Originally derived from the Linux desktop operating system, Android
is a customizable platform that can look and feel very different on very
different handsets. That means that an HTC Android phone will look and
operate differently than an Android phone made by Samsung. It also means
that an HTC Android phone from T-Mobile won't be exactly like an HTC
Android phone that runs on Sprint's network.
Still, all Android phones
do share some common features. All of them have touchscreens. Some also
have hardware keyboards, but not all of them do. All come with a
desktop that is made up of a certain number of screens (some Android
phones have 3, others have 5, while still others have 7) that you can
customize to your liking. You can populate screens with shortcuts to
apps or widgets that display news headlines, search boxes, or more.
All Android phones also offer access to the Android Market, where you
can download Android apps. As of this writing, more than 150,000 apps
are available in the Android Market.