Android OS: First encounter

My first encounter with an Android operated device was back in June this year. It was a Samsung smartphone (forgot the exact model). I didn't own it but I had the chance tinkering it for a while and just like that, it made a lasting impression on me. An excerpt from Samsung website about their lines of smart phones describes Android subtlety yet concisely by my own comprehension (only the last statement though):

"...is an open-source OS based on a modified Linux kernel. It employs Java and Google-based Java libraries in running its applications. It has large community of developers writing applications (“Apps”) which makes it one of the more compelling platforms to date."

Who started it? Google? Not exactly. I will leave Wikipedia to delve into that detail and most of the rest. But one interesting fact that amused me in a bit is the version flavor of the OS; it follows an alphabetic and peculiar code-naming convention. The earliest version I actually know of in phone models that exist to date is Cupcake (v1.5) and Eclair (v2.1) (e.g. Samsung i5700). Followed by the widely-popular Froyo (2.2) version at its boom months ago. Next is Gingerbread (2.3) -- currently my phone version (LG P500). Then came Honeycomb (3.0) -- I haven't seen one. And the latest, Ice Cream Sandwitch (4.0).

Reminiscent of the experience when I first got hold of that Android powered Samsung phone was the feel and excitement while I was exploring it, which specifically led me to a number of game titles developed for it. One of which was "Medieval Castle Defense".

Now lame as it might seem, what has this game got anything to do with the Android topic?

Android, ergo, this game is:
1. easy to play/use but sophisticated
2. enormously fun (just tweaking the phone settings is quite a past-time, lol)
3. portable (e.g. Android being open-source is not exclusive to a particular phone brand).
4. free (same as #3)

But wait a sec, I'm not trying to compare this with iPhone's IOS.... yet. So that's gotta be in another topic. For now I'd just say, Android makes my life easier and happier (in a dif'rent way).

More on Android later.