Pro Android 4

Pro Android 4 shows you how to build real-world and fun mobile apps using the new Android SDK 4 (Ice Cream Sandwich), which unifies Gingerbread for smartphones, Honeycomb for tablets and augments further with Google TV and more.

This Android 4 book updates the best selling Pro Android 3 and covers everything from the fundamentals of building apps for embedded devices, smartphones, and tablets to advanced concepts such as custom 3D components, multi-tasking, sensors/augmented reality, better accessories support and much more.

• Using the tutorials and expert advice, you’ll quickly be able to build cool mobile apps and run them on dozens of Android-based smartphones.
• You’ll explore and use the Android APIs, including those for media and sensors.
• And you’ll check out what’s new with Android 4, including the improved user interface across all Android platforms, integration with services, and more.

After reading this definitive tutorial and reference, you gain the knowledge and experience to create stunning, cutting-edge Android 4 apps that can make you money, while keeping you agile enough to respond to changes in the future.

What you’ll learn

• How to use Android 4 to build Java-based mobile apps for Android smartphones and tablets
• How to build irresistible standard and custom User Interfaces and User Experiences (UI and UX) across Android devices
• How to populate your application with data from data sources, using Content Providers
• How to create 3D graphics with OpenGL and custom components
• How to build multimedia and game apps using Android’s media APIs and OpenGL
• How to use Android’s location-based services, network-based services, and security
• How to use new Android features, such as Fragments and the ActionBar

Who this book is for

This book is for professional software engineers and programmers looking to move their ideas and applications into the mobile space with Android. It assumes a passable understanding of Java, including how to write classes and handle basic inheritance structures.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1. Introducing the Android Computing Platform
Chapter 2. Setting up Your Development Environment
Chapter 3. Understanding Resources
Chapter 4. Understanding Content Providers
Chapter 5. Understanding Intents
Chapter 6. Building User Interfaces and Using Controls
Chapter 7. Adding Menus
Chapter 8. Fragments
Chapter 9. Dialogs: Regular and Fragment
Chapter 10. Action Bar
Chapter 11. Advanced Debugging and Analysis
Chapter 12. Responding to Configuration Changes
Chapter 13. Working with Preferences and Saving State
Chapter 14. Security and Permissions
Chapter 15. Working with Services
Chapter 16. Exploring Packages, Processes, and Library Projects
Chapter 17. Exploring Processes, Components, Threads, and Handlers
Chapter 18. Advanced Async Task
Chapter 19. Exploring Broadcast Receivers and Long Running Services
Chapter 20. Exploring the Alarm Manager
Chapter 21. Unveiling 2D Animation
Chapter 22. Exploring Maps and Location Services
Chapter 23. Using the Telephony APIs
Chapter 24. Understanding the Media Frameworks
Chapter 25. Home Screen Widgets
Chapter 26. Home Screen List Widgets
Chapter 27. Android Search User Experience
Chapter 28. Drag and Drop
Chapter 29. Using Sensors
Chapter 30. Understanding the Contacts API
Chapter 31. Deploying your Application: Android Market and Beyond