42 Links for Android Developers

The summer holidays are almost over and some of you might have decided to become an Android developer. During the holidays I have collected 42 links that help you learn about Android. Some links are on a beginner level to get you started, others are more advanced. Of course this list is highly subjective. If you have any additional links to relevant Android content please feel free to post them in the comments.

Official Website

1 Google Android Developer Page

The central website where you will find all the resources to get you started with android development. The website includes many resources for learning the fundamentals, a complete API reference and the tools that you will need to start developing. The site is divided into five sections.

As a beginner you should probably start with the Tools section which describes how to install the Android SDK.

The Training section provides you with an introduction to Android and start by teaching you how to write your fist app. It contains many resources and you will still be reading through the articles when you are an advanced developer.

The API Guides are somewhat more technical manuals for the different APIs. They are useful to gain a more in-depth understanding of the inner workings of Android.

The Reference Section contains a complete class reference of the Android libraries.

In the Google Services section you will find information about additional libraries that allow you to connect to Google’s services, such as maps or Google+

Tutorials

Contains many tutorials for the beginner and the advanced android programmer. The articles by Lars Vogel are usually expertly written and will provide you with a deeper understanding of the Android architecture.

Here you will find many tutorials on individual topics. The tutorials are not ordered as a step-by-step guide but cover a variety of separate topics.

4 CoreServlets Android Programming Tutorials

A more step by step series of tutorials that will guide you while you are taking your first steps in Android development.

5 Android Programming on Linux for Beginners

A three part series hosted by linux.com which is aimed at Android beginners who have some Java background.

6 Android Programming for Fun

A blog of a programmer learning Android. Kinam Choi takes you through his experience as he is getting to know the framework.

7 Styling Android

In this blog Mark Allison focuses on styling and layouting your Android applications. A very useful resource for anyone who wants to create really beautiful apps with a great UI.

A series of forum posts that guide you through the development of a simple Android App.

Video Tutorials

9 TheNewBoston Android Tutorials

200 video tutorials that focus on individual aspects of Android development, starting with downloading and installing the SDK. Most videos are around 5 minutes long so they can be enjoyed during a short break.

10 Derek Banas Android Development Tutorials

Derek is regularly posting video tutorials on a number of subjects. Currently there are 15 tutorials on Android development.

Ten concise videos introducing you to Android development. Some videos cover topics rarely covered by other tutorials. It takes about 2 hours to watch all ten videos.

12 Android Developers

If you want to keep up to date with Android development then you should subscribe to the official Android Developers channel. Here you will learn about the newest features and learn inside tips and tricks.

13 Android Authority

Another channel focusing on Android. This is mainly for the end user but as a good developer you should also keep in touch with the user’s perspective.

Tools

14 ADT Plugin for Eclipse

Currently the standard way to develop apps and probably the best option for a novice. The Android Developer Tools plugin integrates the Android SDK into Eclipse and contains a graphical layout editor that automatically generates the layout XML files. If you don’t like Eclipse you might try out IntelliJ IDEA 12 instead.

15 AndroidAnnotations

AndroidAnnotations simplifies the development of Android applications by using Java annotations to create boilerplate code. It can significantly speed up code development by taking care of the most common tasks for you. This also makes the source code more readable.

16 RoboGuice

Is aimed at dependency injection for Android applications. RoboGuice also makes use of annotations and uses Java reflection to achieve its goal.

Resources

An app that showcases many custom libraries, icons and views. You can install the app on your device and see the elements in action. You can also contribute new libraries on their website.

18 AndroidViews

A large collection of links to custom views, libraries and other resources. Don’t re-invent the wheel and cut your development time.

19 Chupa Mobile

If you are willing to pay for app components then this marketplace is for you. You might also consider selling your custom components, widgets etc.

App UI Design

20 Official Design Guidelines

This is the official site on the Android web pages. This contains all the essential information how to design your apps.

