The Google Android is an open-source operating system that is used in a variety of smartphones and tablet computers today. The greatest advantage of the Google Android is its highly customizable platform. However, its geeky software can be intimidating to new smartphone and tablet users.
The Android is available on numerous devices. But because of its open-source platform, different manufacturers can customize the software to meet their needs and preferences. Because of its customizable system, the Android can look and feel different on different smartphones and tablet computers.
Most Android devices are touch-screen devices, but some have actual keyboards built on them. All Android devices come with a desktop that has a certain number of screens. Desktops can have three to seven screens depending on the specifications of the manufacturer. These screens can be customized to the user’s liking. They can be populated with shortcuts to apps, widgets, search boxes, displays of news headlines, and many more. Apart from the shortcuts and widgets found on the screens, Android also offers a comprehensive yet easy-to-navigate menu. The menu can also be customized depending on the user’s preference. The flexibility of the Google Android when it comes to customization is definitely a big plus for most consumers.
The interface of Google’s Android varies slightly from one device to another. The latest versions are definitely more polished than those that preceded them. However, this is where the Android shows its drawback. Even with the latest versions of the Android, the interface still lacks the polished and elegant appearance of its key rivals: the Apple iPhone OS and the Palm Web OS. It takes time and practice to navigate the Android interface comfortably.
Another advantage of Android’s open platform is that numerous applications can be run on it and that almost anyone with an Android device can create an application for it. That is why it is not surprising that the number of applications available in the Android Market is continuously growing. And because it supports multitasking, the Android OS can run multiple applications at once. This is particularly handy for very busy people and professionals.
However, not all apps can run on every version of the Android OS. The numerous versions out in the market can cause some confusion to consumers. For example, there are apps and features from the older versions that cannot be run with the newer versions and vice versa. Also, newly released phones, tablet computers, and other devices do not always run with the newest Android versions. They may still use older versions even with the availability of the latest versions.
Another problem is that different versions offer different features. Because of the difference from one version to another, manufacturers can decide what features to include in their products or not. This adds more confusion to the gadget user. For example, the multiple touch feature (a device’s screen is able to register more than one touch at a time) is available on some Android-powered devices but not on others.