Читать книгу Android Smartphones For Seniors For Dummies - Marsha Collier - Страница 12

Android is the operating system on the majority of the world’s smartphones. It’s an open source operating system led by Google (according to https://source.android.com):

As an open source project, Android’s goal is to avoid any central point of failure in which one industry player can restrict or control the innovations of any other player.

Translation: If you come up with a device, you too can use the Android operating system to power it for free. (I’m not that smart.)

I believe that much of the magic of Android lies with Google Mobile Services (GMS) — the collection of apps and functionalities that make the Android ecosystem a useful environment.

As an Android user, you may wonder why you feel more comfortable using the operating system. The answer is a surprise to many: the Android mobile operating system is based on Linux (another open source operating system) and many Microsoft patents. The influence of these two giants in the software world accounts for the familiarity, and thus the comfort, you may feel when using an Android device. The nearby sidebar “The scope of Microsoft involvement” gives a quick look at the Android–Microsoft connection.

Note that many Android phones come with Microsoft Office preinstalled. Also, did you know that you can send text messages on your phone from your Windows desktop PC? Android phone owners can just go to messages.google.com/web to connect the devices.