Introduction
Welcome to Android Tablet Application Development For Dummies, the second For Dummies book that covers Android application development. You can consider this the second installment of the Android series. The first (Android Application Development For Dummies) covers phone development, and this book covers tablet development. I hope you enjoy finding out about how to program for the Android platform from this book as much as I enjoyed writing it!
When Android was acquired by Google in 2005 (yes, Android was at one point a start-up company), I'll be honest, I didn't have much interest in it. I heard that Google might be entering the mobile space, but as with anything in the technology industry, I didn't believe it until I saw it firsthand. Fast-forward to a few years later, when Google announced its first Android phone: the G1. When I heard this news, I was glued to the computer, reading reviews, watching videos, and researching the product as much as I could. I knew that this product would be the start of something huge.
I got my start in Android development about a week after my wife received her G1, the first publicly released Android device. At that time, the G1 didn't offer the rich feature set of the iPhone, but I believed in the platform. As soon as Donut (Android 1.6) was released, it was evident that Google was putting some effort into the product.
Today, we're on version 3.2 of the Android platform, with the next version of Android (codename Ice Cream Sandwich ...
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