The Rise of Android Mobile Operating System

Android has emerged as the best-selling mobile phone platform worldwide according to research firm, Canalys. There are over 300 million Android devices in use as of February 2012. According to Google, every day more than 700,000 Android devices are activated worldwide from 21 OEMs in 48 countries and on 59 carriers.
Android achieved a major milestone by reaching 500,000 applications in October 2011and it took only 3 years to achieve the milestone. Android Market is now the number two app store with over 550,000 apps surpassing BlackBerry, Windows Phone 7 Marketplace and Nokia's OVI store which are way behind Apple and Android. Android Market has registered more than 10 billion application downloads as of December 2011.
The Android Market made its entry in October 2008 with just 34 apps and 9 games. It suddenly witnessed a spurt in available applications with a whopping 500% increase in just less than a year. Google is right behind Apple in mobile applications with iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad users having access to more than 500,000 iOS based applications via iTunes App Store. Apple's App Store was launched in July 2008 and it managed to reach the 100,000 milestone in just over 16 months, several months after it achieved 1.5 billion downloads.

Apple presently allows developers to sell apps through its App Store in 100 countries. Android Market is available in 46 countries and Blackberry is available in 65 markets with the support of 6 languages.

Android entered the smartphone OS industry a couple of years back with the release of T-Mobile G1 and it paid off with many handset makers like Motorola, Sony Ericsson and Samsung joining the bandwagon. Android acquired a big chunk of market share within the first year of its release.
Outlook
According to a latest market research report, by 2013 smart phones will grow to represent over 27% of shipments worldwide, with the proportion in some developed markets in Western Europe surpassing 60% and 48% in North America. The recent and upcoming launches of new smartphone operating systems including iOS4, Blackberry OS 6, Symbian 3 and 4 and Windows Phone 7, will help maintain the current trend of heavy growth in the smartphone industry but market share worldwide will still revolve around these four key providers.
Smartphone manufacturers, such as Samsung, Sony Ericsson, LG and Motorola, will use Android platform for their new budget devices that will help Android achieve number one status in North America.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7046814

Best Android Keyboard?

Your keyboard is one the fundamental ways you interact with your Android phone, and whether you use the stock Android keyboard (which is getting an big upgrade in Android 4.1 Jelly Bean) or you've picked up one of our favorite alternative keyboards or prefer a completely different one, we want to know which Android keyboard you think is the best.

The best thing about Android keyboards is that there's one for every type of typist. Whether you prefer speaking to your phone, or having your phone predict what you're about to type, or you hunt and peck no matter which keyboard you use, there's an option for you. Which one do you think is the best? Leave your vote in the comments below.
The call for contenders is closed! To see which of your nominees made the top five, head over to the Five Best Android Keyboards to see and vote for the all-out winner!
Hive Five nominations take place in the comments, where you post your favorite tool for the job. We get hundreds of comments, so to make your nomination clear, please include it at the top of your comment like so: VOTE: BEST ANDROID KEYBOARD. Please don't include your vote in a reply to another commenter. Instead, make your vote and reply separate comments. If you don't follow this format, we may not count your vote. To prevent tampering with the results, votes from first-time commenters may not be counted. After you've made your nomination, let us know what makes it stand out from the competition.
About the Hive Five: The Hive Five feature series asks readers to answer the most frequently asked question we get: "Which tool is the best?" Once a week we'll put out a call for contenders looking for the best solution to a certain problem, then YOU tell us your favorite tools to get the job done. Every weekend, we'll report back with the top five recommendations and give you a chance to vote on which is best. For an example, check out last week's five best home Wi-Fi routers.