Best Android Mobile Phones

One of the advantages of Google Android is that it is available on a wide range of phones from a number of manufacturers. Android phones are typically ‘candybar’ handsets with a large touchscreen that is used as the main input method and a few physical command keys, though this is not universal. Android phones have also been produced with various other form factors, including models with full slide out keyboards and ‘clamshell’ models.

The most well-known and popular manufacturers of Android phones include Samsung, Motorola, HTC, LG and Sony Ericsson. Each of these manufacturers produce a range of smartphones running the Android OS, usually with a single flagship model and a number of mid-range or budget models.

Because Android smartphones are essentially miniature computers, the components inside the phones such as the processor and memory can affect how well the phone performs. As a general rule of thumb, faster processors with more memory can usually run more complex applications and produce a smoother experience.

Downloadable apps are available for Android devices through the Android Market. There are currently around 250,000 apps available, including a wide variety of both games and functional applications. Android Market features a mixture of paid and free apps, though it is notable for featuring a larger proportion of free apps than some comparable platforms. It is common for applications in the Android Market to be available in both a free and paid ‘premium’ version, where the premium version offers additional features or the removal of in-app advertisements.

Google Android also offers a wide range of Google branded applications, which are generally free to use. Notable examples are the Google Maps app, which offers free turn-by-turn navigation, and Google Docs, which offers cloud based document editing, among many others.

Since its initial introduction, Google has continued to regularly update the Android OS with bug fixes and additional features. Major updates are traditionally named after desserts in alphabetical order, with the most recent version of the Operating System being Android 4.0 ‘Ice Cream Sandwich’. Prior to the release of Ice Cream Sandwich the most recent versions of Android were Android 2.3 ‘Gingerbread’ for smartphones and Android 3.2 ‘Honeycomb’ for tablet computers.

The ‘Gingerbread’ update brought a number of additions and improvements to the platform. The most notable of these were improvements to power management and system performance, an updated user interface with a redesigned on-screen keyboard, and support for NFC (Near Field Communications) technology. The later released ‘Honeycomb’ update to Android was exclusively for use on tablets and included a number of alterations to the Android system to optimise it for use on these larger devices.

The most recent update, ´Ice Cream Sandwich´ was designed to bring the two divergent branches of Android back together with a single OS suitable for both smartphones and tablets. The update includes a major overhaul of the Android user interface, a range of new features and improved speed and performance.

Updates are applied to specific phones at the discretion of manufacturers and mobile network operators, usually based on the hardware requirements and difficulty of updating the software. At the time of writing, approximately a third of Android phones in use are running the latest Android 2.3, around half are running Android 2.2 and the remainder are running older versions.