Android

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An android is a robot or synthetic organism designed to look and act like a human. The word derives from ανδρός, the genitive of the Greek ανήρ anēr, meaning "man", and the suffix -eides, used to mean "of the species; alike" (from eidos, "species"). Though the word derives from a gender-specific root, its usage in English is usually gender neutral. The term was first mentioned by St. Albertus Magnus in 1270 and was popularized by the French writer Villiers in his 1886 novel L'Ève future, although the term "android" appears in US patents as early as 1863 in reference to miniature humanlike toy automations.

Thus far, androids have largely remained within the domain of science fiction, frequently seen in film and television. However, some humanoid robots now exist.

The term "droid" - invented by George Lucas in Star Wars (1977) but now used widely within science fiction - although originally an abbreviation of "android", has been used (by Lucas and others) to mean any robot, including distinctly non-humaniform machines like R2-D2.

For more information about Android, read the full article at Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.

News tagged with android

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Smartphone app illuminates power consumption

Technology / Software

Nov 20, 2009 | 1 / 5 (1) | 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- A new application for the Android smartphone shows users and software developers how much power their applications are consuming. PowerTutor was developed by doctoral students and professors ...

Dell smart phone to debut in China, Brazil

Electronics / Consumer & Gadgets

Nov 13, 2009 | not rated yet | 0

(AP) -- Dell Inc. is officially jumping into the "smart" phone market this month in a deal with China's biggest wireless carrier, China Mobile Ltd.

New handbook for Google, Droid users

Technology / Other

Nov 11, 2009 | 2 / 5 (3) | 0

Before buying one of the new Google-powered "Droid" phones from Verizon Wireless, you may want to read the manual. Not the setup directions in the box.

Palm's webOS hasn't gotten the attention it deserves

Technology / Software

Nov 11, 2009 | not rated yet | 1

Lost in the recent deluge of smart-phone news -- Apple's iPhone store hitting 100,000 applications, and the launches of the new Droid phone and the BlackBerry Storm, among other things -- have been the efforts ...

Google's voice search tool now understands Chinese

Google voice search learns Chinese

Technology / Internet

Nov 02, 2009 | 3 / 5 (2) | 0

Google's voice search tool now understands Chinese. The Internet giant announced on Monday that users of Nokia S60 series mobile phones could now search the Internet using voice commands in Mandarin Chinese.

Little-known HTC ready to bring its brand into the limelight

Technology / Business

Oct 29, 2009 | 5 / 5 (1) | 0

If you haven't yet heard of HTC, you will soon. The Taiwanese mobile-phone company with U.S. headquarters in Bellevue, Wash., is launching a huge campaign this week to raise the profile of the HTC brand.

Cell phones become handheld tools for global development

Technology / Computer Sciences

Oct 29, 2009 | not rated yet | 0

Mobile phones are on the verge of becoming powerful tools to collect data on many issues, ranging from global health to the environment.

Verizon's big ad push for Android takes on iPhone

Electronics / Consumer & Gadgets

Oct 19, 2009 | not rated yet | 0

(AP) -- An aggressive TV ad campaign from Verizon Wireless is adding to the support building for a software package from Google Inc. that is shaping up to be the most formidable challenge yet to Apple Inc.'s ...

T-Mobile halts Sidekick sales after data loss

Electronics / Consumer & Gadgets

Oct 12, 2009 | 4.3 / 5 (4) | 0

US wireless carrier T-Mobile temporarily halted sales of the Sidekick mobile phone Monday after a server failure caused many customers to lose personal data such as contacts and calendar items.

Steve Ballmer gives a press conference in Paris to launch the Windows phone

Microsoft unveils line of Windows phones

Electronics / Consumer & Gadgets

Oct 06, 2009 | 1.3 / 5 (4) | 1

Microsoft chief Steve Ballmer on Tuesday unveiled his company's line of Windows smartphones in an offensive against Apple's iPhone and Google's Android system.

Verizon Wireless, Google to hunker down on phones (AP)

Verizon Wireless, Google in Android partnership (Update)

Technology / Business

Oct 06, 2009 | 3.5 / 5 (2) | 0

(AP) -- Verizon Wireless and Google Inc. are teaming up to tackle the challenge posed by the iPhone, saying they will collaborate closely to create wireless devices that use Google's software.

Point your phone to ID places

Technology / Hi Tech

Sep 30, 2009 | 3 / 5 (3) | 0

Imagine seeing a cool-looking building from afar that you want to know more about. Or seeing someone whose name you can't remember coming toward you with their hand outstretched.