We are witnessing an explosion in the use of handheld mobiledevices worldwide. Recent polls have shown that many people own anduse more than one mobile device, and some use as many as three orfour. Smart phones, tablets, and handheld game devices areubiquitous.

The Android operating system (OS)--an open-source OSwith Linux at its core--is an ever-more-popular OS on thesedevices. android application development for java programmersprovides an ideal, quick-start tutorial for anyone interested indeveloping Android mobile device applications, from the student orhobbyist familiar with Java, to the experienced programmer wantingto enter the mobile device application market. Because the Androiddevelopment software provides an emulator program, the readerdoesnt need to own an Android mobile device to take advantage ofthis book. Although the code presented in the book can be used toproduce complete running applications, the goal is to inspire thereader to bring his own mobile application ideas to reality in ashort time.

The book is organized in a logical, evolutionary mannerstarting with configuration of the development environment andending with two comprehensive projects. The beginning chapterscover basic application components and configuration of the Androidemulator and basic user interface design, whereas later chapterscover how to accomplish more involved areas such as use of GPS,graphics, networking, and databases