Android is an operating system for mobile devices such as smartphones and tablet computers. It is developed by the Open Handset Alliance, which is led by Google. Google purchased the initial developer of the software, Android Inc., on August 17, 2005. The unveiling of Android on November 5, 2007 was announced with the founding of the Open Handset Alliance, a consortium of 84 hardware, software, and telecommunication companies devoted to advancing open standards for mobile devices. Google released most of the Android code under the Apache License, a free software license. The Android Open Source Project (AOSP) is tasked with the maintenance and further development of Android.