Google demonstrated its almost completed operating system for mobile devices, Android, during its recent I/O 2008 conference for developers held in San Francisco.

In addition to a set of core applications including an email client, SMS, calendar, maps, browser and contact listings, Android allows the use of Google Maps Street View and will offer several iPhone-like touch screen capabilities.

Android, which is based on Linux operating system, was announced in November 2007 with the founding of the Open Handset Alliance.

The Open Handset Alliance is a group of more than 30 technology and mobile companies who have come together to accelerate innovation in mobile and offer consumers a richer, less expensive, and better mobile experience. Together we have developed Android™, the first complete, open, and free mobile platform. We are committed to commercially deploy handsets and services using the Android Platform in the second half of 2008. [Open Handset Alliance]

Developers are encouraged to create applications for the platform using the Android SDK (Software Development Kit). Applications are written using the Java programming language and run on Dalvik, a custom virtual machine designed for embedded use which runs on top of a Linux kernel.

Android Features:

• Application framework enabling reuse and replacement of components
• Dalvik virtual machine optimized for mobile devices
• Integrated browser based on the open source WebKit engine
• Optimized graphics powered by a custom 2D graphics library; 3D graphics based on the OpenGL ES 1.0 specification (hardware acceleration optional)
• SQLite for structured data storage
• Media support for common audio, video, and still image formats (MPEG4, H.264, MP3, AAC, AMR, JPG, PNG, GIF)
• GSM Telephony (hardware dependent)
• Bluetooth, EDGE, 3G, and WiFi (hardware dependent)
• Camera, GPS, compass, and accelerometer (hardware dependent)
• Rich development environment including a device emulator, tools for debugging, memory and performance profiling, and a plugin for the Eclipse IDE