5 Best Android App Development Books

Posted by webchicklet in Web Development on June 7th, 2010 | no responses

With the recent launches of HTC Incredible and the HTC EVO, Android seems set to take over the smartphone operating system world. So developers looking to make some mad money on Android App Developent should be looking to beef up their Android development skills. The best way to learn is by reading, and following tutorials, so I’m going to outline the 5 best selling Android App Development books, guides, and tutorials on Amazon.com. For technical books, if it’s a best seller on Amazon, it’s required reading for you, the developer.

So if you’re looking to cash in on the Android App Marketplace, get shopping and get reading. Or if you have a favorite friend or family member who has an Android device surgically attached to the palm of their hand, one of these books may be the perfect birthday gift.

1. Professional Android 2 Application Development (Wrox Programmer to Programmer) (Paperback)~ Reto Meier

This is the number one selling book on Android development, written by An Android authority. It’s an up to date hands on guide on getting the most out of Android 2 development, and provides in depth info that is easy to digest. With this best of breed book you will gain a solid foundation in Android development that will get you creating top Android apps in short order. Like all good android development books, Professional Android 2 Application Development will include lessons in the following need to know topics

Android application components
layouts and Views to produce compelling resolution independent user interfaces
Providers for sharing data
map-based applications and how to use location-based services such as GPS
background Services, Notifications, and Alarms
creating interactive home screen components
Bluetooth, telephony, and networking APIs info
Using camera and sensors including compass and accelerometers

2. Pro Android 2 (Paperback) ~ Sayed Hashimi, Satya Komatineni, Dave MacLean

This is an excellent book, however it may take a while to get it (1 to 3 months currently). I can only assume they utilize a just in time delivery protocal, that waits for an order before cutting the trees, making the paper, and then printing the book, and then finally packing the book onto the pony express and shipping it cross country from Alaska. But seriously, it is a great book well worth the wait.

Pro Android 2 gets you buiding real-world mobile applications using Google’s latest Android SDK in short order(not counting the delivery time). The new edition means it fully covers Android 2, and it offers the rare combination of expert insight and real sample applications that work. I for one can’t learn from reading alone, it’s imperative that I see some working examples.

So, while it takes even longer to get than an HTC Droid Incredible from Verizon, it is an excellent resource for the budding Android developer.

3. Android Wireless Application Development (Paperback)~ Shane Conder, Lauren Darcey

This is a great book that will will get you to the Android marketplace in no time. However, it does not cover Android 2. That being said, I’m sure the author is working on it and it will be updated soon.

It’s got all the ingredients for a quality book: reliable info, sample code, and best practices needed to program, distribute and market popular and useful Android mobile apps. Best of all, the book comes with a CD-ROM containing all of the book’s code samples, as well as some open source tools for Android development.

4. Pro Android Games (Paperback) ~ Vladimir Silva

Want to create your own award winning gopher whacking game? Well here’s the best book on the market to get you there quickly. Pro Android Games will teach you how to build cool games from scratch on the latest Android platform. It also shows you how to port other classic freeware/shareware games like Doom and Wolfenstein 3D from C using the Java Native Interface (JNI) for Android. This is a hands on guide with plenty of code examples to get you going!

5. Android Programming Tutorials, 2nd Edition (Paperback)~ Mark Lawrence Murphy

This is my kind of book, one with plenty of hands on examples, which along with a pot of coffee, helps keep my eyes from defocusing. From the author: “Android Programming Tutorials is a collection of exercises that will have you build a pair of relatively sophisticated Android applications: a restaurant database and a Twitter client. The goal of the tutorials is to expose you to a wide range of Android capabilities in the context of a larger application, rather than standalone demonstrations like a programming guide might profile. ” When I read that, I immediately clicked add to cart. This is how I learn most easily and quickly. This book is a 5 star guide that every interested Android App Developer should own, and use frequently!

So there you have it, the 5 most important Android Development books you need to have. I listed links to Amazon as they have the best prices in the world on pretty much everything, and most books ship free and fast (except number 2 as already noted). So what are you waiting for? Get on that Android wave while you still can. As usual, be sure to let us know below if you come across any better Android Development books.

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