What is Android and what is

an Android phone?
Android is now nearly eight years old and despite
the green robotandroid peeking out of phone shops
up and down the high street, there are still plenty
of people who dont know what Android is.
If you fit into this category then have no fear; this article is your
complete guide to understanding what Android is, what it can do
and where to find it, including the best Android mobile phones,
Android apps, which games you can play on Android devices, the
very best features you can enjoy and how to update to the latest
version.

What is Android?

Android is the name of the mobile operating system owned by

American company; Google. It most commonly comes installed on a
variety of smartphones and tablets from a host of manufacturers
offering users access to Googles own services like Search, YouTube,
Maps, Gmail and more.
This means you can easily look for information on the web, watch
videos, search for directions and write emails on your phone, just as
you would on your computer, but theres more to Android than these
simple examples.

What can an Android phone do?

Android phones are highly customisable and as such can be altered
to suit your tastes and needs; with wallpapers, themes and
launchers which completely change the look of your device's
interface. You can download applications to do all sorts of things like
check your Facebook and Twitter feeds, manage your bank account,
order pizza and play games. You can plan events on from your
phone's calendar and see them on your computer or browse
websites on your desktop and pick them up on your phone.
Another neat feature of Android is that it automatically backs up
your contacts for you. When you set up an Android phone youll
need to create a Google Account or sign in with an existing one.
Every time you save a number to the address book of your Android
phone it will be synced to your Google Account.
The benefit of this is that if you lose your phone all of your numbers
will be saved. The next time you get an Android phone (or an iPhone
or Windows Phone if you prefer) and sign in with your Google
Account, all of your contacts and friend's numbers will be displayed
in your new phones address book immediately, no need to transfer
or back them up anywhere else.

Syncing is a way for your phone to keep all your information;

websites, contacts, calendar entries and apps up-to-date. This can
happen over your phone's mobile data or WiFi connection,
seamlessly, in the background.

What apps can I get on an Android phone?

There are millions of apps and games available to download from
the Google Play store (formerly Android Market). There are camera
apps that allow you to take pictures with artistic effects and music
players which allow you to stream songs from the web or create
playlists. You can customise the appearance of your Android handset
with a number of wallpapers based on pictures youve taken yourself
or downloaded from the internet too.

An example of a widget on the home screen of an Android phone.

This one lets you access music playback from Spotify without having
to open the application.

There are also various on-screen widgets to download which allow

access to, and the alteration of, settings on your phone, without the
need to dive through menus as you would on non-Android devices.
You can pretty much create your own system of shortcuts and
menus to better suit how you uniquely use your phone.
Read next: Top 10 best starter apps for your new Android
phone or tablet
You also can download a huge range of games for your Android
phone, to keep you entertained on the go. Here are our favourite
Android games of all time.

Asphalt Overdrive is a simple to play, tricky to master racing game.

How can I download apps onto an Android phone?

The majority of apps can be downloaded from the Google Play store
(the equivalent of Apples App Store), which includes a mix of free
as well as 'premium' apps that you have to pay for. Some apps have
lite versions which are free, in the hope youll enjoy them and
upgrade to the full premium version. Others - like Angry Birds - are
free, but include adverts or the ability to make in-app purchases.

The same account that lets you backup your contacts can also have
financial details added to it, giving you the ability to purchase
content from the Google Play store directly. You can pay either by
debit or credit card and initial setup takes less than five minutes
from a computer.

Although there are well over a million apps available to Android

users in the Google Play store, some developers choose to make
their apps available to download from their own sites or alternative
app stores. In order to download them you have to change some
settings on your phone before visiting these sites on your Android
device's web browser. By downloading apps outside of the Google
Play store, you do run the risk of attack in the form of data theft or
by leaving yourself more susceptible to viruses, so be careful if you
choose this route.
Should you upgrade or change your Android phone; log into your
Google account and youll be able to download your previously
owned apps again, without being charged. In recent years, Google
has expanded Google Play to offer more than just apps, with books,
magazines, music and movies available for purchase and download
in much the same way too.

Who actually makes Android phones?

Any handset maker is free to make an Android phone if they want to.
The likes of Motorola, HTC, Samsung and Sony, Acer, Alcatel, Asus,

Huawei, LG and ZTE have all made Android phones (and tablets).
Blackberry also launched its very first Android phone, the strangelynamed Blackberry Priv at the end of 2015.
Check out our guide to the best Android phones right now.

Does Google make any Android phones?

Although Google owns the OS (Android), the company has not made
any of the smartphones on which it runs in-house (it did make the
Android-powered Pixel C tablet in 2015). However, it has partnered
with various handset manufacturers over the years to make its ownbrand smartphones under the 'Nexus' name.

