Benefits of Android devices

by Rohana JAYALAL

Etisalat held a Forum under the theme 'What can Android do for you?'.

The goal is to give the public a chance to see the limitless possibilities that will be available to them by using Android powered hand held devices.

Android is a software stack for mobile devices that includes an operating system, middleware and key applications.

The Android SDK provides tools and APIs necessary to begin developing applications on the Android platform using the Java programming language.

Operating systems have developed in the last 15 years. Starting from black and white phones to recent smart phones or mini computers, mobile OS has come a long away. Mobile OS has evolved from Palm OS in 1996 to Windows pocket PC in 2000 then to Blackberry OS and Android.

This initiative will see experts from Google as well as leading smartphone manufacturers showing off some of the latest developments in the Android mobile operating system and the latest smartphones and tablet PCs that support Android OS.

The widely used operating system designed for mobile devices by IT giant Google, Android, has become a staple in many of today's smart phones and tablet PCs; over the last two years Android smartphones have become the fastest selling smartphones on the market. Used across a wide variety of devices, more and more mobile device manufacturers, such as Samsung and Huawei, are opting to build Android supported products.

Etisalat's CEO, Dumindra Ratnayaka, said "We understand that the role of mobile telecommunication provider is changing, today people are looking to satisfy an ever increasing amount of their computing needs using mobile devices, and understanding the way that application based operating systems such as Android work, will be key if we are to move forward.

Etisalat's Senior Marketing Manager Postpay & Mobile Broadband, Gamika De Silva said Etisalat's proactive approach to dealing with the evolution of telecommunication technology,The days of mobile-service operators simply marketing products to consumers have passed.

Today's consumers are the driving force behind technological evolution globally, application based operating systems like Android need tech savvy users to not only maximize their potential but also to become app developers and develop the applications that will address the needs of customers.

What we have always been striving for, first with the AppZone and now with the Android Forum, is to provide platforms and knowledge base required to empower local technocrats to be driving forces in IT development, on par with international counterparts.