Android Application Development: Programming with the Google SDK |  | Authors: Rick Rogers, John Lombardo, Zigurd Mednieks, Blake Meike, Rogers Rick, Lombardo John, Mednieks Zigurd, Meike Blake
Creator: Tim O'Reilly
Publisher: O'Reilly Media
List Price: $39.99
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Seller: dutchgreek
Rating:  14 reviews
Sales Rank: 186805
Media: Paperback
Edition: 1
Pages: 334
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 7 x 0.8
ISBN: 0596521472
Dewey Decimal Number: 005.268
EAN: 9780596521479
ASIN: 0596521472
Publication Date: May 26, 2009
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
This practical book provides the concepts and code you need to develop software with Android, the open-source platform for cell phones and mobile devices that's generating enthusiasm across the industry. Based on the Linux operating system and developed by Google and the Open Handset Alliance, Android has the potential to unite a fragmented mobile market. Android Application Development introduces this programming environment, and offers you a complete working example that demonstrates Android architectural features and APIs. With this book, you will: - Get a complete introduction to the Android programming environment, architecture, and tools
- Build a modular application, beginning with a core module that serves to launch modules added in subsequent chapters
- Learn the concepts and architecture of a specific feature set, including views, maps, location-based services, persistent data storage, 2D and 3D graphics, media services, telephony services, and messaging
- Use ready-to-run example code that implements each feature
- Delve into advanced topics, such as security, custom views, performance analysis, and internationalization
The book is a natural complement to the existing Android documentation provided by Google. Whether you want to develop a commercial application for mobile devices, or just want to create a mobile mashup for personal use, Android Application Development demonstrates how you can design, build, and test applications for the new mobile market.
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Showing reviews 1-5 of 14
 Very disappointing November 16, 2009
Lucian Piros
Whatever your Android programming level is, this book is a complete waste of time and definitely doesn't worth a single penny. After reading half of the book it was very clear to me that there is no leading author for this book and nobody technically reviewed the book as a whole. Except chapter 7, referring to signing and publishing Android application, the whole part one is useless. Whole Android installation process is different right now and you better check Google web site to get latest installation steps. Not to mention that there are unnecessary and very annoying repetitions on how to use Eclipse.
Even if first part was disastrous, I did finish the book. In second part there are two chapters that are worth spending your time on: chapter 10: Building a View and chapter 13: Inter-process Communication. As for the rest....utterly disappointing. The authors even prove that they don't know what application they wrote. In some chapters they use different names for same class they put in their application, this in addition to the fact that their application doesn't work at all.
If you receive this book as a present and you are completely bored you can read it, otherwise I would not spend a single penny on it.
 As an adjunct to Android's documentation, it's a winner October 13, 2009
Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Rick Rogers, et.al.'s ANDROID APPLICATION DEVELOPMENT provides an in-depth book on the concepts and code needed to build smartphone applications with the Android program. Android lies at the heart of core functions available for modern mobile devices, and this provides a specific guide for programmers seeking to use Android's UI elements and take advantage of provided code to implement special features. As an adjunct to Android's documentation, it's a winner.
 not up to the usual o'reilly standard August 23, 2009
Brian Cole (Australia)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Not a terrible book - in fact some sections are well done. But it is written around an application, and so:
- isn't as useful if you don't have a computer handy, to look at the downloaded application code
- misses some parts of android, because the application doesn't happen to use them. e.g. menus are dealt with in passing as part of a map application, and preferences are not mentioned (at all - not even in the index)
The Manning book - for a change - is better than the O'Reilly, and cheaper. But I refer to both regularly, and don't regret buying either.
 O'Reilly does not disappoint July 8, 2009
C. Mihai (Riverside, CA United States)
2 out of 4 found this review helpful
If you are trying to jump on the Android bandwagon, this is the book you want to have. As always O'Reilly does not disappoint as this book reinforces the reason why it has become the defacto standard for learning a new technology. The topics are explained very well and the examples are practical. Although the book is not for the rookie developer as it assumes experience with Java, XML, SQL, etc., it does assume you have zero experience developing for Android.
The first part of the book will cover the fundamentals of the architecture and walk you through the SDK. It even starts you off with the classic "hello world" program. Although there are a couple of other examples, the rest of the text builds around a principle and more complex example called MicroJobs.
The authors do a very good job of laying out MicroJobs project. This interesting program covered throughout the book serves to teach you by example the use of databases, mapping, graphics, inter-process communication, telephony, and the use of Androids libraries. The larger example is a practical way to prepare you for real world application development. Not to mention that the application is a Job Finder, a befitting example in todays world. Best of all, unlike some of the books put out there you can spend most of your time learning instead of having to waste time retyping the example code since O'Reilly actually makes them available for download. You should be building your own Android apps, signed and ready for public distribution in no time!
Of course the book is not perfect, but no book is. It would seem like some reviewers found too much setup for the project, while others found too little, and as I noted I found the book well put together in that regard. What I would have liked is to see a bit more text about using the camera and definitely a section on bluetooth. If it had those I would of gave it 5 stars, but all in all a very useful book.
Extremely well written book July 6, 2009
Hycel B. Taylor III (Boston, MA)
3 out of 5 found this review helpful
Except for the fact that this book lacks an overview of Android 1.5, which I suspect will be in the next addition; I do not understand the bad reviews of this book.
Whenever I read a technical book on a new language or new platform, there are five specific things I look for:
1. Does the book contain a short, clear introduction that gives a little bit of history on the subject matter and states the purpose and intent of the book?
2. Does the book quickly present me with the ubiquitous "Hello World" example so that I'm immediately gratified, producing my first working program?
3. Does each chapter contain a summary? I like to read the summary first so that I know what knowledge I will gain from the chapter.
4. Does the content and knowledge contained in each chapter build on the content and knowledge gained from previous chapters?
5. Is the attention to detail in each chapter sufficient enough that I have truly gained some information that will allow me to be immediately productive in the subject matter?
If you look for these things in this book, you will find them in spades.
If you're looking for a book that will help you thoroughly understand the ins and outs of the android platform, you will want this book in your arsenal.
If one takes the time to read this book in its entirety, you will most likely become very proficient and comfortable writing android applications. This book will then become an excellent reference manual that you may refer to often.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 14
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