Professional Android Application Development

By Reto Meier

A hands-on guide to building mobile applications, Professional Android Application Development features concise and compelling examples that show you how to quickly construct real-world mobile applications for Android phones. Fully up-to-date for version 1.0 of the Android software development kit, it covers all the essential features, and explores the advanced capabilities of Android (including GPS, accelerometers, and background Services) to help you construct increasingly complex, useful, and innovative mobile applications for Android phones. What this book includes An introduction to mobile development, Android, and how to get started. An in-depth look at Android applications and their life cycle, the application manifest, Intents, and using external resources. Details for creating complex and compelling user interfaces by using, extending, and creating your own layouts and Views and using Menus. A detailed look at data storage, retrieval, and sharing using preferences, files, databases, and Content Providers. Instructions for making the most of mobile portability by creating rich map-based applications as well as using location-based services and the geocoder. A look at the power of background Services, using threads, and a detailed look at Notifications. Coverage of Android's communication abilities including SMS, the telephony APIs, network management, and a guide to using Internet resources Details for using Android hardware, including media recording and playback, using the camera, accelerometers, and compass sensors. Advanced development topics including security, IPC, advanced 2D / 3D graphics techniques, and user-hardware interaction. Who this book is for This book is for anyone interested in creating applications for the Android mobile phone platform. It includes information that will be valuable whether you're an experienced mobile developer or making your first foray, via Android, into writing mobile applications. It will give the grounding and knowledge you need to write applications using the current SDK, along with the flexibility to quickly adapt to future enhancements.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0470344717
• ISBN13: 9780470344712
• Release Date: November 2008
• Publisher: Wrox Press
• Length: 409 Pages
• Weight: 1.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 7.3" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

Just to the point

It's well written and it covers almost any aspect of Android development. A very good option for a programmer who wants to starts in modern cellular phones development. Five stars with no doubt.

Excellent for learning and reference

This book will shave many hours off your development time when you are learning android, and it's not bad as a reference (in conjunction with the online docs). It is well written, covers many critical topics, has short, clear examples, and mentions critical gotchas in the appropriate sections. Anyone new to Android should get this book.

Required Entry Reading

I was struggling with Android documentation (there is a lot of it but can be improved a lot, although the Notepad examples are very good) trying to understand the programming concepts for G1. So I got this book on pre-order and it was worth waiting for. Plenty of examples, code snippets, very good and clean explanations. I like author's approach of taking an application (Earthquake) through a series of improvements, so you can learn it gradually, from simple to more complex (and sophisticated) approach. It is hard to cover a massive SDK in 400 pages but it is enough to learn basics and then start digging with some understanding and confidence into the on-line documentation. I am recommending this book to anybody who wants to learn the principles of G1 platform programming. Great job Reto!

Excellent introduction for new Android developers

The author clearly and concisely explains the fundamental aspects of Android programming. The coverage of Android topics is pretty comprehensive and the depth of coverage was just right for my needs. Mr. Meier provides some background information about mobile programming platforms in general, so the only real prerequisite for this book is familiarity with Java programming. The examples are also very informative and build new features incrementally, which keeps the focus on the most recently covered material, and reflects modern incremental development practices. This book, in conjunction with the excellent materials available online from Google, anddev.org and elsewhere, provide an effective staring point for developers looking to get started quickly on the Android platform.

Absolutely essential

Although the online documentation for Android is very good, I much prefer to have a coherently written book that I can flip through for reference. In learning Android I have found Mr Meier's book to be absolutely invaluable. It is written from the point of view of a professional, working programmer and as such is it very readable. Although the book covers all of the important aspects of Android and to a reasonable depth, I think it would be great to see some follow-up books from the same author that focus on particular aspects of Android (like UI or interprocess communication for example). A well-thumbed copy of this book is now on my desk at work (along with old cups of coffee and various other bits of clutter).