Android

Android is a mobile operating system based on the Linux kernel developed by Google. It is the most popular mobile platform in the world with over 1 billion recorded activations.

Android is a Java virtual machine along with the Busybox userland and custom Bionic C library on top of the Linux kernel. Android does not contain the GNU utilities and libraries used in GNU/Linux distributions due to licensing, so that device manufacturers can keep their software non-free without running into GPL copyleft issues, although users can add replacements for some of these features through third-party software. Because of this, Android is referred to as a Linux system, but not a GNU/Linux system.

See also

• List of recommended Android software
• Android ricing
• Richard Stallman's article on Android and User Freedom