Unsupported File Types in Droid

Android Basics

Android is an open source software platform that allows manufacturers that build smartphones and tablets based on its technology to customize the device. This creates a marketplace with many different Android smartphones, unlike other devices, such as Apple's iPhone, that are released only by Apple and have consistent features. Android has native compatibility with a variety of file types, but you must check with the manufacturer of your specific Android device to determine the file types supported by your particular smartphone.

Audio

Android devices feature native playback support for MP3, MIDI, Ogg, AAC, WAVE and 3GPP file types. If your device uses Android 3.1 or higher, it also supports FLAC playback. Native applications encode audio in the 3GPP file format, which is a worldwide standard for creating and sharing media via mobile devices, regardless of the manufacturer, service provider or mobile software being used. Files in the WMA or RM formats are likely unsupported, as they are native to Windows Media Player and RealPlayer, respectively. Check with your device's manufacturer in regard to other audio file formats.

Images

Devices using the Android operating system can natively view images in the JPEG, GIF, BMP and PNG formats. The WebP format is supported by Android 4.0 and higher. Image files can be encoded in the JPEG, PNG and WebP formats. Android devices take pictures in the JPEG format by default. Image files not in these formats, such as those with TIFF, RAW or PSD extensions, may not be supported by your Android smartphone. Images stored in the TIFF or RAW formats are typically uncompressed, lossless images, while PSD files are native to Adobe Photoshop.

Video

Android smartphones can play video files in the 3GPP and MPEG-4 file formats. Files in the WebM format can also be decoded if your device uses Android 2.3.3 or higher. Videos are taken in the 3GPP format, by default, using the native Android camera application. The 3GPP and MPEG-4 file types supported are created using the H.263 or H.264 AVC codecs. Video formats, such as ASF, MOV, WMV and RM, are likely unsupported, as they are native to specific computer programs. Files in the WMV and ASF formats run on Windows Media Player, RM files are native to RealPlayer and MOV files are used with QuickTime. Additionally, refer to your Android smartphone's documentation in regard to DivX file support.