Code Downloads for "Android Wireless Application Development Volume I: Android Essentials" Available Here

We've added the source code downloads for the book, Android Wireless Application Development Volume I: Android Essentials, to the downloads page.

Download it now to use with your copy of the book or ebook!

Happy Holidays!

Android 2.2 Spreading Wide

We visited the sculptures
after Google IO 2010

Android 2.2 has been getting a lot of news lately. Instead of just being available on the Nexus One, it's now available on many devices, and even shipping on news ones like the Droid 2. A while back we wrote a few articles about Android 2.2 (aka FroYo!). These are relatively high level overviews, but for some they can serve as a reminder of some of the features that we were excited about yet forgot all about because it's been so long since the announcement.

Recall ten of the most anticipated items us developers were looking for in Top 10 Android 2.2 Features Developers Can't Wait to Use. Anticipated, but have they lived up to the hype? You tell us. Interestingly, Cloud to Device Messaging is still not widely available. And, although it's a user feature, we're definitely seeing that not all carriers are taking the Tethering option as it was developed. The Nexus One could very well be alone in it's implementation.

We took a look at past desserts of Android and compared them to the latest, FroYo (mmm, Frozen Yogurt!), in Android 2.2 and Its Previous Versions: A Sweet Developer Review. Although most of the full API level updates have been fairly minor (especially, for instance, API Level 6 to 7), when you look all the way back to API Level 1, the changes have been substantial. Not only have the APIs changed, but the tools have vastly improved. They started out being surprisingly good for a very young platform. Now they're better than even more mature platforms.

Lastly, we wrote an overview of Android 2.2 for users and developers alike, printed in Linux User & Developer magazine, a UK publication. Hey, Android is available worldwide, mates!  This one covers many of the same topics, naturally. (What, did you expect Android 2.2 to change?)

With Android FroYo old news now, what are you most looking forward to in Gingerbread, the next expected release of the SDK (presumably API Level 9)?

Creating Useful AVDs

Various Android Virtual Devices

Many new Android developers just use a basic, default Android Virtual Device (AVD) for development purposes. This is fine when you're just getting started, but when you get serious about designing and developing apps for specific devices, you'll want to give some thought to configuring AVDs to match devices your users actually own.

In some cases, you can just switch to testing on real hardware instead of the emulator. If you have a lot of devices for your team, you can probably just switch to using devices. However, if you can't afford devices for everyone on the development and test team or can't get your hands on some unusual devices with unique hardware characteristics, you can create AVDs to simulate these. Head over to Mobiletuts+ and read our tutorial about creating AVDs that come as close as possible to simulating the following devices:

• HTC Evo 4G
• Google/HTC Nexus One
• Motorola Droid
• T-Mobile/HTC G1
• Archos 5 Internet Tablet

Project Pitfalls: 10 Business Risks of Android Development

Android is an exciting new platform to develop for, but there are a number of risks associated with Android projects which should not be overlooked. Here’s a short list of what we see as the project pitfalls of Android development at this time. Read more...

[Note: We're blogging over at Network World all this month. Head on over to register to win a free copy of our book!]