On August 17, 2005 Google Inc. bought a few start up companies , one of the companies was a very little known company called Android Inc. Co-founded in Palo Alto, California in the U.S. in October 2003 by Andy Rubin, Rich Miner, Nick Sears and Chris White.

After the Launch of the iPhone in 2007 Rumors went around that Google was busy planning to build their own handset, rumored as the gphone, it would be used to better utilize their search functions and it would be leverage for the  search company.

Many think Google Inc. Made Android, meanwhile they just saw the potential of Android and bought the start up early.

It was only on the 23rd of September 2008 that at long last Android was officially announced   to the public in the form of the HTC built T-Mobile G1 in the U.S  which would then be released in October 2008 with Android build 1.0.

In February 2009 Android update 1.1 was released for only the G1, better known in S.A. as the HTC Dream. The update only changed the API and brought a few bug fixes to the table as well as a few new features.

30  April 2009 Android update 1.5 (Cupcake), The first Android version to be named after a dessert was released on the T-Mobile touch 3G, known in South Africa as the HTC Magic. This was the first Major update and included:

·     Faster camera start up and image capturing.

·     Faster GPS locking.

·     On screen keyboard(soft keyboard). 

15 September 2009 Android 1.6 (Donut) was released including new features like:

·     Voice search.

·     Camera more fully integrated with faster camera access.

·     WVGA screen resolution support.

26 October 2oo9 Android 2.0 (Eclair) (The version of eclair not really seen in S.A.) announced Makes debut on the Motorola Droid, known as the Motorola Milestone  in November 2009 bringing new features:

·     Native Exchange email support with combined inbox.

·     Bluetooth 2.1.

·     New User Interface.

·     Improved Google Maps.

·     Live Wallpapers.

12 January 2010 Android 2.1 (Eclair) Only a minor update, mostly bug fixes.

20 May 2010 Android 2.2 (Froyo) makes it's debut on the Google Nexus One (HTC Built), which sadly wasn't officially released in S.A. Update included:

·     Cloud to Device Messaging, which enabled PUSH notifications on Android.

·     USB tethering and WiFi Hotspot as native functions.

·     Option to disable data traffic.

·     Adobe Flash support.

6 December 2010 Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) Made it's appearance on the Google Nexus S (Samsung Built) Major changes include:

·     Native Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP).

·     Enhanced Copy/Paste.

·     Near Field Communication (NFC) support.

·     Improved Power management.

·     Native support for more sensors i.e. barometer.

Android2.3.4(Gingerbread) Added voice or video calling using Google Talk.

25 July 2011 Android 2.3.5 (gingerbread) 

·     Improved Gmail

·     Camera Software Enhancements.

·     Improved Battery.

24 February 2011 Android Honeycomb 3.0.1 The first truly tablet optimized version of Android makes it's debut on the Motorola Xoom tablet

17 November 2011 Android 4.0.1 (Ice Cream Sandwich) Makes it's appearance on the Samsung Galaxy Nexus. New version includes:

·     Enhanced Performance.

·     Virtual buttons replace physical buttons(optional for OEM's, if they still want to put hardware buttons).

·     Re sizable widgets.

·      Easier to create folders, just drag and drop.

·     Ability to choose apps and launch them from the lock screen.

·     Face Unlock.

·     New tabbed browser, up to 16 tabs at a time.

·     Camera- Zero shutter lag.

·     Built in photo editor.

·     Android Beam (uses NFC) Rapid short range data exchange.

·     WiFi Direct.

That said, wonder what nice stuff is still going to pop up this week at the CES  in Las Vegas?

Or even better the MWC next month.