Everything has a beginning, and so did Android at its cute mascot. However, at first the mascots were anything but cute and, on the contrary, quite the opposite.
Google's Dan Morrill recently posted a number of images on his Google+ page, revealing some of the first mascot designs that were created for the OS. Per Morill, at one point in 2007 he and the Android team were preparing to present Android to other Google employees. The team actually wanted other Google employees to start messing around with the software and give them feedback.
"Put the drawings together for an internal presentation introducing Android APIs to Google's developers - and they were received well enough to earn the affectionate term 'Dandroids.' He writes that Irina Blok then created the design that we've come to know, but that doesn't make this look into the past any less fascinating - or terrifying," the Verge quoted Morrill as saying.
"In the before time, in the long long ago (which is to say, 2007), Android had not yet launched; publicly, it was all rumors. We were working harder than you could possibly imagine on the initial announcement on 5 November and the SDK launch a week later," Morrill added.
"My job was developer relations, but I took a much-needed break of a couple hours and spent some quality time with Inkscape to create these... things."
The original Android drawings were apparently made on Inkscape and were momentarily popular before designer Irina Blok presented her famous design. Morrill described them as "the bugdroid we all know and love."
Morrill wrote that although it is funny how the professional work is of vastly higher quality than the amateur, even then, "these guys have the distinction of being the first proposed mascots for Android (that I'm aware of, at least.)"
However, Morrill wasn't disappointed that his first designs were replaced, and his justification for posting the original Android designs says exactly that. "Anyway, I am doing some spring cleaning on the ole NAS server, and dug these guys up. I figured I'd share them so you can experience a thrill of terror at what might have been, and thank your local patron deity for Irina's incredible home run."
For those who have always wondered as to how the famous Android mascot came to being, the latest post from Morrill should remove all doubts or questions.
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