. About 170 different smartphones run the mobile operating system, but there is no one single standard.
Everything can change from one Android-operated smartphone to the next: interface, functions, options available. The one thing that stays the same: with an Android-enabled smartphone, you’re only a click away from the Internet.
Thus, when you’re out shopping for an Android phone, keep an eye on the software you’re buying as well as the hardware.
A whole host of manufacturers have decided to make use of the open source software, designed under the leadership of Google. HTC, SonyEricsson, Samsung and Motorola have all brought out Android phones. Nonetheless, compared to the iPhone, Android is a latecomer to the game.
Google announced in November 2007 that it would develop an operating system based on the Linux operating system in conjunction with an alliance of 30 technology and mobile phone giants. By that point, Apple had already sold millions of its iPhones.
But, thanks to widespread support, Android phones quickly took off and have, in the meantime, become a true alternative to the iPhone.
The main difference between Apple’s iOS and Android lies in the openness of the Google software. Phone manufacturers can use it and alter it as they wish.
“They have the option to come out as individuals,” says Dirk Waasen, chief editor of the German technology magazine Connect. Thus, HTC has laid its Sense interface on top of Android, while Garmin and Asus have made a combination of satellite-navigation device and smartphone with their Nuvifone.
For the pure Android system, shoppers have to seek out the Nexus S, produced by Samsung under contract with Google.
Despite the varied interfaces, the functions of all Android phones are similar. The software stands out because of its free navigation tool, integrated as the Maps service starting with version 1.6….
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