Resources every Android developer must know. This post may be useful for both beginners and moderately experienced Android developers, as a single place where most useful resources are listed. Books You may think that starting to learn a new development platform in 2013 by reading a book is old-fashioned and you may be right. But you should still do it: see Programmers Don’t Read Books – But You Should by Jeff Atwood. I recommend these 2 books: The Busy Coder’s Guide to Android Development by Mark Murphy. Developer.android.com Before starting to write your first Android application, read and learn Android Design site by heart. Also check out the Downloads section, which contains stencils, source files for icons and controls, styled and unstyled Action Bar icons. Ready to start coding?
StackOverflow A number of Android core framework engineers, developer advocates and expert Android developers regularly answer questions on stackoverflow.com. Blogs Many blogs provide great up to date information about Android development: Google+ Android Programming Tutorial. Chrome tip: How to get Android phone notifications on your computer. Google Chrome already supports rich notifications and Google Now is in the works for the browser, but I think there’s still a missing link: Phone notifications sent to your computer. With a free app and Chrome extension, I’ve been having my Android phone push certain alerts right to my Chromebook Pixel. Why is that handy? Because there are often times where my focus is on the computer, not the phone in my pocket, on my desk or sitting on the charger in another room. You’ll need two free things to add phone notifications to Chrome OS or your Chrome browser.
First, install the Android Desktop Notifications extension found in the Chrome Web Store. (Note: You can also enjoy this solution with Firefox, using this extension.) Once you install those two item, you need to pair the browser add-on with your phone. Of course, I found out the hard way that you probably don’t want all of your phone notifications appearing. Tapping the settings in the phone app brings up customization options. Friday. On{X}: The Coolest Thing to Happen to Android. Courtesy of… Microsoft Israel? Look at your Android phone! Now back at this post! Imagine you could program your Android to text your wife when you left work. Now imagine your Android reminding you in the morning to grab your umbrella if it’s going to rain later in the day. Now look back at your Android Phone! Now look at Microsoft! Wait, what? Microsoft? That’s right, your favorite Redmond techno-giant is sitting on a horse. Microsoft is today announcing the beta release of on{X} (pronounced ‘on-ex’), a website and Android app combo that provides users with extended control of their Android phones via remote programming.
Before we dive in, the first question that needs answering is why is Microsoft releasing a product for Android? Shira Weinberg, the team’s Program Manager, explained that the less strict security model of the Android platform is well suited for deploying early stage technology previews. All users need to do is download the Android app and then configure rules on the on{X} site.