STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT OF ANDROID OS

SUBMITTED BY :ATUL LOTANKAR R RAJKUMAR 201084 - 2010116

RAHUL RADHAKRISHNAN - 2010118

ANDROID OS
About OS
An operating system (OS) is a set of programs that manages computer hardware resources, and provides common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system. Without an operating system, a user cannot run an application program on their computer, unless the application program is self booting. the operating system acts as an intermediary between application programs and the computer hardware. Examples of popular modern operating systems include Android, iOS, Linux,Mac OS X and Microsoft Windows

What is Android?
Android delivers a complete set of software for mobile devices: an operating system, a middleware and key mobile applications. Android was built from the ground-up to enable developers to create compelling mobile applications that take full advantage of all a handset has to offer. It was built to be truly open. Android is built on the open Linux Kernel. It utilizes a custom virtual machine that was designed to optimize memory and hardware resources in a mobile environment. Android is open source. It can be liberally extended to incorporate new cutting edge technologies as they emerge. The platform will continue to evolve as the developer community works together to build innovative mobile applications. Android does not differentiate between the phone's core applications and third-party applications. They can all be built to have equal access to a phone's capabilities providing users with a broad spectrum of applications and services. With devices built on the Android Platform, users are able to fully tailor the phone to their interests. Android breaks down the barriers to building new and innovative applications. For example, a developer can combine information from the web with data on an individuals mobile phone -- such as the user's contacts, calendar, or geographic location -- to provide a more relevant user experience. With Android, a developer can build an application that enables users to view the location of their friends and be alerted when they are in the vicinity, giving them a chance to connect.

Origin of Android OS
Foundation
Android, Inc. was founded in Palo Alto, California, United States in October, 2003 by Andy Rubin (co-founder of Danger), Rich Miner (co-founder of Wildfire Communications, Inc.), Nick Sears (once VP at T-Mobile), and Chris White (headed design and interface development at WebTV) to develop, in Rubin's words "...smarter mobile devices that are more aware of its owner's location and preferences"

Acquisition by Google
Google acquired Android Inc. in August 2005, making Android Inc. a wholly owned subsidiary of Google Inc. Key employees of Android Inc., including Andy Rubin, Rich Miner and Chris White, stayed at the company after the acquisition. Not much was known about Android Inc. at the time of the acquisition, but many assumed that Google was planning to enter the mobile phone market with this move.

Open Handset Alliance

On November 5, 2007, the Open Handset Alliance, a consortium of several companies which include BroadcomCorporation, Google, HTC, Intel, LG, Marvell Technology Group, Motorola, Nvidia, Qualcomm, Samsung Electronics, Sprint Nextel, TMobile and Texas Instruments unveiled itself. The goal of the Open Handset Alliance is to develop open standards for mobile devices. On the same day, the Open Handset Alliance also unveiled their first product, Android, a mobile deviceplatform built on the Linux kernel version 2.6. On December 9, 2008, 14 new members joined, including ARM Holdings, Atheros Communications, Asustek Computer Inc,Garmin Ltd, Huawei Technologies, PacketVideo, Softbank, Sony Ericsson, Toshiba Corp, and Vodafone Group Plc.

Products/Services
Gmail-Gmail is a free, advertising-supported email service provided by Google. Gtalk - Google Talk is a freeware voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) client application offered by Google Inc.It is used for instant messaging and chat application.

Picasa - Picasa is an image organizer and image viewer for organizing and editing digital photos, plus an integrated photo-sharing website.

Youtube - YouTube is a video-sharing website on which users can upload, share and view videos.

Google Maps - Google Maps (formerly Google Local) is a web mapping service application and technology provided by Google, free (for non-commercial use), that powers many mapbased services, including the Google Maps website. Market - Android Market is an online software store developed by Google for Android OS devices. It allows users to browse and download apps published by third-party developers. Users can also search for and read detailed information about apps on the Android Market website.

FeaturesHandset layouts
The platform is adaptable to larger, VGA, 2D graphics library, 3D graphics library based on OpenGL ES 2.0 specifications, and traditional smartphone layouts.

Storage
SQLite, a lightweight relational database, is used for data storage purposes.

