Inspired from traditional services like text messaging, the phones that are capable of accessing internet are on a rise in the mobile industry. Android phones have succeeded in providing a rich user experience for its users and this has opened a gateway for the developers to create apps for all walks of life on Android OS.
Android platform is a treat to the developer fraternity as it uses the commonly used programming language (Java) that is primarily an open source technology. The applications or programs written on this platform behave in a controlled manner and will not interfere with other programs or the functionality of the hardware (phone). The Androids have set standards in the mobile application market owing to the robust apps that is created on its platform. The developers create large number of android applications and these get virally distributed over the millions of Smartphones around the world. Though the mobile devices are battery powered systems with limited memory and CPU strength, this mobile OS is optimized for these devices appropriately. Thus, with an open source culture of the Android platform the scope of app quality improvement and customization is vast and achievable.
The Google-led mobile OS can be customized with regards to the data storage, short messaging system service, 3D graphics and many just features. All these come at minimal costs and with barely any new additions in the existing infrastructure.
Androids will be more wanted with advancements in mhealth and NFC (Near Field Communication) as well. mhealth applications strive well in developing countries only when it is built on open source platforms. With NFC dealing with monetary transactions, open sourced and secured platforms will be preferred to deploy NFC apps on handhelds. As the NFC installation will be done on a large scale, the investment has to be minimal. Androids will fit in the requirements of NFC perfectly.
With the Androids’ benefits lie the major limitations of the technology. The open source nature of the technology makes it vulnerable to malwares. Malicious android apps create a stir in the app market place and the users are likely to be plundered away. With the Google’s Mobile OS available on every Smartphone, it is on a high probability that critical data of the individuals like the credit card credentials to important contacts can be exposed to unauthorized individuals. With nightmare like experiences predicted with the Google’s platform, the solution for the security of Android has been framed. An automated scanning function has been released that will fish out any malicious software that is expected to create havoc. Though no security measures guarantee a foolproof, a solution like a Bouncer is handy to filter a possible disaster. Thus, in all threats for this open source mobile OS, the preference of Google OS has not faded at all.
Since 2002, Endeavour - The Mobility Company, has remained focused on strategic mobile consulting & mobile application development. Endeavour's strategic consulting practice brings best mobility practices and has helped large organizations and fortune 500 companies with articulating their enterprise mobility strategies and implementation road-maps. Endeavour's expertise spans across all mobile operating platforms including the big 4 - Android application development, iPhone Application development, BlackBerry application development, and Windows Phone development.