Android comes of age – how Google made a mobile masterpiece

In a little over two years, Google Android has gone from the search giant's biggest gamble to a surefire winner. It has been introduced into the market in wide range of mobile handsets and sees them compete with the leading smartphones. Read on for the story of how Android came of age… and a showcase of the best phones to try it out on…

What is Android?

Starting life as a wild, web-based rumour, Android quickly gained a reputation as an excellent alternative to other closed-down operating systems. Google Android is open-source, which means that anyone can develop using its code to create apps and then upload them to its App Store - Android Market. More than that, Android can be "skinned". This means that mobile makers can use their own tweaked software over the top of Android’s basic menus to create something fresh, different and entirely in tune with the new ways in which we use the web on our phones or other portable devices.
And doubtless, this is why technology fanatics and enthusiasts love it so much. Its customisable abilities mark it out from rivals and have led to some truly astonishing handsets in recent months. Top of the pile at the moment is the HTC Desire, a truly world-class smartphone that not only includes best-in-class specs, but also looks the part too and boasts a 1Ghz processor.

Key capabilities

Android has a number of core features that sets it apart from its rivals. First off, it’s integrated into Google seamlessly. You’ll need a Gmail account to get started, but then your Gmail is automatically set up on the device. And on top of that, you get core Google skills, such as Google Maps and Google Voice, that you won’t find anywhere else.
The HTC Desire utilises the very latest Android 2.1 software. That means it has Google Goggles, a search tool which uses the phone’s excellent five megapixel camera to full effect. You take a picture of an object or a landmark and the Goggles app will scan it and return with results direct from Google. It’s a novel extra that other mobiles can’t match.
As mentioned, Android Market is central to the operating system’s success. Rather than being centrally controlled, Android Market is taken care of by users who rate apps. The extras are vast and range from customer service direct phone number apps to social networking add-ons for the likes of Facebook and Twitter.

HTC Sense and Android

Facebook and Twitter are really handled with aplomb by the HTC Desire, thanks to its HTC Sense-overlaid skin. It has an extra feature called Friend Stream, which aggregates all of your social networking contacts from Facebook, Twitter and Flickr into one homescreen, accessible just by swiping the HTC Desire’s multitouch 3.7-inch AMOLED screen to one side.
Because Android can be customised in this way, it makes the phones it comes on some of the most adaptable on the market. And there’s no denying the HTC Desire is top of the pile when it comes to Android phones. Its Leap feature, which lets you squeeze your fingers across the panel to reveal all seven homescreens, is a masterstroke of design.
Android also focuses on the delivery of real-time information via RSS feeds, which can be added to one of the HTC Desire’s homescreens, meaning you don’t even need to delve into the web browser to get your headline fix. And it’s worth noting that Android handsets can handle multitasking – running many apps simultaneously.

Other Android handsets worth considering

HTC Legend: A smaller phone than the HTC Desire, with a 3.2-inch screen, this is a design fanatic’s dream, with an aluminium unibody structure and minimalist looks. It also runs Android 2.1 and has the same HTC Sense skin as the HTC Desire.
Sony Ericsson Xperia X10: Using Android (although an older software version than the HTC Desire), the X10 has a different skin, dubbed UX. It uses its own Timescape and Mediascape functions to aggregate news and social networking content, as well as all of your music, video and pics.
Google Nexus One: Built by HTC for Google, this is very similar to the HTC Desire, but uses "vanilla" Android. That means it doesn’t have a custom skin, just a standard Android menu system, as seen on original devices such as the T-Mobile G1.