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Android is a free, open source, Linux based mobile operating system that became the most popular OS used by mobile phones in the US as of the middle of 2010. Android has come a far way since it was acquired by Google in 2005 and the the open handset alliance between technology heavyweights like Samsung, Motorola, Spring, HTC, Intel, Texas Instruments etc announced in November 2007. Its growth has been rapid and with new updates and improvements being made regularly it doesn’t look like it will be slowing down any time soon.

I have been following the rise of Android for a few years now as it surpassed WIndows Mobile, Apple’s iOS, Palm and Symbian in the charts. I surfed into an interesting article recently entitled “The five factors powering the Android revolution”  that was really well written and hits the nail right on the head on some of the factors that have contributed to the rise of the Android OS and I thought I’d share snippets of the article with the Geezam.com readers.

How is it that Android has pulled off such a massive coup so quickly? Here are the top five factors that are fueling the Android revolution:

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5. Anti-Apple sentiment

It’s easy to argue that Android is an iPhone knock-off. After all, when Google was originally working on a mobile platform, it was much more similar to BlackBerry or Windows Mobile with a smaller screen and a hardware keyboard. But then, Apple changed the smartphone game in January 2007 with the introduction of the iPhone.

4. The power of the Google brand

Remember that Android is open source and based on Linux. However, it has succeeded in the mobile market while Linux has yet to make a major impact on the personal computer market, even after a decade of predictions that it would eventually displace Windows.

3. Ecosystem melee

The Android ecosystem might best be described as barely-organized chaos. That’s partly just the nature of a popular open source project, where the product can be morphed and forked in lots of different ways. The difference in the Android ecosystem is that there’s so many different tech heavyweights that have a stake in it. On the manufacturer side, we’ve got Samsung, HTC, and Motorola who are already involved in a big way. And, in the near future we’ve got Acer, ASUS, Lenovo, Dell, NEC, Sharp, Toshiba, and others that are planning to get a lot more serious about Android.

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2. Developer momentum

In a recent survey of developers, 72% said Android is “best positioned to power a large number and variety of connected devices in the future.” Just 25% said the same thing about Apple’s iOS. A lot of those developers are making a nice chunk of their current income from iPhone and iPad apps, while still betting on Android in the long term.

1. Relentless innovation

With so many different stakeholders — tech manufacturers, wireless carriers, software developers, and Google itself — betting on Android, 2010 has witnessed an almost-continual parade of new Android devices, Android apps, custom Android UIs, and new Android partners.

Read full article on ZDNET – The five factors powering the Android revolution

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