Quote:
Originally Posted by kennyc
Of course they do. For example:
App developers: Our Doors are Open!
When it comes to creating NOOK Apps, the possibilities are as endless as the titles in our bookstores. Our Android-based platform provides the perfect canvas for you to deploy your rich and interactive apps and content. If you have an app that is ready for NOOK Color, sign up for NOOK Developer™ and learn how you can qualify to distribute it to millions of readers.
from here: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/u/nook...pps/379002750/ |
They did, later on, after the number of people who started rooting it became more than a blip on the radar. At first it was not widely advertised. Even now, they don't push it much.
Quote:
Originally Posted by kennyc
Well to be technical correct, Android is not an operating system. It runs on top of Linux.
|
It runs on top of the Linux kernel, but more than a kernel is needed to be considered an OS. This is the basis for the technicality in the name of GNU/Linux for most desktop distros, since those are the Linux kernel wrapped by GNU applications.
Quote:
Originally Posted by kennyc
Clearly you DO want to split hairs.
No it's not. It's called a platform. It is not an operating system.
Take a look at the android site.
If take a look here you'll see each release designated as a "Platform"
http://developer.android.com/sdk/index.html
Actually at one point they do say O/S:
Android is a software stack for mobile devices that includes an operating system, middleware and key applications.
but most everywhere they call it a Platform...
You seem to want to exclude the kernel, but it really is the O/S and I'm pretty certain there must be more on top of that kernel that is not part of android.
Android is just a java program that runs in a virtual machine. |
Android is more than an OS, thus them stating that it is a platform. Platforms are the whole kit and kaboodle (OS, Apps, and Framework). An OS is software that manages hardware, and provides common services for running application software. An OS is not a kernel alone. Android has additional middleware (drivers, memory managers, the VM you mention, API libraries, etc) that forms the rest of the OS that the Linux kernel does not provide. Android becomes more than an OS, because of the applications and services are provided (like the Android Market, Maps, etc), as well as tools to develop for it (the SDK). Many companies only use the OS portion of Android, like B&N on the nook and Nook Simple Touch, and do not use the apps and services available from the Android platform.