Android - All you need to know

Alright, this gonna be a long and draggy post, but I will try to keep it short and precise.

Android as we all known is a new platform by Google which is currently being use in various phone. The green cute tiny little creature above is the mascot of Android.

I attended the Android Workshop organized by HTC Malaysia in Solaris Dutamas and man it was filled with people. However locating the venue is a pain as the place is still new and you will need to ask around in order to get there..

As you can see the version of Android is usually represented with sweet / candy, I wonder why too but latest official version of Android is 2.1 and 2.2 is yet to be release which most people are eagerly waiting.. Why? Because it claims to have improved processing power and it has quite some add-ins too.. We shall wait and see then..

Reports shows that Android outsold iOS too during last quarter of sales with Symbian (Nokia) and Research In Motion (AKA RIM - Blackberry) leading according to order. But be very prepare cause Android is not far behind and if you notice, its market share jumped from 1.8% to 17.2% with just a few months and is only 1% behind RIM

Personally Android is not ready for everyone from around the globe yet i you ask me.. Reason being that there are less localized apps which could really turn your phone smart.. But people from the state is already enjoying the luxury with apps that are targeted for the locals there.. But for time being Android have 57% of free apps compare to Apple of 28% according to Distimo

With such attractive figure mentioned above, don't you want to have your share from the Android market? Opportunity for you to strike is there and with the existence of Android, it creates more opportunity for one to shine.

If you planned to serves your community with useful apps, do join the developers developing apps and share it on Android market, you never know that you might be the next apps star. To begin with here's what you need to install into your computer:
- Andriod SDK (http://developer.android.com)
- Eclipse IDE (http://eclipse.org)
- Android Development Toolkit (ADT) for Eclipse

Once you have done that you are ready to go..

Hmm.. It seems that you require programming skill to come out with an Apps.. Now that's an disadvantage! I'm not sure but it seems like a Java based language to me..

Fret not cause Google is currently on the beta stage of implementing a tools that aid anyone who is interested to develop apps for Android WIHTOUT any programming/coding involves and it is called App Inventor. Since it is still under beta stage, and if you are really really interested in trying out you could try to request to be included in the beta phase..
http://appinventor.googlelabs.com/about/

Now with App Inventor, hopefully everyone can come out with something that would ease and make our daily life easier.

Wait before the happy ending, what would be the future of Android with Orcale sued Google over Android and Java If somehow Google lost what is the future for Android user like us? What if Google win? What will be the market share for those who developed useful apps for Android? Nobody knows until the final outcome. You shall not be worrying much about this and should still give Android a try.

Oh ya the above presentation during Android Garage is presented by Code Android Malaysia. They are good with Android and they are really crazy about it. Do join them @codeandriodmy in twitter or visit their website for more info http://codeandroid.my

One final info you might be interested in.. MSC Malaysia is providing "FREE" course + phone for Android Application Development which will last for 5 days. Why is it "FREE" instead of FREE? Cause there's a catch.. In order to claim your FREE course and phone that worth up to RM3.5K you have to attend all the 5 days and have to submit your apps before the due date. Otherwise your paid deposit of RM500 and the phone you purchased is not claimable.

Hope this gives you a glimpse of what Android is all about and what it can do for you..