Introduction to Android

Sean SullivanMobile Fest Singapore

18 February 2009

05 February 2009

Singapore Telecommunications Limited (SingTel) and HTC Corporation, a global leader in mobile phone innovation and design, today unveiled the first Android™ powered mobile phone released in Asia - the HTC Dream™

Android is a software stack for mobile devices that includes an operating system, middleware and key applications

source: Google

August 2005

Google acquires Android

November 2007

Open Handset Alliance announcement

Android SDK available

September 2008

HTC and T-Mobile announce G1

October 2008

Android SDK 1.0

Android Market goes live

G1 available in retail stores in USA

February 2009

Android SDK 1.1

HTC and SingTel announcement

HTC and Vodafone announcement

Third party applications

lifeaware.net Maverick Android Locale

• multiple applications, running simultaneously

• user may switch between running applications

• background services

• copy and paste

Android Market

Android Market

• US$25 registration fee for developers

• developer receives 70% of each sale

• remaining amount goes to carriers

• Google does not take a percentage

• http://www.android.com/market/

System Architecture

Open source project

• http://source.android.com

• Apache 2.0 and GPL v2

• Git repository

Android applications

• are written in the Java language

• run on the Dalvik virtual machine

• Android != J2ME

Getting started

http://developer.android.com

Development tools

• Java SDK

• Android SDK

• Eclipse

• Eclipse plugin

Android SDK

• Android emulator

• command line tools

• documentation

• example applications

Android emulator

Eclipse plugin

https://dl-ssl.google.com/android/eclipse/

Android applications

• application package file: myapp.apk

• an application is composed of one or more activities

Activity

• an activity is usually a single screen in your application

• however, activities can also be faceless

• one activity is designated as the entry point for your application

android.app.Activity

import android.app.Activity;

public class MyActivity extends Activity { public void onCreate(Bundle savedValues) { super.onCreate(savedValues); setContentView(R.layout.main); }

}

Android Views

a view is an object that knows how to draw itself on the screen

ListView

DatePicker

MapView

Location services

• Location providers:

GPS_PROVIDER

NETWORK_PROVIDER (Cell tower, WiFi)

• Proximity alerts

What’s next for Android?

• more phones

• virtual keyboard

• Bluetooth A2DP

• multi-touch?

Singapore Android developer group

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=54219346370

Questions?

Thank you

Android resources

• http://developer.android.com

• http://android-developers.blogspot.com

• http://code.google.com/p/apps-for-android/

• http://sites.google.com/site/io/

• http://www.openhandsetalliance.com

• http://source.android.com