Content Providers are data stores. Android comes with SQLite database, but
you can use and develop anything that adheres to the Content Provider API.
If you want to know more about Android, the online documentation is a great way
to start: http://code.google.com/android/. The mailing lists too carry a lot of
useful information.
Other Players
While Google and Apple give each other a run for their money, Microsoft is still
figuring out what it should do. Microsoft entered the mobile devices market early
on and holds a majority of the SmartPhone market. Google and Apple are looking at
not only SmartPhones but also standard Feature Phones. Apple has taken a "closed"
approach??”guarding hardware, software, and even access to device capabilities.
Google has gone completely open, giving freedom to do whatever the user/
developer wants with the system. The other players??”Nokia, Sony, Motorola, etc.
have investments in their own software stack, but may join the Google bandwagon
in some form or the other. That means Google will have tons of money coming in
from advertising on its mobile platform! That is the reason why it's doing all the
good work right now, isn't it?
Is the Mobile the Next Computer?
Looking at all the developments in the field and the predictions about proliferation
of mobile phones, one may feel that the mobile phone is the next computing device.
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