[From left to right] Google Nexus One (HTC), Google Nexus S

(Samsung), Samsung Galaxy Nexus, Google Nexus 4 (LG), Google
Nexus 5 (LG), Google Nexus 6 (Motorola), Google Nexus 5X
(LG), Google Nexus 6P (Huawei).
Google's Nexus phones are typically the first to receive new updates
and are considered to be the flagship Android phones, even though

some other Android devices sport larger screens, better cameras

and more powerful hardware.

Android updates
Google is constantly working on new versions of the Android
software. These releases are infrequent; at the moment they
normally come out every six months or so, but Google is looking to
slow this down to once a year. Check out our handy,
comprehensive guide to every Android version out there.
Read next: How to check for updates for your Android phone
Versions usually come with a numerical code and a name thats so
far been themed after sweets and desserts, running in alphabetical
order.
Android 1.5 Cupcake
Android 1.6 Donut
Android 2.1 Eclair
Android 2.2 Froyo
Android 2.3 Gingerbread
Android 3.2 Honeycomb - The first OS design specifically for a
tablets, launching on the Motorola Xoom
Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich: The first OS to run on
smartphones and tablets, ending the 2.X naming convention.
Android 4.1 Jelly Bean: Launched on the Google Nexus 7 tablet
by Asus
Android 4.2 Jelly Bean: Arrived on the LG Nexus 4
Android 4.3 Jelly Bean
Android 4.4 KitKat: Launched on the LG Nexus 5

 Android 5.0 Lollipop: Launched on the Motorola Nexus 6 and

HTC Nexus 9
Android 6.0 Marshmallow: Launched on the LG Nexus 5X and
Huawei Nexus 6P
Android 7.0 Nougat: Launching on the rumoured HTC 'Marlin'
and 'Sailfish'
The latest version, Android Marshmallow, aims to make the OS more
user-friendly, with improved battery life and more control over your
apps. Here's what's changed between the different Android versions.

Android tablets

Like Android phones, Android tablets come in all shapes and sizes.
These can range from the 7-inch screen of the Asus-made Google
Nexus 7 to far larger displays, such as the 10-inch display found on
the Nexus 10.

Somewhat confusingly, some older Android tablets; like the original

Samsung Galaxy Tab, launched running Android 2.2 Froyo - a version
of Android designed for phones, whilst Android 3.0 Honeycomb was
the first release of the OS specifically for tablets.
Older Android tablets which didnt run on 3.0 Honeycomb couldnt
benefit from things like the redesigned YouTube app, improved
widgets and certain tablet-specific apps likeSwiftKey for Tablets.
This fragmentation between Android phones and tablets was
eliminated with the launch of Android Ice Cream Sandwich, which
was designed to operate on either type of device and scale
accordingly. Android Jelly Bean introduced a number of
improvements for both the smartphone and tablet experience over
the likes of ICS (Ice Cream Sandwich) and that trend continues with
the latest release, Android 7.0 Nougat, which brings features like
split screen support to the table.

Do Android updates cost anything?

Android updates are free to download and install. Updates bring a
number of new features and changes to Android each time.
Generally, with each update the speed and overall performance of
Android is improved upon.
Most of the high-end Android phones are scheduled to receive
updates first. Most Android phones will have at least one update
during their life cycle, with some having two. A life cycle is usually
around 18 months, but depending on the phone this can be longer.
These updates differ from app updates, which are smaller,
incremental releases for individual applications installed on your
Android device.

How do I get an update?

Android updates are normally received OTA (Over The Air), that is,
sent directly to your Android phone without the need for a computer.
Normally, once your Android phone or tablet is due to get an
upgrade, you'll see a notification in the bar at the top of the screen.
You'll then be prompted to connect to WiFi to avoid incurring extra
data charges - updates can be quite big and downloading them over
a mobile data connection isnt advised as it may result in expensive
data charges.
Updates are generally one-stage processes and relatively
straightforward, but in some cases you may need to backup/save
any media (photos, movies, music) or apps you've downloaded
before updating.
Here's how to update your Android phone

How can I change the look and feel of my Android

phone desktops?
Android phones from the likes of Huawei, LG and Samsung all sport
a very different look and feel to the stock Android found on Google's
own Nexus phones. That's because each manufacturer tends to add
their own software overlay to Android, known as a 'launcher', which
changes the design of the deskops, app logos and so on.
Luckily, if you feel like refreshing your Android phone's software
design, that's dead easy to do. Just check out our guide to changing
your Android launcher.

