Android, the mobile operating system that powers hundreds of millions of devices, is five years old today.
On November 5, 2007, Google took the wraps off Android at the Open Handset Alliance, a meeting of companies working to develop a set of open standards for cell phones.
Less than a year later Android was running consumer phones, first appearing on the HTC Dream in October 2008.
The appearance of the MotorolaDroid one year later helped the platform really gain traction. It was the first Android device on Verizon, and given the company's large service area, it sold well and proved that there was a serious market for an open-source mobile OS.
Google developers have been updating Android aggressively every six to nine months ever since, naming each release after an alphabetically-ordered dessert or treat, such as Cupcake, Donut, and most recently Jelly Bean.
Fragmentation of the operating system presents a unique problem—because it's so open, there are all kinds of Android devices, many running older versions of the operating system. But that hasn't stopped Android from becoming the leading smartphone platform today, with 500 million devices activated to date and 1.3 million more activated every single day.
Google chairman Eric Schmidt predicted in October that by next year, Android would hit a billion devices.
At the current rate, it will make that milestone in time for its sixth anniversary.
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