Naziba Akter
IT 103 Section 011
9/30/2012
Android
"By placing this
statement on my webpage, I certify that I have read and understand the GMU
Honor Code on http://academicintegrity.gmu.edu/honorcode/ . I am fully aware of the following sections of
the Honor Code: Extent of the Honor Code, Responsibility of the Student and
Penalty. In addition, I have received permission from the copyright holder for
any copyrighted material that is displayed on my site. This includes quoting
extensive amounts of text, any material copied directly from a web page and
graphics/pictures that are copyrighted. This project or subject material has
not been used in another class by me or any other student. Finally, I certify
that this site is not for commercial purposes, which is a violation of the
George Mason Responsible Use of Computing (RUC) Policy posted on http://universitypolicy.gmu.edu/1301gen.html web site."
New technologies are developing each
and every day, with that the usage of technology is growing rapidly. So many
gadgets are being developed for personal and professional use. The most common
technology that is in every household and to common people is cell phones. One
such cell phone that has been stealing the limelight is the Android phones. The
Android phones have come a long way since they were first introduced in the
market. The background, potential benefits, security concern, further required
studies, legal issue, and social concern for the Android phones should be read
by every Android phone holder just to understand the basics of what they are
getting themselves into with these phones.
Background
Android was
first introduced in America by T-Mobile G1 in 2008. Google then went to develop
Android 1.0s with the help from TAT (The Astonishing Tribe) which was based in
Swedish. However soon after that TAT and Google where no longer collaborated
with each other because TAT was stuck with finding advancements for BlackBerry.
Android phones were the first phones to have updates over the air and that to
have easy installation process for the users. With that being said, Android
phone had a lot of missing features that are noticeable now because of all the
technology that people have at their fingertips, like there was no on-screen
keyboard, paid apps, or even multitouch. However the foundation of the phone
that was put out there like no other smart phone was the pull down notification
window. And with that they have grown into making Android Smartphone have many
different usages.
Potential Benefits
Android
phones have come a long way, since their first launch. Each Android phone makes
minor changes, to give competition to other leading cell phone companies. The
minor changes have given foundation to the new phones, to lay their ground on.
Each new Android phone model is given a very sweet dessert name, literally;
like Cupcake, Donut, Éclair, Froyo, Gingerbread, Honeycomb, Ice Cream sandwich,
and the very latest, Jelly Bean.
The Cupcake
is Androids 1.5 model, which changed text alignment on status bar, and users
could now copy and paste text which added support to the browser. It also
brought in the built-in camera interface. With this addition, users also got
additional modes and options in the phone like touch-to-focus. Next came the
1.6 Donut, which stored in more updates and had resolution independence. The
Donut also brought jobs to American carriers like Verizon. One big notion that
Donut brought in was the Quick Search Box, which in Google web is known as
“universal search.” Android mascot was developed through the Donut, well the
color accents were. Then came what was
known as the “Big” deal for Android.
The Éclair,
2.0/2.1 model brought in the biggest promises, and had gone through a whole lot
of changes. Éclair was important because it re-debuted itself with improved
visual and architectural developments. This was the first device that allowed
Google accounts to be added, and the Google map navigation was introduced. The
Google Map navigation had a 3D view with traffic information, voice guidance,
and turn-by-turn automotive navigation. Users can design their own row of icons
and are able to have live wallpapers. Speech to text and HTML5 was added in
Éclair. The new lock screen was introduced; users can just swipe to unlock
their phones.
The Froyo,
2.2 models had minor adjustments like first power-on and introduced the
traditional PIN locks screen system. The Gallery app was newly designed so when
the phone was tilted, the image would tilt as well. The Gingerbread, 2.3 models
had probably the sleekest look for Android phones. It had a glossy, back shell
with a curved-glass display. It reduced battery drainage, and improved their
keyboards by having multi-key combinations to make typing simpler. Multi camera
was also established through the Gingerbread, so now users can also just take
pictures by facing the front of the camera towards them.
The 3.x
model, known as Honeycomb had widget placements. Users get the preview for each
gadget, and then they can choose five panels and keep these widgets on their
home screen. All the Physical buttons were taken away, and virtual buttons were
put in.
