Professional Android Development is a developer's guide to building mobile applications using the Android SDK. This hands-on approach takes readers through a series of projects, each introducing a new Android platform feature and highlighting the techniques and best practices to get the most out of Android. Providing concise and compelling examples, Professional Android Development shows how to quickly construct real-world mobile applications for Android phones.

While most readers will have experience using mobile phones and developing software, many will not have written applications specifically for mobiles. Professional Android Development begins by offering an introduction to the Android software stack and examining the philosophy behind creating robust, consistent, and appealing applications for mobile phones. From this common base readers progress to increasingly complex examples that illustrate the features available for constructing their mobile phone projects.

Readers create full Android applications in a series of exercises designed to introduce new concepts, APIs, and Android functionality. The exercises begin as simple tasks that introduce readers to the anatomy, lifecycle, and UI metaphor of an Android application. Each step adds a particular piece of functionality to construct increasingly feature rich Android applications. Readers can use the exercises and the completed projects as a basis for developing their own Android applications.

The projects are written in Java using Eclipse with the Android plugin. While Android uses Java syntax, the power of the platform lies in the Android APIs. Many readers will already be familiar with Java and it's easy to learn, so readers with different development backgrounds should find the transition straightforward. Readers more comfortable with an alternative Java development environment should also find it easy to use their preferred tools.

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.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; and, a look at the power of background Services, using threads, and a detailed look at Notifications. This book also includes: 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; and, advanced development topics including security, IPC, advanced 2D / 3D graphics techniques, and user-hardware interaction. 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.