The chief reason why android apps development is preferred by a number of developers across the world is that it is open source. The open source development environment is the one in which the open source code is freely available and modifiable. There is no need to pay for any licensing fees for using it. Millions of developers across the world use this operating system for Android apps development.

Its open source nature has decreased the development cost and made android applications affordable for businesses. Developers have joined marketers to create android apps using strategic advertising methods that can help the businesses reach more consumers. Businesses have invested in Android apps and are using different methods to market the applications. The growth of android apps development has resulted in the creation of a number of android apps in areas of health, education, entertainment, business etc.

Every business can get an edge over its competitors by employing different ways to create a unique application. Just creating the application is not enough it is also important to market it in the most strategic way.

Images are bigger, icons are clearer, and from what we’ve seen it looks to be a big improvement that falls in line withGoogle’s new-found focus on design. That said, we’ll have to wait for it to roll out completely before passing further judgement — some users on Android 2.2 and above should start seeing it from today, but Google says it’ll take a few weeks to reach everyone.

Android is an open source framework that is utilized to build mobile applications. It is the most dominating operating system in the mobile apps development market. Android apps development has opened up a world of opportunities for android apps developers as well as for businesses and marketers. The engaging games provided by the platform keep users hooked to it. Applications that are useful for business consumers also get wide popularity as soon as they are launched on the market. The android applications can be developed for various types of businesses.

Android offers an enormous collection of libraries which can be utilized to extend the functionalities of an application. Android Software Development Kit (SDK) helps developers in the process of creating exceptional and interactive applications that may improve the utilization of the device. With the help of Android OS, developers can feel free to transform their dream ideas into reality. This results in the creation of innovative applications.

For an application to be exceptional it should be both robust and scalable. There are a number of companies that offer expert android apps development services. These companies hire professional developers who are experienced in working across various industry verticals. They are well equipped with the development tools and have profound knowledge on the framework. If you want your android application development to yield benefits and business profits, then you should hire a technically sound and skilled Android apps developer. Using android apps development, you can take your business to the next level by contributing to its growth and popularity.

Google’s first foray into mobile phones was an upsetting affair. The company whose search engine changed the world had been rumoured to be planning something equally revolutionary in a sphere dominated by the iPhone. Rumours had swirled of a phone that was free – one that would be, like most other Google products, supported by advertising.

What we got was a slightly clunky new operating system, a regular contract and a brick-like phone, the G1, that sported a slide-out keyboard that was more Red Dwarf than Star Trek. Commentators at the time, including myself in this newspaper, said that it was, if anything, the very gentle lappings of the water at the beginning of a new wave.

Tomorrow, however, Vodafone launches the Nexus One in Britain. It’s the first handset that Google has designed, and it’s the first that genuinely begins to realise the potential of the company’s operating system, Android. The device offers total integration with email, the web and third-party applications in a way that even the iPhone has yet to offer, especially at this price.

Indeed, while the iPhone dominates media coverage, it’s only 2 per cent of the market. Just 20 per cent of it has anything that could be called a smartphone, the devices that are basically mini-computers that make phone calls. BlackBerries and iPhones are cutting edge, not mass market.

Google’s Android, however, is likely to change that. There are around 20 handsets running the system on the market and because the system can be used and adapted freely by any manufacturer, it’s available from Samsung, Sony Ericsson and soon even budget manufacturers such as Alcatel.

At some point in the next few years, it won’t be a surprise if the majority of all handsets are running a version of Google’s operating system, just as the vast majority of British web searches use Google’s search engine. It’s simply the market at work – free and effective, Android offers a compelling option for both manufacturers and consumers. It will probably also kill of the satnav market because every phone offers a free Google Maps navigation and turn-by-turn directions.

There is, however, a problem for the Nexus One – although Google and the first operator to have it, Vodafone, will give the device an almighty marketing push, Google’s handset is not the best device available with Android. HTC, which has been at the forefront of Android hardware, has already produced the Desire. Essentially, it’s a souped-up Nexus One, offering a nicer screen, a better trackball and a faster processor. That means everything works faster. The Desire is free on a two-year contract at about £30 per month. The Nexus One is only on Vodafone at a similar price.

So Google’s tanks are on Apple’s lawn. The search giant doesn’t yet offer the eco-system of products and services that makes Apple’s iPhone so ubiquitous because there are too many Android handsets of different shapes and sizes. But make no mistake – Google will change the bulk of the market, will put the web and music in the majority of people’s pockets, and will probably not charge you a penny for it. There are few products that really make life both easier and cheaper – but Android is one of them.

Resource:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/google/7647230/Will-Android-eat-Apple.html

HTC Corp., which makes Google’s Nexus One mobile phone, has agreed to pay under a patent licensing agreement, Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft said in a statement today without disclosing the amount. Motorola Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. also make mobile devices that use Android.

Microsoft has been talking “with several device manufacturers to address our concerns relative to the Android mobile platform,” Horacio Gutierrez, the company’s deputy general counsel for intellectual property and licensing, said in an e-mailed statement without naming the companies involved.

Google, owner of the world’s most popular search engine, offers Android for free to handset companies, and seeks to make money instead from selling advertising tied to Android users’ searches and application uses. Microsoft’s demands expand the legal issues around Android and raise the possibility of more companies seeking royalties, said Michael Gartenberg, a partner at research firm Altimeter Group.

“The message is so not subtle — Android is not free and not only is not free, it can start being quite expensive over time,” Gartenberg said. “The irony of the fact is that for every HTC Android phone that ships, Microsoft will get a check.”

Dealing With Microsoft

Rob Enderle, principal analyst for the Enderle Group in San Jose, California, estimates that HTC and most other handset manufacturers would have to pay Microsoft $20 to $40 per phone to license the intellectual property required for Android.

Unless Google somehow figures out how to ax this cost, “Android is going to fall off as an expensive and risky platform,” he said. “Nobody wants to deal with Microsoft.”

Apple Inc. already has a patent-infringement complaint pending against HTC over phones that run on Android. Research In Motion Ltd., Nokia Oyj and Palm Inc. are among the device makers that might claim to have patent rights to Android, Gartenberg said.

HTC, based in Taoyuan, Taiwan, also makes phones that run on Microsoft’s Windows Mobile operating system.

Anthony House, a spokesman for Mountain View, California- based Google, said the company isn’t ready to comment on the matter.

Apple Case

Apple, maker of the iPhone, is seeking to block U.S. imports of HTC phones that run on Android. That case is pending before the U.S. International Trade Commission in Washington.

In a March 15 blog posting, Gutierrez said the Apple case is proof that the mobile phone industry “is in the process of sorting out what royalties will be” for the software that adds the features such as Internet access and downloading capabilities.

He said Microsoft has “consistently taken a proactive approach to licensing.” The company, which is typically defending itself against four dozen patent-infringement suits at any given time, isn’t known for filing lawsuits over its own patents. Since 2007, the company has filed two patent lawsuits against companies that didn’t sue it first, according to Bloomberg data.

Resource:
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-04-29/microsoft-says-google-s-android-may-infringe-patents-correct-.html