As you all know, Android has different verisons of itself, for example, 2.2 Froyo, 2.1 Eclair, 1.6. and 1.6 Donut. But what some of you may not know, is that there are different versions of Android in these builds. These usually vary by the phone manufacturer. Let’s take a look at the four flavors of Android.
Vanilla: Vanilla Android is referred to as “the Google experience” because it has no custom skin, and is running Android straight from Google. It has a simplistic approach, and generally get’s Android updates faster, because the OEM doesn’t have to modify the version of Android to fit their custom skin. For example, Motorola sometimes puts out devices with stock Android, and you will see that devices like the Motorola Droid received Android 2.2 Froyo quicker than, let’s say, the HTC Droid Incredible. It it features a single button, which acts as an application drawer. Not many phones feature stock Android, because OEM’s like to slap their UI on most phones. The notification bar at the top of the screen is white. Some phones that run stock Android are the Motorola Droid, the Samsung Moment, and the Google Nexus One.
HTC Sense: HTC Sense is a flavor of Android made by, you guessed it, HTC. There are big differences between this and stock Android, like seven homescreens instead of five, the ability to save and return to preset homescreens. which HTC refers to as “scenes”, HTC custom widgets, which have been refined so much that most everybody likes them, and a few more. At the bottom of all of the homscreens, you will see a bar that features buttons for the phone dialer, application drawer, and a button to add items to your homescreens. Slightly above the bar is a small slider that let’s you know what homescreen you are on. The notification bar at the top of the screen is black. Some phones running HTC Sense are the HTC Droid Eris, the HTC Droid Incredible, and the HTC Evo.
MotoBlur: MotoBlur, as the name suggests, is a custom Android interface by Motorola. It is geared toward those that use social networking to the max. Much like stock Android, it features five homescreens. I have to tell you, if you are not into social networking, do not get a phone with this UI. Because that is what MotoBlur focuses on. On the bottom of all homescreens is a bar that contains buttons for contacts, the application drawer, and the phone dialer. The notification bar at the top of the screen is white, much like vanilla Android. Some phones that use MotoBlur are the Motorola Cliq, the Motorola Devour, and the Motorola Droid X (running a less noticeable verison).
TouchWiz 3.0: TouchWiz is a UI offered by Samsung, and it features up to seven homescreens, four icons at the bottom of your screen which you can customize, and offers Samsung widgets. As far as TouchWiz goes, that pretty much it. It is a little different than all of the other flavors, but it still maintains a simplistic approach. The notification bar at the top of the screen is black, much like HTC Sense. The latest TouchWiz 3.0 interface can be found on the Galaxy S line of phones.
So there you have it! The four flavors of Android. Pick the one that is best for you, and have fun!
For more information on Android and the current Android mobile phones, check out our Android Guides
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