In what year did Google acquire Android Inc.?

Google acquired Android Inc. in 2005.

Android Inc. was founded in Palo Alto, California, in October 2003 by Andy Rubin, Chris White, Rich Miner, and Nick Sears. The company initially explored software for digital cameras, then shifted toward a mobile-phone operating system intended to compete with platforms such as Symbian and Microsoft Windows Mobile.

Google acquired Android Inc. in July 2005 for at least $50 million. Andy Rubin and other key Android employees joined Google, where the team continued developing an operating system based on the Linux kernel. Google’s strategy emphasized an open, flexible platform that handset manufacturers and mobile carriers could adopt and customize.

The acquisition year is often confused with Android’s public debut. Google announced the Android platform and the Open Handset Alliance in 2007, while the first commercial Android phone, the HTC Dream or T-Mobile G1, arrived in 2008. Thus, 2005 marks Google’s acquisition of the company, not the release of the first Android device or the first Android version.