Functionality and User-Experience of Android Platform on Non-Mobile Multimedia Devices

摘要

Android platform is an open source mobile phone operating system developed by Google. Although originally meant for mobile phones, Android was designed to be so flexible that it can be installed to almost any device running a Linux-type kernel. Different device manufacturers have noted this adaptability and the potential of using thousands of ready-made Android-based applications on various devices. In the recent years manufacturers have begun to introduce different types of non-mobile-phone multimedia devices to the market, all of them running Android platform. The emergence of these non-mobile Android devices means that companies related to telecommunications, multimedia, software development, and other relevant fields need to decide whether or not they should begin to provide content and services tailored for Android. This thesis was written to help with this decision by providing information on how functional Android platform is on non-mobile devices, how different manufacturers are using the platform, and what the user-experience on a typical Android-based non-mobile device is like.This thesis has been divided into three sections. The first section provides an overview on Android platform, its features and architecture. The second section studies numerous Android-based non-mobile devices on today’s market and offers insight on Android’s capabilities and what are the current trends among the devices. The third part presents a test case of one Android-based device, Archos 5 Internet Tablet, and uses it as an example for what usability on a typical Android-based device is like by evaluating it with Jacob Nielsen’s heuristic evaluation method.It was discovered that although Android platform can be adapted to numerous different types of devices, it functions best in a device with a touchscreen. Most Android-based devices are heavily reliant on wireless connectivity, offering a market opportunity for telecommunications operators. Android platform can be expanded to be capable of playing high-quality media, including high-definition video, giving an opportunity for content providers. Most of the studied devices supported Android applications, but the distribution of applications might be complicated because many manufacturers have chosen to establish their own application stores tailor-made for their own devices. Finally, it was noted that Android and devices based on it are still under heavy development, so the information provided in this thesis might grow outdated within a few months. /Kir10