Connectivity
Android supports connectivity technologies including GSM/EDGE, IDEN, CDMA, EV-DO, UMTS, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, LTE, NFC and WiMAX.

Messaging
SMS and MMS are available forms of messaging, including threaded text messaging and now Android Cloud To Device Messaging Framework (C2DM) is also a part of Android Push Messaging service.

Multiple language support

Android supports multiple human languages. The number of languages more than doubled for the platform 2.3 Gingerbread.

Web browser
The web browser available in Android is based on the open-source WebKit layout engine, coupled with Chrome's V8 JavaScript engine. The browser scores a 95/100 on the Acid3 Test.

Java support
While most Android applications are written in Java, there is no Java Virtual Machine in the platform and Java byte code is not executed. Java classes are compiled into Dalvik executables and run on Dalvik, a specialized virtual machine designed specifically for Android and optimized for battery-powered mobile devices with limited memory and CPU. J2ME support can be provided via third-party applications.

Media support
Android supports the following audio/video/still media formats: WebM, H.263, H.264 (in 3GP or MP4 container), MPEG-4 SP, AMR, AMR-WB (in 3GP container), AAC, HE-AAC (in MP4 or 3GP container), MP3, MIDI, Ogg Vorbis, FLAC, WAV, JPEG, PNG, GIF, BMP.

Streaming media support

RTP/RTSP streaming (3GPP PSS, ISMA), HTML progressive download (HTML5 <video> tag). Adobe Flash Streaming (RTMP) and HTTP Dynamic Streaming are supported by the Flash plugin. Apple HTTP Live Streaming is supported by RealPlayer for Mobile,[77] and by the operating system in Android 3.0 (Honeycomb).

Additional hardware support

Android can use video/still cameras, touchscreens, GPS, accelerometers, gyroscopes, magnetometers, dedicated gaming controls, proximity and pressure sensors, thermometers, accelerated 2D bit blits (with hardware orientation, scaling, pixel format conversion) and accelerated 3D graphics.

Multi-touch
Android has native support for multi-touch which was initially made available in handsets such as the HTC Hero. The feature was originally disabled at the kernel level (possibly to avoid infringing Apple's patents on touch-screen technology at the time).[78] Google has since released an update for the Nexus One and the Motorola Droid which enables multitouch natively.

Bluetooth
Supports A2DP, AVRCP, sending files (OPP), accessing the phone book (PBAP), voice dialing and sending contacts between phones. Keyboard, mouse and joystick (HID) support is available in Android 3.1+, and in earlier versions through manufacturer customizations and third-party applications.

Video calling
Android does not support native video calling, but some handsets have a customized version of the operating system that supports it, either via the UMTS network (like the Samsung Galaxy S) or over IP. Video calling through Google Talk is available in Android 2.3.4 and later. Gingerbread allows Nexus S to place Internet calls with a SIP account. This allows for
6

enhanced VoIP dialing to other SIP accounts and even phone numbers. Skype 2.1 offers video calling in Android 2.3, including front camera support.

Multitasking
Multitasking of applications is available.

Voice based features

Google search through voice has been available since initial release. Voice actions for calling, texting, navigation, etc. are supported on Android 2.2 onwards.

Tethering
Android supports tethering, which allows a phone to be used as a wireless/wired Wi-Fi hotspot. Before Android 2.2 this was supported by third-party applications or manufacturer customizations.

Screen capture
Android does not support screenshot capture as of 2011. This is supported by manufacturer and third-party customizations. Screen Capture is available through a PC connection using the DDMS developer's tool.

Market Share and Statistics Market share

Research company Canalys estimated in Q2 2009 that Android had a 2.8% share of worldwide smartphone shipments. By Q4 2010 this had grown to 33% of the market, becoming the top-selling smartphone platform. This estimate includes the Tapas and OMS variants of Android. In February 2010 ComScore said the Android platform had 9.0% of the U.S. smartphone market, as measured by current mobile subscribers. This figure was up from an earlier estimate of 5.2% in November 2009. By the end of Q3 2010 Android's U.S. market share had grown to 21.4%.

