Using Android in Education for Mobile Device Development

Short Description
In the growing world of technology, cellular devices have quickly emerged as one of the fastest evolving fields. They have increased greatly in both popularity and complexity, requiring more advanced operating systems and applications to meet the demands of the con- sumer. Android is a software stack designed to meet these demands in an open source environment. The project is currently being developed and funded by the Open Handset Alliance, which includes companies such as Google and T-Mobile. Android includes an operating system, middleware, and key applications, as well as a Software Development Kit (SDK) for developers to create their own applications for the An- droid environment. Due to its open source license and tools provided, Android is an ideal platform for bringing the mobile market to the educational realm.

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Content
This paper describes in detail what Android is, its architecture, and why developers should choose Android to develop in a mobile de- vice platform environment. The paper also discusses the basic hard- ware requirements for porting the current version of Android to real hardware. Finally, it discusses some of the obstacles we are faced with, our achievements with porting Android to a Nokia N800 and a Sharp Zaurus SL-C3200, and the lessons we learned during this process.
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1 What is Android?
Android is a software stack currently being developed by Google for mobile devices. In 2007 the Open Handset Alliance was formed, which consists of more than 30 technology and mobile companies such as Intel, HTC, Mo- torola, etc. This alliance is headed by Google, with each company helping to develop open standards for mobile devices. Android is the first complete and open mobile platform using this new standard. Android uses a Linux kernel (version 2.6) to achieve many core system services such as memory management, security, and even a network stack to provide a secure and sta- ble environment for its architecture. The overlying software consists of three parts that work together to form a working software stack for mobile devices. Android includes its own userspace on top of the Linux kernel, which contains the APIs necessary for Android applications. It is also responsible coordi- nating activities that take place within the computer. Above the operating system lies middleware components. This is the software that connects soft- ware components or other applications to each other. Middleware is used to distribute services across multiple processes running on the computer. Key applications combine to form the final part of Android. This includes the basic applications found on most smart phones that are on the market today. A browser, contact list, map application, and the phone software itself are all key applications that are found within the Android architecture.
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