HIGHLIGHT Unlocking Android is a developer-focused tutorial for the Android mobile operating system. Loaded with practical examples, this easy-to-follow book presents practical techniques that reach far beyond the Android documentation. DESCRIPTION Android is a free, open source, Java-based mobile platform developed by Google. Unlocking Android prepares the reader to embrace the Android mobile platform in easy-to-understand language and builds on this foundation with reusable Java code examples. It's ideal for corporate developers and hobbyists who have an interest, or a mandate, to deliver mobile software. The book first covers the big picture so the reader can get comfortable with the Android approach to the mobile applications. Then the reader learns to apply Android by following the many practical examples. The book concludes with two deep and hands-on examples. Unlocking Android addresses the Android application framework, its graphical capabilities and media support, data storage, communications capabilities, phone interactions, and notifications. KEY POINTS Android is led by Google, based on Linux, and developed by the Open Handset Alliance. Learn key techniques that apply both to corporate and hobbyist developers The writing is crisp, clear, and fun to read. MARKET INFORMATION Mobile development is hot. Unlike vendor-specific proprietary platforms, Android can be readily customized by device manufacturers and software companies looking to provide specific features. Any developer/independent software vendor (ISV) with a product on one of the major platforms available today (Palm, Windows Mobile, Blackberry, Symbian, J2ME) will consider porting their code to Android and will benefit from this book.