The history of Android operating system involves a journey of past many years. Android versions history starts with the launch of Android 1.0 beta in year 2007. But actually the Android history dates back to 2003 when Android Inc. was founded.

The History of Android

Android Inc. was set up in by a group of four American people Andy Rubin, Rich Miner, Nick Sears and Chris White in late 2003. In Aug., 2005 Google owned Android Inc. making it a wholly-owned subsidiary.  Four years later, late in 2007 the Open Handset Alliance was formed which involved a number of companies  including Google, Broadcom Corporation, HTC, LG, Marvell Technology group, Intel, Motorola, Sprint Nextel, Qualcomm, Samsung electronics, T-Mobile, Texas Instruments and NVIDIA,.

    • Android 1.0

Android 1.0 was launched in 2008 with general design for the OS. Although at the time of its release, Android 1.0 wasn’t widely available, but it came up with several useful features that are still used today. Some of its most notable features include Notification Bar which pulled down to get a preview of SMS, emails etc, and Google Sync.

Furthermore, the version of Android 1.0 was launched with multiple homescreen formats which were something new for the users. It also featured widgets which gave the users quick access to different apps.

    • Android 1.1

Surfaced just one year after the release of 1.0, Android 1.1 was an update to its predecessors. The upgraded iteration of 1.0 fixed certain bugs and added other features such as a Maps update.

    • Android 1.5 Cupcake

Launched in the same year as 1.1, in 2009, Cupcake was the first Android OS version named after sweets. The improved features this version had come up with included addition of widgets for embedded small apps, introduction of copy & paste function to the browser and, most importantly, inclusion of camera functionality among others.

    • Android 1.6 Donut

Just after its release in Sept. 2009, Android 1.6 Donut cleaned-up the operating system and came with advance apps and specifications. Its improved features included an updated Google Search Bar which offered the users a faster internet access and system-wide search, a Task Manager, a Battery usage indicator, upgraded Camera app and multiple others. Furthermore, 1.6 also had support for higher resolution screens.

    • Android 2.0/2.1 Éclairsss

In Éclair, Google introduced new features such as support for HTML5 and free turn-by-turn navigation. Improvement was also brought in OS’s keyboard which in turn also improved typing speed and auto-correction. Bluetooth 2.1 support, improved google maps 3.1, new calendar features, Live Wallpapers, enhanced built-in snapper functions are some other new features included in this version of Android.