Android Apps Security

Android Architecture

Google entered the mobile phone market in a style that only multibillion-dollar companies can

afford: it bought a company. In 2005, Google, Inc. purchased Android, Inc. At the time, Android

was relatively unknown, despite having four very successful people as its creators. Founded

by Andy Rubin, Rich Miner, Chris White, and Nick Sears in 2003, Android flew under the radar,

developing an operating system for mobile phones. With a quest to develop a smarter mobile

phone that was more aware of its owner’s preferences, the team behind the Android operating

system toiled away in secrecy. Admitting only that they were developing software for mobile

phones, the team remained quiet about the true nature of the Android operating system until the

acquisition in 2005.

With the full might of Google’s resources behind it, Android development increased at a rapid

pace. By the second quarter of 2011, Android had already captured nearly a 50% market share

in mobile phone operating systems shipped to end users. The four founders stayed on after the

acquisition, with Rubin taking the lead as Senior Vice President of Mobile. The official launch of

version 1.0 of Android took place on September 23, 2008, and the first device to run it was the

HTC Dream (see Figure