Android is an Open Source Mobile Operating System (OS) developed by Google. These operating systems (OS) are primarily used in smartphones and tablet computers but have now also been used in Smart Televisions (TVs), Cars, wrist watches, game consoles, digital cameras, regular Personal Computers (PCs) and Laptops, and even eye glasses.
Android dominates the worldwide smartphone operating system (OS) market share with 84.4 percent of all devices running Android. More than 1,000,000,000 (1 Billion) Android devices have been used and the number is increasing at a very fast pace. It has the largest market presence of any operating system (OS) and getting into the application market opens a sea of opportunities and being left behind is a bane.
All other devices and operating systems have been on a decrease like Microsoft Windows and Apple’s iOS, while Google’s Android is eating up in their share. It has the highest number of Apps for any Operating System (OS) with more than 1.3 million apps which have been collectively downloaded from the Google’s Play Store alone more than 50 billion times. If we add the other sources of downloading and installing Android apps, then the number will cross several billion times more.
With such a humongous Android market, a single successful app can pay in millions of dollars or you can make several apps and earn a living from it. If you are already a programmer and have experience in programming from other platforms, then you can begin learning about Android software. But if you don’t have any IT experience, then you too can begin learning about Mobile with Android. If you are neither a programmer, nor do you intend to learn about programming, but you have an idea for an app, then you can hire a professional programmer, who can build an app as per your idea. Let us take a look at all the aforementioned ideas.
If you are a programmer, then learning about Android would be easy and by learning you can start developing several apps and earn a living. If you wish to be a professional programmer for application, either as a part of some company or a freelancer, then learning to do it yourself will be a great option. If you just wish to have an app for your company or product or website, then learning a skill you might not use again might not be the best option.
If you have no programming background, but you wish to become one, then perhaps application is the best option to start. But again, if you do not intend to become a professional programmer, then learning such a skill can be time-consuming. There is always a learning curve involved and you’d need to spend considerable amount of time, money and efforts to learn programming from scratch.
If you are not a programmer, nor do you intend to be one, then too you can benefit from Android by hiring a professional programmer and outsource your ideas to him and he will make the app based on your ideas. If you just want to have an app for your company or your website or product, then this is perhaps the best option. Or if you think you have several creative ideas, but can’t be bothered with programming, then you can let someone else do it and you can still make a living by publishing those Android apps.
This way the app will be made on your precise specifications and will have all the functions and features you or your company needs and will leave out all the choices that you don’t need. Thus, there will be no confusion of the cluttering features from an off-the-shelf software. You can also have your company’s logo and color theme on the App to completely tailor it for your needs.
There are several companies and freelance Android programmers who can get the job done for you. So if you think you have a million dollar idea or if you think your company can use an App which can help improve productivity, then you can choose to use their services.
application being an open source Operating System (OS) makes it easy to develop. Not only can you make Apps for it, but you can make a completely different look, feel and feature modification for the application Operating System itself. There are several such modified Android Mods available and people love to use such custom ROMs. There are custom ROMs that change the look and feel of the Android OS, then there are those that boost performance or battery life, there are others which add or modify functionality or change the interface of the Android Operating System (OS) too.
Thus there are developers who bring Operating System (OS) updates using the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) source code and often bring the updates before the original manufacturer rolls out the official updates and often the active developer community brings updates to older devices that no longer receive official Operating System (OS) updates from the manufacturer.