Professional Android 2 Application Development [Paperback]

Reto Meier (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 2010 | ISBN-10: 0470565527 | ISBN-13: 978-0470565520 | Edition: 2

Update to the bestseller now features the latest release of the Android platform

Android is a powerful, flexible, open source platform for mobile devices and its popularity is growing at an unprecedented pace. This update to the bestselling first edition dives in to cover the exciting new features of the latest release of the Android mobile platform.

Providing in-depth coverage of how to build mobile applications using the next major release of the Android SDK, this invaluable resource takes a hands-on approach to discussing Android with a series of projects, each of which introduces a new feature and highlights techniques and best practices to get the most out of Android.

• The Android SDK is a powerful, flexible, open source platform for mobile devices
• Shares helpful techniques and best practices to maximize the capabilities of Android
• Explains the possibilities of Android through the use of a series of detailed projects
• Demonstrates how to create real-world mobile applications for Android phones
• Includes coverage of the latest version of Android

Providing concise and compelling examples, Professional Android Application Development is an updated guide aimed at helping you create mobile applications for mobile devices running the latest version of Android.

Note: CD-ROM/DVD and other supplementary materials are not included as part of eBook file.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Build unique mobile applications with the latest Android SDK

Written by an Android authority, this up-to-date resource shows you how to leverage the features of Android 2 to enhance existing products or create innovative new ones. Serving as a hands-on guide to building mobile apps using Android, the book walks you through a series of sample projects that introduces you to Android's new features and techniques. Using the explanations and examples included in these pages, you'll acquire the foundation needed to write compelling mobile applications that use Android, along with the flexibility to quickly adapt to future enhancements.

Professional Android 2 Application Development:

• Reviews Android as a development platform and¿best practices for mobile development

• Provides an in-depth look at the Android application components

• Details creating layouts and Views to produce compelling resolution independent user interfaces

• Examines Intents and Content Providers for sharing data

• Introduces techniques for creating map-based applications and using location-based services such as GPS

• Looks at how to create and use background Services, Notifications, and Alarms

• Demonstrates how to create interactive homescreen components

• Explores the Bluetooth, telephony, and networking APIs

• Examines using hardware, including the camera and sensors such as the compass and accelerometers

Wrox Professional guides are planned and written by working programmers to meet the real-world needs of programmers, developers, and IT professionals. Focused and relevant, they address the issues technology professionals face every day. They provide examples, practical solutions, and expert education in new technologies, all designed to help programmers do a better job.

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About the Author

Reto Meier is a software developer who has been involved in Android since the initial release in 2007. He is an Android Developer Advocate at Google.

Product Details

• Paperback: 576 pages
• Publisher: Wrox; 2 edition (March 1, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0470565527
• ISBN-13: 978-0470565520
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 1.1 x 9.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (62 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #196,239 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Originally from Perth, Western Australia, Reto Meier now lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Reto is an experienced software developer with more than 10 years of experience in GUI application architecture, design, and development. He's worked in various industries, including offshore oil and gas, before moving to London and into finance. Early in 2009 Reto became Google's Android developer advocate for Europe, and in 2011 moved to Google's head office in Mountain View to become the Tech Lead for Android Developer Relations.

Always interested in emerging technologies, Reto has been involved in Android since the initial release in 2007. In his spare time, he tinkers with a wide range of development platforms including Google's plethora of developer tools.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

56 of 60 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Good Book (But Could Be Better) March 13, 2010

By T. Dowdell

Format:Paperback

Android 2 is pretty new (as of March 2010) so having an Android 2 book on the market that is good quality was unexpected. I have not read all chapters, but here are my impressions so far:

Pro's
=====
- Author's style is neither dull or exciting, just to the point. Most explanations are clear and thorough.
- I definitely feel I have a good resource to complement the online Android docs. There have been a variety of topics I've tried to answer using Android docs (and Google searches) without much luck that this book covered clearly.
- There are a lot of good topics covered. Space is not wasted on reprinting information readily available online. Instead, author regularly refers reader to web links.
- And, finally, I appreciate the well-edited index.

Con's
=====
- The book is very weak in the illustration department. For example, instead of showing an image of a NinePatch bitmap, the author explains how a NinePatch should be constructed. This is chintzy and unforgivable for a book about a heavily visual technology.
- Occassionally, concepts are introduced without providing context. 'Kinda like when you walk into a meeting and the speakers clearly know their material but forget that 90% of the others in the room need to be brought up to speed before instructing.
- Some conspicuous omissions. For instance, no information on fonts.

64 of 70 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Quite a few errors, but still the best of my choice out of all Android books March 12, 2010

By Leo Chen

Format:Paperback

I'm a software engineer with 3 years of experience developing Windows Mobile applications.
I needed a book which is
* In-Depth - Perhaps one of the most in-depth Android books available.
* Updated - This book is one of the most updated books on Android, covering Android SDK 2.1 r1.
* Lots of sample code to complement the shortcomings of the online Android Developer Guide.
This book meets all of my requirements.

Being a careful reader, I found many errors just by reading Chapters 3 and 5 alone.
I've posted these errors on publisher's errata page and also on this book's forum.
No book is perfect, therefore misspellings and misprints are tolerable.
But incorrect or outdated information is not, therefore I hope the author can correct
these errors in the next print.

Depite these errors, I still give this book a rating of 4 because of other qualities, and the
author was very keen to address these errors.
Just like reading any other books, one just needs to be careful in reading, perhaps the best approach is
to read it along with the online Android Developer Guide.

27 of 30 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book for someone trying to break into app development. April 19, 2010

By John D. Rodriguez

Format:Paperback

I only started writing Android apps back in November of 2009. In that time, I've been under the false assumption that everything I need, I'll be able to find online.

Although it's probably true that a lot of the information in here can be found online, the real benefit to Meier's book is that it's very well organized. I didn't realize how disorganized I was until I decided to get this book. It is pretty easy to understand and makes a great reference.

Anyway, I keep hearing about how this book is great if you have a lot of experience, but I just wanted to say it's great if you don't have any experience, too.