It seems like most books on developing for Android are geared towards beginners and those who are accustomed to developing for other platforms or using other languages, while fewer help you put that extra layer of polish and shine on your app. With hundreds of thousands of apps already on the market for you to compete with, that's exactly what you need: something to kick your app up a notch or two.
This contest is now over. Here are our winners, selected at random:
- Cassi
- Grant Shearer
- Corneliu
- Brandon White
- Aditya
- Kiran
- eugene downing
- Luke
- Misty Fowler
- Wam31
Congratulations, guys - all of you will be contacted for your information in the near future!
Thanks to informIT, we have just the book for developers looking to learn advanced techniques - and we're giving away 10 copies of the eBook.
Android Wireless Application Development Volume II: Advanced Topics, 3rd Edition
As you've surmised from the paragraph above and title of the book, Android Wireless Application Development Volume II is written for those who already know the basics, but want to learn advanced skills and tricks.
Android Wireless Application Development has earned a reputation as the most useful real-world guide to building robust, commercial-grade Android apps. Now, authors Lauren Darcey and Shane Conder have systematically revised and updated this guide for the latest Android SDK and tools updates. To accommodate their extensive new coverage, they’ve split the book into two leaner, cleaner volumes. This Volume II focuses on advanced techniques for the entire app development cycle, including design, coding, testing, debugging, and distribution. Darcey and Conder cover hot topics ranging from tablet development to protecting against piracy and demonstrate advanced techniques for everything from data integration and UI development to in-app billing.
Every chapter has been thoroughly updated to reflect the latest SDKs, tools, and devices. The sample code has been completely overhauled and is available for download on a companion website. Drawing on decades of in-the-trenches experience as professional mobile developers, the authors also provide even more tips and best practices for highly efficient development. This new edition covers
- Advanced app design with async processing, services, SQLite databases, content providers, intents, and notifications
- Sophisticated UI development, including input gathering via gestures and voice recognition
- Developing accessible and internationalized mobile apps
- Maximizing integrated search, cloud-based services, and other exclusive Android features
- Leveraging Android 4.0 APIs for networking, web, location services, the camera, telephony, and hardware sensors
- Building richer apps with 2D/3D graphics (OpenGL ES and RenderScript), animation, and the Android NDK
- Tracking app usage patterns with Google Analytics
- Streamlining testing with the Android Debug Bridge
This book is an indispensable resource for every intermediate- to advanced-level Java developer now participating in Android development and for every seasoned mobile developer who wants to take full advantage of the newest Android platform and hardware.
The book is written by Lauren Darcey and Shane Conder and spans a whopping 528 pages - definitely not light reading intended for beginners.
The Giveaway
informIT has been generous enough to partner up with us to give away 10 copies of the eBook. To enter, just leave a comment telling us what kind of app you want to create with your newly-improved skills. Be sure to include your email address so that we can contact you if you win.
The contest is open to everyone in the world (fully international) and will run from today (Wednesday, July 18) until Monday, July 23 at 11:59 PM PST (the book's release is July 24). Winners will be chosen at random and contacted via email.
Good luck!