Google recently launched a bunch of online tutorials (they call them classes) on Android Development. These training courses, collectively called simply "Android Training," can be found at https://developer.android.com/training/index.html. Read More...

Amazon recently released the newest in their Kindle series, the Kindle Fire. The Fire runs a heavily modified version of the Android operating system, and is designed to deliver Amazon and Web content quickly and conveniently to the user. An important bit of information here is that the Kindle Fire is a tablet that runs Android, but it's not an Android tablet in the sense that one might assume. Read More...

Android 4.0, known as Ice Cream Sandwich, is due to be released in November. Google names the major versions of Android after desserts in alphabetical order - ICS follows after tablet-only Honeycomb, and Gingerbread, Froyo, Eclaire, and so on. I'm pretty excited about the new features, so I've taken the time to list some of them here. Read More...

Out of all the various online services provided by Google, few have seen as many major updates as Maps. From in-browser Google Earth to public transportation and Walking directions to Live Traffic, and now 3D route preview, also known as Helicopter View. Paul Yang announced this new feature of Google Maps a few days ago on LatLong, the official blog of Google Maps and Google Earth. Read More...

While it may not have the reach of Apple's iOS when considering other classes of devices, Android is the most popular smartphone platform in the United States. So if you're creating a smart phone app, Android is the way to go (or of course you can publish for multiple platforms). Further, if you ask me, which you sort of did by reading this post, Android is the most well-designed platform from a developer's perspective. Now that I've convinced you to develop for Android, here are a few steps to get you there. Read More...

In addition to understanding the languages and best practices, knowing what external tools are available is important for a developer. These are a few tools of which every web developer should be aware. They won't all apply to every project, but they should certainly be in your arsenal. Read More...

We did a review on Windows Live Skydrive in October. One of the main features Microsoft offers is the ability to create, edit and store Office docs for free online via the browser. It also allows you to view the documents on your web-enabled mobile phone. As some of you know, Google's own Google Docs is one of Microsoft's biggest rivals, and it has been on the market long before SkyDrive and has a large group of faithful followers including ourselves. Read More...

Recently I was studying some finer points of application development on the Andriod platform, and I was inspired to share some basic information with those who may be unfamiliar with the system. The first thing you need to know about Android applications is that they aren't like what most people think of as applications. On most platforms, desktop computer operating systems included, an application has a single entry point. So you "start" the application, and it runs code from a specific place. Usually this is in the form of a main() function. Read More...