To introduce about Android, you might already knew that Android was acquired by Google in 2005. In Nov 2007, Open Handset Alliance (OHA) was formed by several big companies that included big industry players like Broadcom, Samsung, LG, HTC, Motorola, etc.
Android is an open source that run on Linux Kernel. It is licensed under an Apache license. Since the first release of Android Operating System, Google has been updating the versions for several times. Up to today, Android has reached to the version 3.1.
Beginner Guide
If you are a beginner to Android Development like us, you will notice that there are many available documentation, books and websites on self-study and experiments. While the learning curve is a little high, I would suggest you to start with below recommended book.
I use this book to start with my Android study and I found that this book is actually very helpful with its simple explanations, examples and concepts that were easy to understand for a beginner like me.
In Android development, you will need at least a basic understanding of how to program in Java. So if you are new to Java, I would suggest you to start with Java programming before you jump into Android development.
Android Market
It is important to know where your customers are. Android Market is the place where the android applications (so-called "app") are stored and it is maintained by Google. Some applications might be pre-installed with handset while the users are also able to browse and install third-party applications from android market. As of Apr 2011, Google claimed that number of applications installed has been reached to 3 billions.
Aside from installation from android market, the user might also want to install directly from their computers with apk files, an alternative market. Unlike Apple, Android allows third-party to host and sell the applications on their own. For example, recently, M1 has come out with Application stores that hosts all the applications and games except for Apple Iphone.
