Commercial Android, Validated and Optimized
for Device Application Development
The recent advances in the Android operating system are paving the way for devices of all kinds to leverage the many benefits of this open source platform. Device manufacturers in a variety of market segments—automotive, defense, consumer, medical, industrial, and beyond—are exploring design options that will utilize the Android operating system in next-generation products.
However, as the smartphone market has proven, building a device based on Android brings new challenges. Devices built with the Android operating system have an accelerated development life cycle. Quality assurance, performance optimizations, compliance, and adding unique market-specific functionality beyond the operating system must all be factored in. To address the needs of the emerging Android Everywhere market, Wind River created a commercial Android platform to address real-world device delivery issues so device manufacturers and operators can focus on adding value beyond the operating system and meeting critical market windows.
Wind River Platform for Android: Validated, Optimized, and Commercially Supported
Wind River Platform for Android is a roadmap-driven, validated, multi-BSP, tested, fully compliant, globally supported and maintained Wind River run-time platform for Android. The platform incorporates the latest Android open source project software, optimizes the operating system for performance enhancements, and packages it into a commercially supported solution. Device developers can immediately innovate on top of the platform to meet application and market-specific needs.
Reasons to Use a Commercial Android Platform
Wind River Platform for Android can be used as a way to jumpstart a device development project. But there are many other reasons to use this commercial software solution. Here are a few:
- Minimizes risk associated with open source software
- Reduces project schedule risk
- Allows multi-SKU planning against a committed release roadmap
- Improves software quality and diminishes support burden
- Enables shift in resources to innovate differentiating features
- Speeds platform development with select independent software vendor (ISV) pre-integration
- Supports rapid customization without losing compliance
- Leverages Wind River's customer relationships across the entire mobile ecosystem
- Makes use of Wind River–developed Android optimization technology across the entire stack
Key Benefits
Wind River Platform for Android can save significant development time, minimize costs associated with standard platform engineering efforts, and reduce overall project risk. Here are a few other benefits related to using the platform:
- Validation via rigorous manual and automated test cases improves software quality and drives software development.
- Transparent documentation of the open source license origin mitigates software risk.
- Commercial backing for a complete, delivered solution enables multigenerational product development.
- Automated test framework integrates test execution, target control, results collection, and reporting into a single platform to speed software quality assurance.
- Open Handset Alliance alignment with continuous Wind River investment delivers predictability and stability.
- Commercial support from certified support centers worldwide, backed by service level agreements, ensures on-time project completion.
- Access to Wind River’s Android Center of Excellence team of professional services engineers who have deep technical knowledge enables innovation.
Key Features
- Validated Android 2x, 3x and currently migrating to 4x
- Roadmap predictability and support for Open Handset Alliance (OHA) releases
- Full Compatibility Test Suite (CTS) compliance
- Muti-silicon board support package (BSP) support
- Optimized for ARM-based TI OMAP and Qualcomm QSD/MSM and Intel Architecture (IA)
Wind River a Leader in
the Open Handset Alliance
Wind River has been an active leader in Open Handset Alliance (OHA) activities since April 2007. Wind River was the first Linux Commercialization Partner in the OHA. Since then, Wind River has worked with operators, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), and semiconductor providers to architect, develop, and deliver Android-based products. Wind River has worked on virtually all leading mobile silicon that has been enabled or optimized for Android. Also, Wind River has made important contributions back to the OHA in such key technology areas as Advanced Linux Sound Architecture (ALSA), V4L2 integration, hardware abstraction layer, testing and compliance, and general bug fixes.
