I think the most special achievement of Android is that it created a very successful mobile application environment on top of the Linux kernel. This was missing

I think the most special achievement of Android is that it created a very successful mobile application environment on top of the Linux kernel. This was missing and the state of software on ARM-Linux was a set of crippled versions of desktop linux software retrofitted for embedded. Now its all different. As a separate note, anyone interested in kernel-level work on ARM and Android feel free to contact me. (contact on profile) We do some interesting work on ARM Linux kernel and need skilled people.