Ice cream
Sandwich was the next Android Phone model 4.0 which was put on the Galaxy
Nexus. This model had notification screen that allowed users to remove
individual notifications that they did not want, unlike older versions which
made users erase all notifications at once. Implementations like inline spell
check and favorite trays where made applicable to users. The cool new support
that was introduced in Ice Cream Sandwich was the Android Beam. The Android
Beam allowed phones to transfer data by touching two Beam-enabled phones. Also
face unlock was established, which was a great step to keep phones private. The
latest model that Android phone has announced is the 4.1 Jellybean. All that
people know about this phone is that it will improve visual and touch
performance, and also make minor changes in the input subsystem. With all these
new advancements coming in Android phones, one can just see how many concerns
there maybe regarding security.
Security Concerns
Android operating system are going
through a very difficult phase as they are potentially in the risk of having
their phones data, SIM card being wiped out fully. Data that can be potentially
wiped off are the phones personal music, pictures, and contacts. With that if
the phone user opens a link to website with personal codes then it can automatically
trigger an attack that will simply destroy the phone’s memory. Also another
risk factor is that cyber attack can happen to Android phones. The bug is put
out when a telephone number is dialed directly form a web browser. A hacker
then can instruct phones to link those specific numbers to execute commands. So
this entitles the hackers to make calls to premium rate numbers automatically
through the user’s phone. The most vulnerable versions that this may occur to
on the Android phones are the Ice Cream sandwich, Gingerbread, and Jelly Bean.
All these risks must be looked upon for further studies in order to make the
phone a benefit and not a loss for the users.
Further Required Studies
Cyber attack
is just one of the risks that the Android phone should look upon; there are
software, hardware, and interface that need to be fixed. Android phones are
actually the only smart phone that does not have an automatic sync between the user’s
PC and their phone. A hardware problem that Androids phones are facing is that
all the Android model phones have a physical keyboard rather than a touch
keyboard. Also their camera is packaged to 3.0MP only which means that the
phone does not take good quality pictures. Last issue that people have seen on
the Android phone is that some models interface problem is that they have
limited processing speed. This is a big issue because phone users want
everything quick, in the generation that is 3G and 4G Android phones cannot
lack behind in the speed department. As if going through all these risks was
not enough, Android phones also are currently going through legal dispute.
Legal Ethical Issue
The main legal issue that Android
phones are going through is allegations of misusing IP. Oracle has filed a
lawsuit against Android phone, and directly Google stating that “…Android
platform infringes on its Java related IP and Google has knowingly infringed
upon their IP,” (
More legal). Oracle is actually not the first company to
complain about this particular issue, but it is the first to file this
complaint. Microsoft and Apple have always targeted Android phone as well. The
only way out of this that Oracle is showing, is for Google to pay damages for
using Oracles technology, and on top of that destroy any Java related work on
the Android phones. At this point Android phones are at high risk of going out
of the market since it has a critical mass following. On the other hand these
phones have also created social problems.
Social Problems
Each and every day people get
attacked thorough cyber attacks and each and every day crime rates go up due to
these cyber attacks. Since Android has a problem of cyber attack, users are
more vulnerable of having their personal information out in public. As it is
people are already paying money for everything they do, now because of cyber
attacks people would probably have to pay for premium rate calls that they are
not even making. The trust in social community will deteriorate because of the
mistrust people will have on the Android Company and on cyber attackers.
With
technology growing in such a fast pace, one can just wonder how the emotions
and feelings of people towards one another are faltering. People nowadays do
not need to meet up face to face to have a chat; they can either text or just
chat through their phone. The feelings
that people feel when they come face to face with each other are no visible now
due to texting and calling. Instead of
meeting up people nowadays rely on technology and will just text information to
each other. Some personal information may be given through these texts, which
maybe in someone else’s hands if a person’s phone was ever to b lost.
Conclusion
Android
phones where the first Smartphone to have apps that paved the foundation for
all the other Smartphone’s. There are so many new gadgets on the android phone
with cool names, but with those benefits, there are still a few glitches that
need to be further looked upon. And not to forget the legal claim that has been
thrown at Android, Google by oracle, may become a serious hurdle that Android
phone must look into. The social problem
is always there, not just for Android phone but all new gadgets that are taking
away personal communication rights, and paving their way through by technology.
Android phones have come a long way in these few years; each model is trying to
advance the old ones. It may take time for Android to become strong like the
other smart phones, but it will surely be always respected for paving the way
for the other Smartphone’s.
