| page.title=Android Compatibility |
| doc.type=compatibility |
| @jd:body |
| <p>Android's purpose is to establish an open platform for developers to build |
| innovative mobile apps. Three key components work together to realize this |
| platform.</p> |
| <p>The Android Compatibility Program defines the technical details of Android |
| platform and provides tools used by OEMs to ensure that developers’ apps run |
| on a variety of devices. The Android SDK provides built-in tools that |
| Developers use to clearly state the device features their apps require. And |
| Android Market shows apps only to those devices that can properly run |
| them.</p> |
| <p>These pages describe the Android Compatibility Program and how to get |
| access to compatibility information and tools. The latest version of the |
| Android source code and compatibility program is 2.3, which |
| corresponded to the Gingerbread branch.</p> |
| |
| |
| <h2>Why build compatible Android devices?</h2> |
| <h3>Users want a customizable device.</h3> |
| <p>A mobile phone is a highly personal, always-on, always-present gateway to |
| the Internet. We haven't met a user yet who didn't want to customize it by |
| extending its functionality. That's why Android was designed as a robust |
| platform for running after-market applications.</p> |
| |
| <h3>Developers outnumber us all.</h3> |
| <p>No device manufacturer can hope to write all the software that a person could |
| conceivably need. We need third-party developers to write the apps users want, |
| so the Android Open Source Project aims to make it as easy and open as |
| possible for developers to build apps.</p> |
| |
| <h3>Everyone needs a common ecosystem.</h3> |
| <p>Every line of code developers write to work around a particular phone's bug |
| is a line of code that didn't add a new feature. The more compatible phones |
| there are, the more apps there will be. By building a fully compatible Android |
| device, you benefit from the huge pool of apps written for Android, while |
| increasing the incentive for developers to build more of those apps.</p> |
| |
| |
| <h2>Android compatibility is free, and it's easy.</h2> |
| <p>If you are building a mobile device, you can follow these steps to make |
| sure your device is compatible with Android. For more details about the |
| Android compatibility program in general, see <a |
| href="{@docRoot}compatibility/overview.html">the program overview</a>.</p> |
| <p>Building a compatible device is a three-step process:</p> |
| <ol> |
| <li><b>Obtain the Android software source code</b><p>This is the |
| <a href="{@docRoot}source/index.html">source code for the Android |
| platform</a>, that you port to your hardware.</p></li> |
| <li><b>Comply with Android Compatibility Definition Document (CDD)</b><p> |
| The CDD enumerates the software and hardware requirements of |
| a compatible Android device.</p></li> |
| <li><b>Pass the Compatibility Test Suite (CTS)</b><p>You can use the CTS |
| (included in the Android source code) as an ongoing aid to compatibility |
| during the development process.</p></li> |
| </ol> |
| |
| <h2>Joining the Ecosystem</h2> |
| <p>Once you've built a compatible device, you may wish to include Android |
| Market to provide your users access to the third-party app ecosystem. |
| Unfortunately, for a variety of legal and business reasons, we aren't able to |
| automatically license Android Market to all compatible devices. To inquire |
| about access about Android Market, you can <a |
| href="{@docRoot}compatibility/contact-us.html">contact us</a></p> |