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)?

Unit Testing with Android JUnit

Mobiletuts+ Android JUnit Testing Article

Testing is an important part of any software project. Testing for mobile is no different. One way of ensuring correctness of code at all levels is via automated unit testing.  Through automated unit testing, you can define expected results on the normal cases, in addition to edge case failures, standard failures, and everything in between. The popular JUnit framework is often used when writing these unit tests for Java.

The Android framework includes powerful unit testing support. Learn how to get started with Android JUnit with our Mobiletuts+ article on JUnit testing with Android.

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!]

Android Needs Google For Now

Today, we’re seeing two types of Android devices on the market: those with a basic, “vanilla” installation of Android and those with Android and Google services. This means developers and manufacturers have choices as to whether or not to integrate tightly with Google services. This decision requires some serious thought. 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!]

Key Questions Any Good Mobile Application Business Plan Should Answer

Coming up with the right business model for your mobile application can be tricky. Here are some of the key questions any good mobile application business plan should answer. 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!]

19 Ways to Make "Free" Mobile Application Pricing Profitable

In terms of app pricing, one of the first questions to ask yourself is: are you going to charge users or give the app away for “free”? But can you give away your app and still make money? Here are 19 ways you can try. 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!]

Some Thoughts on Mobile Application Business Plans

Mobile developers are struggling to determine the appropriate business plans for their applications. Over the past few weeks, we've been talking to a lot of mobile business professionals--some veterans of the mobile marketplace and many just getting started. With easy and accessible mobile platforms like Android, writing a mobile application is often the easy part, but monetizing your application can be a real challenge. We're going to be talking a lot about different mobile application business strategies this month, but we thought we'd kick this topic off with a few high level thoughts. With so many new players in this field, we're seeing many developers and development companies struggle to figure out how to make money with applications. 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!]

Six Hot Android Topics at DroidCamp

We're currently in Berlin attending droidcamp and droidcon conferences. Droidcamp, primarily for Android developers, was quite a success today, with many great sessions. We listened to the developer buzz and went to a bunch of sessions. Here is our take on the hot topics simmering within the Android community here in Germany. 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!]

The Top Five Business Benefits of Android

With the Android 2.0 release newly available, perhaps you’re wondering if the Android platform is right for your business or your project. Here are the top five benefits of Android from a business perspective (primarily for prospective application developers). 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!]

Android Development Tip: Managing AVDs with the Eclipse Android Development Tools Plug-In

I've updated my Eclipse development environment a number of times in the past few weeks, what with the Android 1.5 preview, then the release version. I checked for updates this week and noticed yet another version of the ADT Eclipse plugin was available. One interesting new feature added in the latest version is an Android Virtual Device (AVD) manager, accessible from within Eclipse.

All emulator instances using the Android 1.5 SDK require an AVD configuration. Sure, you can use the android command line interface to create and manage AVDs, but if you just want to create a simple AVD quickly, you can now use the little wizard provided with the ADT plugin. The AVD manager button is added to your Eclipse toolbar. It looks like a little black cell phone.

Simply click it and the AVD manager will launch, listing all AVDs on your system. You can Add and Delete AVDs, as well as Refresh the AVD listing.


When creating a new AVD, you can set the following information:

• The AVD friendly name
• The Target Android system
• The Skin
• Whether or not to create an SD Card Image
• 
  You cannot create custom hardware profiles. That, you still need to use the android command line tool for.

Android SDK 1.5r1 Available for Download

Release 1 of the Android 1.5 SDK is available for download now. Additionally, a system image for the ADP1 (Android Developer Phone from Google) is available for 1.5 now, as well.

This is the third full release of Android, corresponding to API Level 3 (Android 1.1r1 was Level 2 and Android 1.0r1 and 1.0r2 corresponded to Level 1).

This time, though, the Google map services are in an SDK add-on. A vanilla API Level 3 distribution may not contain these. Testing this is made possible through an emulator target that contains these services and one that doesn't, where even clicking on a map link from within an application won't work.

This capability opens the door to other third-party add-ons, a very exciting potential.

Android 1.5: Going Live Within The Next Few Weeks

The much-awaited Android 1.5 SDK update is coming soon to a development environment near you. This update is based on the Cupcake branch of the Android source project and features substantial improvements and additions to the Android APIs, as well as developer tool suite updates and some much-needed UI polish and performance improvements to the overall Android user experience.

You can find a short list of highlights coming in Android 1.5 as part of the Android Developer SDK 1.5 preview on the Android Developer website as well as download the pre-release ("preview") version of Android SDK 1.5 and give it a spin.

You may also find the Cupcake branch roadmap useful.

The SDK 1.5 is expected to be released within the next few weeks. An over-the-air update will likely be sent to Android phones in the field soon thereafter.

What are you looking forward to in this release? We're looking forward to being able to create home screen widgets.