Android
Android is an operating system based on the Linux kernel. It was designed primarily for touchscreen
mobile devices such as smart phones and tablet computers. Initially developed by Android, Inc., Google
later bought in 2005.
Let's start making an Android app from scratch. Before beginning to program, you should have Android

SDK (Software Development Kit) to develop and test android applications. In case, you don't have it,
download it from developer.android.com if you don't get android SDK+ADT download URL than download
from here directly: Android SDK+ADT version 22. For all android beginners, we suggest you to watch the
"Getting Started with Android SDK | Hello World Example" video from my YouTube channel to learn basic
things related to android SDK.
Here we have provided Android Code Examples, Tutorials and projects to make android applications:
Event organized by coders hub:Android-Geeks
Warnings/ Errors/Needs: Warning: No DNS servers found in Android Eclipse
Run two or more instances of emulator at a time
Emulator error at runtime: std::bad_alloc

Tutorials with code examples for Beginner Android Developers: Set text, text color, image using Java
Print numbers from 1 to 100 in ScrollView
Change image when we click on buttons
Change image when we click on a single button
Take numbers from EditText and add them and display on TextView
Make Temperature conversion application
Create Menu using XML
Create Menu using Java
Access Call, Camera, Web pages
Open Second Activity using Intent
Make any column invisible in Table layout
Android Alert Dialog Box
Send large SMS using SMS Manager
Create List and perform Actions on it
Create Auto Complete Text
Create Spinner and perform Action on it
Create Context Menu and perform action in Android

 Open File from SDcard

Play Video or Audio from SDcard
Play mp3 file from a project folder
Android app Share, Rate and Share screenshot options
Tutorials with code examples for Advanced Android Developers: Android SQLite Database Tutorial with Example
Enable and Disable WiFi
Enable and Disable Bluetooth
Get Latitude, Longitude and Address of current Location
Use Sensor | Motion detection
Convert Text to Speech
Android Shared Preferences Example
Perform action on any Hardware button
Get all mobile Contacts
Get battery level using Broadcast Receiver
Display Time using Broadcast Receiver
Call log details after ending call using ContentObserver & PhoneStateListener
In Android app Screen-shots and ListView tricks
Extract APK File into Source Code (Java code and XML code)
Add Google AdMob Ads in Android App & Earn Money
Add Facebook SDK in Android Application
Android Twitter Fabric SDK Integration with user details in Android Studio
Advance Android Google Map 2 Tutorial with Examples - Part 1
Advance Android Google Map 2 Tutorial with Examples - Part 2
Start Working on Linphone Android
Android Linphone source code tutorial - Part 2
Easy Reader: Gesture controlled TextView (With Pinch to Zoom)
Sign Android Application and Publish on Google Play

Android Projects with download link: Swipe Left and Right using Gesture Detection Project
Custom Left-Right and Up-Down Slide Show Project
Android Chat Application Project
Student result automation Project
Facebook like slide show project
Android Login, Registration page with SQLite Project
Android Login,Register page with MySQL and PHP Project
Get SIM number on mobile restart Project
Gmail like Navigation drawer Project
Android Date & Time Picker Project.
Call log details after ending Call
In Android app Screen-shots and ListView tricks
Advance Android Google Map 2 Tutorial with Examples - Part 2
If you have any project or tutorial to share than send me via mail: info@coders-hub.com or if you have
any problem or suggestion to this site visit contact us page. Share and help all developers.
Come and be a part of coders-hub...Let's Spread The Technology!!!

Set text, text color, image in Android using Java

This is first simple android application and in this application, you all will learn how to set text, text color
and image using Java. Create new project and open XML file and drag linear layout and take text view
and image view from widgets and drop into linear layout. Give id textview1 to text view and imageview1 to
image view. To change background color of layout use this code in
XML: android:background=Color_Value in linear layout tag. Android supports RGB, ARGB, RRGGBB,
AARRGGBB color code. The code of android XML file is given below:

<LinearLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="fill_parent"
android:orientation="vertical"
android:background="#004444" >
<TextView
android:id="@+id/textView1"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:textSize="30sp"
android:textColor="#000"
android:text="saturday"
/>
<ImageView
android:id="@+id/imageView1"
android:layout_width="200dp"
android:layout_height="200dp"
/>
</LinearLayout>
Now open your Java file and initialize text view and image view object.
To set text on text view use: textview_object.setText(Any String);
To set color on text use: textview_object.setTextColor(Color_name);
To set image first drop any image to any drawable folder and use this code to set image on image
view: imageview_object.setImageResource(R.drawable.image_name);
The code of android Java file is given below:

package com.example.checkblogapp; //your package name

import android.os.Bundle;
import android.widget.ImageView;

import android.widget.TextView;
import android.app.Activity;
import android.graphics.Color;
public class MainActivity extends Activity {
@Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
//set layout
setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);
//initialize text view object
TextView tv=(TextView)findViewById(R.id.textView1);
//set text color
tv.setTextColor(Color.RED);
//set text
tv.setText("This is my first app");
//initialize image view object
ImageView im=(ImageView)findViewById(R.id.imageView1);
//set image resource
im.setImageResource(R.drawable.myimage);
}
}
Now runs your project and if have any problem with the above code than please comment.
Related Tutorials: Print numbers from 1 to 100 in ScrollView
Change image when we click on buttons
Change image when we click on a single button
Take numbers from EditText and add them and display on TextView
Make Temperature conversion application