Android is a mobile operating system for mobile devices such as mobile telephones and tablet computers developed by Google and the Open Handset Alliance. Google purchased the initial developer of the software, Android Inc., in 2005. The unveiling of the Android distribution on 5 November 2007 was announced with the founding of the Open Handset Alliance, a consortium of 80 hardware, software, and telecommunication companies devoted to advancing open standards for mobile devices.[11][12][13][14] Google released most of the Android code under the Apache License, a free software license.
