By now, most consumers have heard the term “Android” in the media as it relates to both smartphones and tablets. The question that we hear on a daily basis in the wireless industry is “what is an Android phone”?Android is an operating system developed by the Open Handset Alliance, a group of hardware, software and telecommunications companies, led by Internet giant Google. In the same way that a computer needs an operating system such as Windows to function, a smartphone also requires an operating system for it to work. The three main operating systems found locally in popular smartphone’s are Google’s Android operating system, RIM’s Blackberry OS and Apple’s iOS (iPhone Operating System)Unlike Apple’s iOS and Rim’s Blackberry OS, Android is an open source operating system which basically means manufacturers don’t have to pay Google to use it in their phones and are allowed to modify it for their own line-up of handsets. Because of this, manufacturers are able to tweak Android which makes it look quite different on Android phones from different companies.Android-based phones are available in a wide variety of brands including HTC, Motorola, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, LG, Acer, Dell and Huawei. As such, they come in a wide range of models from small budget phones to large-screen high-end smartphones. Not only does this give the consumer a great amount of choice when selecting a handset, it also makes the transition and learning curve between different brands of Android phones seamless.The standard layout on an Android phone is to have a series of home screens, which can contain shortcuts to functions such as a phone dialler and phone book as well as a number of applications that come bundled with the smartphone which may include an email client, web browser and text message service.The best part of the Android platform is an application called the Market that is used to download apps such as Facebook, YouTube, Skype, Kobo and Tunein Radio to name a few popular ones. There are also apps that allow you to create and edit Microsoft documents, view PDF files and email those documents once you are finished with them. Some social networks are integrated into specific Android phones which enable you to connect someone’s contact information in your phonebook to their Facebook account and automatically pull through details such as their birthday that is then displayed on your phones calendar. The market also has a huge selection of games for your smartphone to keep you busy while waiting to pick up the kids or those times spent waiting at an airport.It’s no wonder that with an estimated 190 million Android users worldwide and an additional 500,000 activations of Android devices per day, Google’s Android operating system has hit the big time. I guess the only question left now is when will you make the switch to an Android based Smartphone?Kevin Davies is the owner of Audio Visual Electronics