8 years ago today, Android (and Phandroid) was born
November 5th is a special day in the world of technology, and not only because it’s the day that Doc Brown invented time travel. On this day, in 2007, Google formally announced its long-rumored Android operating system for mobile devices. Eric Schmidt, the CEO at the time, made the announcement with members of the Open Handset Alliance, which was also announced that day.
The OHA was just a small group of companies at the time. It only included four manufacturers (HTC, LG, Motorola, and Samsung), and only two US carriers (T-Mobile and Sprint). It’s pretty cool to see that the Nexus 6P, which is arguably the best Android phone to date, is made by a manufacturer that wasn’t originally in the OHA. That shows how much Android has grown since 2007.
Android wasn’t the only thing to be born on November 5th, 2007. A brand new site called Phandroid.com posted its very first editorial on that day. The editorial was titled “Android: Making Your Mobile Dreams Come True.” You can read the full post below in the original Phandroid site design. On the very next day, Wired.com wrote a story titled “Android already has Phandroids,” and the rest is history. A lot of things have changed in the last 8 years, but Android and Phandroid are still going strong.
Happy 8 years!
