Mobile Devices - An Introduction to the Android Operating Environment Design, Architecture, and Performance Implications

With the worldwide proliferation of mobile devices, reliability, availability, connectivity, as well as performance related concerns, similar to the once encountered on traditional IT server systems, became paramount. On the smartphone and internet tablet side, one of the fastest growing solutions are Android based products (source digitimes 2010). While Android based systems get a lot of exposure in the media, there is a lot of myth surrounding the actual implementation details. Some people label Android as a Linux solution, which really does not reflect the facts. Ergo, this report discusses the major components that comprise the Android operating environment, elaborating on the Android design and architecture (the building blocks), as well as addressing the Android verses Linux question.