Latest Book Review: Android Wireless Application Development

Thought we'd share with you some comments from our readers. Recently, our youngest and most loyal fan kicked off his future career in mobile software development by "reviewing" our recent software development book, Android Wireless Application Development.

His verdict: Tasty!


"I can also create user interface components at runtime programmatically? Fascinating. Read on!"


"Need my diaper changed. Is there an app for that?"



"I especially enjoyed the bunny pictures!"

"Forget baby sign language, I'm learning Java so I can write killer apps for the Droid phone! I can use royalties I rake in from the Android Market to pay for college... in 18 years."

Consumer Confusion or Funny Feature?

In testing one of our apps on the Archos 5 Internet Tablet, I ran across something I found to be funny. See that screen shot? The one that looks like the emulator when the camera application is launched?

Yeah, that's on the Archos device.

I find it funny because I know exactly where that came from. But consumers? They might get confused by this. Ideally, the camera Intent would do something useful to inform the user:

• Provide a warning message that the device doesn't have a camera
• Go directly to the gallery picker instead

Or is this the right behavior so developers can just be lazy and not worry about there being a camera on all devices? And that is the final problem: the device behaves as if it has a camera when it doesn't. It might be convenient for running apps that don't know about the device features, but it actually makes it harder for well written apps.

(P.S. I'm not trying to pick on the Archos device, specifically. It's just the only Android device I have that doesn't have a camera.)

Another New Android Tablet, Another New Android Market

The Camangi WebStation is a new (actually, still pre-order) web tablet running Android 1.5. It looks like a nice machine with a neat UI around a big 7" screen. In looking at the details, though, it seems that it, too, isn't running with the Google add-ons. (Yes, there's a Gmail logo on this screen, but the page showing info on email shows just a browser page.) So, no Android Market. As with the Archos 5 Internet Tablet, Camangi has gone and created their own market: the Camangi Market.
On the plus side, developers take note: If you're one of the first 20 to submit an application, you can win $100 off for the device. At least they're thinking about developers. :)

A new Android device is a good thing. It shows even further support for the platform. However, it is fragmenting the market by creating yet another device with a different specifications and a new market for getting Android apps. Does the good outweigh the bad? Is it really that hard to get the Google add-ons, including Android Market? Will Android Market ever break off from the Google add-ons and provide a really good, cross-device experience for both end-users and developers?

Quick Tip: Eclipse, Source Control, and default.properties

Here's a quick tip for you:

When using Eclipse project properties to change the Project Build Target, make sure the default.properties file is writeable. This may mean checking it out from source control before editing the properties. In our configuration, the Perforce file is not writable and changing the Project Build Target settings with Eclipse does not check out the default.properties file from source control. So, I have to first check it out, then modify the Eclipse settings.

Although default.properties is automatically generated by the Android Tools, the catch is it must also be checked in source control. Usually, this does not trigger an error, either. Instead, the default.properties file will just be out of sync with the settings and possible create strange behavior.

Android SDK API Level 6!

Congratulations to the Android SDK for leveling once again! (I can't help but think of gaming when the API Level is mentioned.) We're now at Level 6, which corresponds to Android 2.0.1, Release 1.

The SDK Tools have been updated, as well, to Release 4, which now requires the updated Eclipse plug-in 0.9.5.

Many handsets still have Android 1.6 and, if rumors are to be believed, will remain so. Thus, Android 1.6, Release 2, is now available to resolve some platform issues. It also requires SDK Tools, Release 4. Curiously, though, it has not "leveled up." Will this be an issue? How will applications and developers know if their Android 1.6 has defects found in Release 1 or not?

Get it all* now while it's hot! :)

*If I'm counting correctly, that's four new things:

• Android 2.0.1, Release 1, SDK
• Android 1.6, Release 2, SDK
• SDK Tools, Release 4
• Eclipse ADT Plug-in 0.9.5