Android lawn statues
Encyclopedia
The Android lawn statues are a series of large plastic statues located in front of building 44 at the Googleplex
, Google
's headquarters, in Mountain View
, California
. The statues are based on the code names for versions
of Google's Android mobile device operating system, which are all named after dessert
s. The collection of statues comprises the Android robot, a cupcake
, a doughnut
, an eclair, a dish of frozen yogurt
, a gingerbread man
, a piece of honeycomb
and an ice cream sandwich
in the shape of the Android robot.
's Android is the fastest selling mobile operating system
as of late 2010 and was developed as a partnership with the Open Handset Alliance
, with version 1.0 being released on September 23, 2008. The first publicly codenamed version of Android was "Cupcake" which was released on April 27, 2009. Since then, all further releases of Android were named after desserts, with names being chosen in alphabetical order, although sometimes the same name was applied to multiple versions. Google has not disclosed what the first versions, 1.0 and 1.1, were called but it is assumed that they were named after desserts starting with "A" and "B". A few days before each named operating system is unveiled, Google unveils a lawn statue representing that version's codename. The statues are on the grass lawn in front of Building 44, where the Android development team works.
, New Jersey
.
The statues in order of installation date are:
The green Android was joined early on by "Alex", a dog of similar colour and design. This statue was stolen in 2009.
Googleplex
The Googleplex is the corporate headquarters complex of Google, Inc., located at 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway in Mountain View, Santa Clara County, California, United States, near San Jose. "Googleplex" is a portmanteau of Google and complex, and a reference to googolplex, the name given to the large...
Google
Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
's headquarters, in Mountain View
Mountain View, California
-Downtown:Mountain View has a pedestrian-friendly downtown centered on Castro Street. The downtown area consists of the seven blocks of Castro Street from the Downtown Mountain View Station transit center in the north to the intersection with El Camino Real in the south...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. The statues are based on the code names for versions
Android version history
The version history of the Android operating system began with the release of Android 1.0 in September 2008. Android is a mobile operating system developed by Google and the Open Handset Alliance, and has seen a number of updates since its original release. These updates to the base operating...
of Google's Android mobile device operating system, which are all named after dessert
Dessert
In cultures around the world, dessert is a course that typically comes at the end of a meal, usually consisting of sweet food. The word comes from the French language as dessert and this from Old French desservir, "to clear the table" and "to serve." Common Western desserts include cakes, biscuits,...
s. The collection of statues comprises the Android robot, a cupcake
Cupcake
A cupcake is a small cake designed to serve one person, frequently baked in a small, thin paper or aluminum cup...
, a doughnut
Doughnut
A doughnut or donut is a fried dough food and is popular in many countries and prepared in various forms as a sweet snack that can be homemade or purchased in bakeries, supermarkets, food stalls, and franchised specialty outlets...
, an eclair, a dish of frozen yogurt
Frozen yogurt
Frozen yogurt is a frozen dessert containing yogurt or other dairy products. It is slightly more tart than ice cream, as well as lower in fat...
, a gingerbread man
Gingerbread man
A gingerbread man is a biscuit or cookie made of gingerbread, usually in the shape of a stylized human, commonly male as the name suggests, although making other shapes, especially seasonal themes and characters, is quite common as well.-History:...
, a piece of honeycomb
Honeycomb
A honeycomb is a mass of hexagonal waxcells built by honey bees in their nests to contain their larvae and stores of honey and pollen.Beekeepers may remove the entire honeycomb to harvest honey...
and an ice cream sandwich
Ice cream sandwich
An ice cream sandwich is a frozen confection composed of a layer of ice cream, usually vanilla , "sandwiched" between two biscuits/cookies or slices of cake, usually chocolate.-Australia:...
in the shape of the Android robot.
Background
GoogleGoogle
Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
's Android is the fastest selling mobile operating system
Mobile operating system
A mobile operating system, also known as a mobile OS, mobile software platform or a handheld operating system, is the operating system that controls a mobile device or information appliance—similar in principle to an operating system such as Windows, Mac OS X, or Linux distributions that controls a...
as of late 2010 and was developed as a partnership with the Open Handset Alliance
Open Handset Alliance
The Open Handset Alliance is a consortium of 84 firms to develop open standards for mobile devices. Member firms include Google, HTC, Sony, Dell, Intel, Motorola, Qualcomm, Texas Instruments, Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics, T-Mobile, Nvidia, and Wind River Systems.-History:The OHA was...
, with version 1.0 being released on September 23, 2008. The first publicly codenamed version of Android was "Cupcake" which was released on April 27, 2009. Since then, all further releases of Android were named after desserts, with names being chosen in alphabetical order, although sometimes the same name was applied to multiple versions. Google has not disclosed what the first versions, 1.0 and 1.1, were called but it is assumed that they were named after desserts starting with "A" and "B". A few days before each named operating system is unveiled, Google unveils a lawn statue representing that version's codename. The statues are on the grass lawn in front of Building 44, where the Android development team works.
Statues
By November 2011 there were eight statues in the collection. Each plastic statue was created by Themendous (previously known as Custom Creations) located in Union CityUnion City, New Jersey
Union City is a city in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. According to the 2010 United States Census the city had a total population of 66,455. All of the city is on land, an area of...
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
.
The statues in order of installation date are:
| Statue | Android version | Codename |
|---|---|---|
| A green Android robot | Representing the operating system in general | |
| A cupcake Cupcake A cupcake is a small cake designed to serve one person, frequently baked in a small, thin paper or aluminum cup... |
1.5 | "Cupcake" |
| A donut DONUT DONUT was an experiment at Fermilab dedicated to the search for tau neutrino interactions. Even though the detector operated only during a few months in the summer of 1997, it was largely successful. By detecting the tau neutrino, it confirmed the existence of the last lepton predicted by the... |
1.6 | "Donut" |
| An eclair | 2.0 / 2.1 | "Eclair" |
| A dish of frozen yogurt Frozen yogurt Frozen yogurt is a frozen dessert containing yogurt or other dairy products. It is slightly more tart than ice cream, as well as lower in fat... |
2.2 | "Froyo" |
| A gingerbread man Gingerbread man A gingerbread man is a biscuit or cookie made of gingerbread, usually in the shape of a stylized human, commonly male as the name suggests, although making other shapes, especially seasonal themes and characters, is quite common as well.-History:... |
2.3 | "Gingerbread" |
| A piece of honeycomb Honeycomb A honeycomb is a mass of hexagonal waxcells built by honey bees in their nests to contain their larvae and stores of honey and pollen.Beekeepers may remove the entire honeycomb to harvest honey... with a bee Bee Bees are flying insects closely related to wasps and ants, and are known for their role in pollination and for producing honey and beeswax. Bees are a monophyletic lineage within the superfamily Apoidea, presently classified by the unranked taxon name Anthophila... and the Android robot |
3.0 / 3.1 / 3.2 | "Honeycomb" |
| An Ice cream sandwich Ice cream sandwich An ice cream sandwich is a frozen confection composed of a layer of ice cream, usually vanilla , "sandwiched" between two biscuits/cookies or slices of cake, usually chocolate.-Australia:... in the shape of the Android robot |
4.0 | "Ice Cream Sandwich" |
The green Android was joined early on by "Alex", a dog of similar colour and design. This statue was stolen in 2009.