Indagiye Sibomana 1

Fiacre Indagiye Sibomana

Ms. Deby Dagher
UWRT 1102-028
22 April 2015
The history, purpose, and impact of Android
The word Android has many different meanings depending on the person and the
experience that they have had with Android. Some people know Android as being a robot in
movies or other TV shows. The android that I am very interested in, as the article Compute this
Google Chrome OS and Google Android OS says: Google Android [http://www.android.com] is
an open source operating system and API developed for mobile devices, essentially smart
cellphones, but it can run on other kinds of computing devices (Compute) this means, Android
is an operating system that is flexible enough to be used on many other computer devices and
appliances. I have used android for three years, and I am now realizing that Android is much
more than just an Operating System. What is Android, what is its purpose and history?
Android was officially released to the public on Oct 21, 2008 as the article Compute this:
Google Chrome OS and Google Android OS. Says: Google released the Android system as an
open source project on Oct. 21, 2008, through its Open Handset Alliance, a group of 47
technology and mobile companies who have come together to accelerate innovation in mobile
and offer consumers a richer, less expensive, and better mobile experience.(Compute) This
explains the objective of Google and other mobile companies while creating Android. Android
was created to improve technology. Mobile operating systems where already invented but, they
were controlled by companies who created them. Android is used mostly in phones but it can
also be used in many other different devices such as fridges and tablets because it is open source.

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As mentioned, Google intended Android to be an open source project. I did not know
exactly what that meant, I found out that open source means that Google releases the operating
system software and allows everyone else to customize it and make it suitable to their mobile
devices or any other appliances. But of course openness just like freedom, different people have
their own interpretations of how open exactly open can be.
The question of exactly how open android is, has always been a very big debate among
users and developers of Android. Some people believe that Android is too open for users to
customize it however that they want. When using Android if you do not like the music app that
came with your phone, it is easy to get a new music app. The same goes with anything else on
Android, there are many options to choose from. But of course, some developers believe that it
should be more open. For example Cyanogenmod is a company that customizes android, to
create its own version of Android that is more customizable than the one that Google creates.
Cyanogenmod says that Google sets Android free, but still keeps it relying on Googles
applications. Google has its own applications that are integrated in Android. Google play is the
application store for Android and is run by Google. Without an application store, the phone is
almost useless because it needs applications to make almost all of its functions.
The article Google phone rising: The Android and the politics of open source discusses
the issues behind the openness of Android mostly focusing on the relationship between Google
and other companies. The article says: I argue that in key respects it remains tied to the project
of media corporations enclosing and controlling mobile and online platforms. This is nowhere
more evident than in Googles embroilment in intellectual property struggles over smartphone
patents. (Goggin) This article explains that android is just a way that Google is using to have
and control users information, at the same time making money with other media corporations.

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This article takes a controversial side to discuss that Android is not really open source, and that
as mentioned Google is just using Android for its own personal interest.
The article is a peer reviewed article and it makes some goods points about Google trying
to make money, but there is more to Googles plan than making money. Most of Googles
services are free and open to the public, the easiest example is Googles search engine. Everyone
uses Google search engine if Google were to charge for using it, Google would make more
money than its other projects.
Although this is a peer reviewed article, I decided to dig deeper to find how Android
being open source really affect developers and user of Android. There are many stories of
Android developers around the world, who are successful because of the fact that Android is
open source. I visited the Android developers forums to see where they stand on the openness of
android. There are many kinds of Android developers. Some developers wait for Google to
release Android, they start working on it by customizing it to work on old devices that were not
able to receive the update from Google. These developers are the ones that also move android to
other appliances and devices across the globe. The next type of developers make apps, they
communicate with users on that forum to find what kind of apps that users might need to be
created. Most Android developers work for free, they might have other jobs on the side or make
some money on their app. Creating an app takes time and hard work but they work hard to get
technology to the rest of the world.
Vincenzo Colucci is an Android developer who created a launcher that allows users to
customize the looks of their home screens. Vincenzo Colucci lives in Manfredonia, Southern
Italy where he uses his computer and internet connection to connect with the rest of the android
developer community and share ideas with users of his app. (Android) The openness of Android

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allows him to make his idea of what a home screen should look like come true and share it with
all of the other Android users.
Android has a very big impact on the world. In the 2005 Google had an idea to share
technology across the world by giving African students small computers that run a modified
version of Android. Nowadays young children use tablets that run a modified version of Android
that contains games that trick children into learning the alphabet and other words.
Starting this research, I wanted to discover the origin and the impact of Android. As I
kept researching, I realized that I was mostly interested in Android as an open source project. I
investigated how Android being open source affect users, developers and the whole world.
Android being open source is beneficial for everyone. My experience with Android was the best,
I chose android over other operating systems because it allows me to customize every aspect of
my phone this make my phone says more enjoyable and personal. I would recommend other
companies who make phones to make their software open source. When a software is open
source, it allows developers and users to create a community that changes the world of
technology into a better a more connected place.

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Works Cited
Compute This: Google Chrome OS and Google Android OS." Searcher 18.4 (2010): 30. Web. 11
Feb. 2015.
Goggin, Gerard. "Google Phone Rising: The Android and The Politics Of Open
Source." Continuum: Journal Of Media & Cultural Studies 26.5 (2012): 741752. Communication & Mass Media Complete. Web. 26 Feb. 2015.
"Android Forum for Mobile Phones, Tablets, Watches & Android App
Development." Xdadevelopers RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Feb. 2015.
Android Developer Story: GinLemon." YouTube. YouTube, 24 Feb. 2015. Web. 26 Feb. 2015
"Android 5.0, Lollipop." Android. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Feb. 2015.

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The suggestions that I received from my two reviewers took two different type of
reviews. The first reviewer followed the handout, the reviewer read the essay and gave me
feedback on the entire paper. The first reviewer asked me some specifics about the decisions that
I made in the essay. For example, he asked me why I chose Android over IOS. The next reviewer
focused on the spelling and grammar of the essay. I used one idea to explain my experience with
Android in my essay.
The feedback that I gave focused first on the entire essay. I reviewed an essay on hip hop,
I am very familiar with hip hop and all its different types. I gave the writer some information he
can use such as other artists that he can use to represent artists that went from the underground to
mainstream. I also told him to get a review from someone who does not have a background in
hip hop. The next essay that I reviewed was about mental health, I asked questions that would
help the other reader understand the paper. I also tried to correct some grammar mistakes made
in the essay.