Where Is Android Headed? Everywhere!

Android feels young hacker will be digitally everywhere

Ask him how he sees Android head and is convinced that the open source operating system will be mobile ubiquitous, powering digital devices across the board - refrigerators and heaters for any mobile device.

"Let's see what power ... even cars, perhaps," said the promoter of 24 years, Android Portugal. In Bangalore to attend and deliver the keynote address at Droidcon India, the first International Conference of Android in the country, Diogo Ferreira believes that Android has the potential to transform the digital world as we know it. For example, speaks of a Cisco presentation where he saw a smartphone with a tablet built into it (which is done in Android), so when you go to a meeting, you can take the pill from the phone and they do. Being open source, Android, he said, has the potential to go far. "The interesting thing is that is so open that if you want, you can simply take the code and take in any direction."

CyanogenMod

Mr. Ferreira, who is currently pursuing his doctorate, is a well known name in the Android community. In addition to developing applications that have been popular, and contribute to meaningful code, the developer of young people is part of an open source community, CyanogenMod, which maintains a version of Android Community.

Aftermarket firmware for mobile phones based on Android operating system, Android CyanogenMod is a distribution that can be installed on the device at the time of purchase (not pre-installed or modified for Android devices is in progress). Although it functions - such as private browsing, or something as simple as an FM radio, which the manufacturer may choose whether to accept - not in the official Android-based firmware provides manufacturers like HTC and Samsung. The Android versions offered by original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) are often greatly modified. Mr. Ferreira says that the distribution of CyanogenMod likely to change. It also serves as a platform for developers who can create what they want and put it on their own equipment. For example, he points out, if you're worried about privacy and follow-up, you can use your own custom version of Android, which "provides a complete control device." Even if the industry was not very favorable third-party firmware development, things began to change. Mr. Ferreira pointed out that some manufacturers such as Sony Ericsson, Samsung and LG are very favorable.

Challenges

Android has problems with "hardware interface" and the general perception that it is still an operating system for geeks is something that Mr. Ferreira is quick to reject. He believes that often erroneous comparisons. For example, he said that when the inevitable comparison with the iPhone is made, people compare the low-end processing equipment slower with the iPhone. "It's not a fair comparison." In fact, if you compare a high end gadget, Android offers an experience much smoother and faster, he said. The cracks in the interface, it adds , is currently undergoing major improvements to Google.

While distributions like the one he is working to "play tricks" to give a better experience on hardware less expensive, says he has still many bottlenecks. But ideally, he believes that an open platform, Android should be able to bridge the gap between high-end phones and cheaper. "So even if the performance is not optimal, should people who can not afford an iPhone could be a part of the ecosystem," he insists.

Keep cohesion

Another major challenge facing open source operating system is to maintain the cohesion between the different versions (or modification) of the operating system. For example, there are many versions of Android that OEMs are different (as KindleFire Amazon), so what happens when there is a change to Android? "For Android itself, the main challenge I foresee is the business of maintaining different versions and competing Android, Android may end up with more than its nearest competitor itself." In an ideal open, this problem does not exist. CyanogenMod, for example, have provided patches for Android, while Android operating environment - the area of ​​telecommunications and gadgets - is closed by default.

Ice Cream Sandwich

Earlier this week, Google released the code of Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich). Mr. Ferreira said to be one of the new developments on the block, and is eager to see what the hackers are now going to do with this new code base.

We see synergies with Google TV (which is also based on Android), Chrome (Google netbook OS), Android, he says. It 'just a matter of time before all these services are beginning to converge, it seems, Mr. Ferreira.