21 Android Patterns

A directory of UI patterns. The site explains the most common and intuitive methods of interacting with your application. If you want to create a seamless experience for the user then this site is a must.

22 Android App Patterns

A huge collection of screenshots from many apps sorted in categories. For example you can compare navigation screens and see what best suits your own application.

23 Mobile Patterns

Another collection of screenshots, not only for Android but for also for iPhone.

24 30 Web and Mobile Wireframe Toolkits

An article containing links to 30 resources. Wireframe toolkits let you layout your app design professionally.

25 Cheatsheet for Graphic Designers

A very useful resource for creating and implementing the layout you want to realise quickly.

Inspiration

26 Android Niceties

A collection on tumblr showcasing the most beautiful Android apps. A very good source of inspiration.

A website showcasing nice mobile apps. Not specific to Android but useful for any mobile designer.

Blogs

28 Official Android Developers Blog

The official blog from the Android developers at Google. It is worthwhile to keep in touch with the latest news from the insiders.

29 Android Weekly

Not really a blog but a weekly newsletter that keeps you up-to-date on all Android development issues.

30 Cyril Mottier

A great blog about current trends in the Android world.

31 The Commons Blog

This blog is an essential read for mor in-depth information about Android development. Mark Murphy focuses on the finer details and pitfalls that developers should be aware of.

32 Android UI Patterns

In his blog Juhani focuses on app design and usability.

People

The best way to keep up-to-date with Android development is to keep in touch with the people that develop or contribute to the framework. Because Android is created by Google, you will find that the developer community is mainly found on Google+ (rather than Facebook). But they will also be found on other social networks.

Mark Murphy wrote the book “The Busy Coder’s Guide to Android Development” which is over 2300 pages and contains a huge amount of useful information. He is mainly on Google+ but also has a website, and can be found answering questions on stackoverflow.

34 Tor Norbye

Tor Norbye is on the Android team at Google. He works on visual tools for Android development. He can also be found on Twitter and on YouTube and he is part of the team at The Java Posse. His blog is not maintained anymore since he moved his main activity to Google+.

35 Romain Guy

Romain Guy is an expert on the internal workings of Android UI, focusing on graphics performance and animations. He is on Google+, on Twitter, he answers questions on Stackoverflow and he also has a blog. Be sure to watch his videos of the Google I/O 2013 conference about Android Graphics & Performance and about Animations.

36 Dianne Hackborn

Dianne Hackborn is an Android framework engineer. Apart from being on Google+ she also answers questions on Stackoverflow.

37 Chris Banes

Chris Banes is the author of ActionBar-PullToRefresh, PhotoView and Android-BitmapCache, three very useful libraries for the Android developer. You can find him on Google+, on Twitter, on Stackoverflow, on his blog and even on Facebook.

38 Jake Wharton

Jake Wharton is the developer ofand Android-ViewPagerIndicator and ActionBarSherlock which simplifies the use of the action bar design pattern across all versions of Android. He is on Google+, Twitter, as well as answering questions on Stackoverflow.

39 Roman Nurik

Roman Nurik contributes to Android mostly through improving user experience and visual design. Follow him on Google+, Twitter, Stackoverflow or Dribbble.

40 Adam Powell

Adam Powell is one of the Android framework developers and mainly works on the UI toolkit. He can be found on Google+, Twitter and Stackoverflow.

41 Richard Hyndman

Richard Hyndman is on the Android developer team. He posts mostly on Google+ and on Twitter.

42 Cyril Mottier

Cyril Mottier is the developer of GreenDroid and regular blogger. He can also be found on Google+ and Twitter.

Final Remarks

I hope that these links are useful and I trust that they will keep you busy for a while. I have tried to find the right balance and mixed beginners content and advanced content evenly. If you have any further comments or suggestions, if you find mistakes, or if you want to let me know which links were the most important to you, please let me know in the comments.

Mikail

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