In May 2010, Android's first quarter U.S. sales surpassed that of the rival iPhone platform. According to a report by the NPD group, Android achieved 25% smartphone sales in the US market, up 8% from the December quarter. In the second quarter, Apple's iOS was up by 11%, indicating that Android is taking market share mainly from RIM, and still has to compete with heavy consumer demand for new competitor offerings.[119] Furthermore, analysts pointed to advantages that Android has as a multi-channel, multi-carrier OS, which allowed it to duplicate the quick success of Microsoft's Windows Mobile.[120] In Q4 2010 Android had 59% of the total installed user base of Apple's iOS in the U.S. and 46% of the total installed user base of iOS in Europe. As of June 2011 Google said that 550,000 new Android devices were being activated every dayup from 400,000 per day a month earlier in May 2011, and more than 100 million devices have been activated.[18] Android hit 300,000 activations per day back in December 2010. On July 14, 2011 550,000 Android devices are now activated by Google each day with growth 4.4% per week. On the 1st of August 2011 Canalys estimates Android has about 48% of the smartphone market share. On October 13, 2011, Google announced that there are 190 million Android devices in the market.

Strategies:
Reason for entering mobile platform:
With a smartphone in your pocket, Google can not only provide search results for your desired phrases but also mine data about you and provide very precise, personalized and context-aware information based on multiple dimensions. Cellphones are growing at the rate of 1 billion a year and smartphones are expected to reach more than 400 million units by 2013(Exhibit 2). This is a huge revenue opportunity for Google consonant with its core competencies. To achieve this goal Google needs to be not only on your browser but also in your pocket. The best way for Google to be the master of the Smartphone is to be the Smartphone OS. Android, an open-source operating system designed for mobile devices, is Googles push in this area.

Main strategy to gain market share:

Googles strategy is to leverage its added value and attract a unique and capable set of complementors initially. The partnership with these complementors produces an attractive product that entices consumers and in turn forms a positive feedback loop.

Androids added value into this ecosystem comes from Googles core capabilities and competencies. The added-value can be enumerated broadly as the following: Open Source; Low Cost (Zero Licensing Fees); Tight Integration with existing Google apps, e.g. Gmail mobile client; Ability to integrate seamlessly with Googles search products, e.g. voice activated search; Googles reputation. The added-value to the 3 main stakeholders: Developers have the possibility of a ad-based revenue model and a free and powerful platform and SDK. They also have the opportunity to belong to the Android community by making contributions although there are some restrictions in this regard like no adjustments to the OS.8 Carriers potentially mine user data and leverage Googles infrastructure to provide a pushbased service. Handset makers get a free open-source platform that can drive down the cost of their product. Google formed a charter group termed the Open Handset Alliance with 47 members at last count to work with the charter of delivering a richer mobile experience to consumers. It is a statement by Google that they will leverage the areas they are best at i.e. software and collaborate with others in the areas which are not their strength. Strategy for wooing app developers: Open Source Android - An open source platform is typically an effective way to generate interest and attract R&D talent to a software product. $10 Million Challenge - Crowdsourcing as a tool for generating and refining data has become extremely popular. The $10M challenge is another example of Google leveraging this technique to kickstart a whirlwind of development activity on Android at a relatively low-cost. Build Relationships - Google has also worked with other third-party developers like Adobe(flash player), Amazon(MP3) to port their flagship desktops applications. Low Entry Barrier: Google makes it very easy for a developer to move to Android by giving the SDK away for free and using Java as the main programming language
9

 Strategty for wooing handset makers:

Google wants Android to be the mobile platform that is delivered on most handsets. Googles strategy here is to position the added value of (Android + Google apps + Application developers) as a value proposition to handset makers. Handset Makers can either choose to develop their own platform (Nokia) or distribute their handsets across multiple mobile platforms for their handsets(HTC, Motorola). It is a choice between, retaining the flexibility to get seamless hardware/software integration with added R&D expenses OR outsourcing the R&D expense associated with maintaining a mobile platform and concentrating on differentiation in other aspects. Google has also teamed up with a supplier like Qualcomm to develop chipsets that are specifically tuned for Android.

Recommendations:
Provide one version for all devices to avoid fragmentation Better security Better privacy More emphasis on quality rather than quantity.

10