How to Make a Custom Icon for Your Android App & Design Considerations

In this video lesson Tim Layton walks you through how to make a custom icon for your Android app and the variables that you need to consider for different resolutions and formats. Tim also discusses the current population of devices by OS version and hardware type to help you form a strategy for your development efforts.



The "Android Programming in 10 Days" series helps developers learn the skills they need to write Android applications for mobile phones, tablets and devices. Android has never been more popular and with the release of API 14 "Ice Cream Sandwich" developers can now create applications for all Android devices in a single environment.

Android 4.0 brings a unified UI framework that lets developers create elegant, innovative apps for phones, tablets, and more. It includes all of the familiar Android 3.x interface elements and APIs — fragments, content loaders, Action Bar, rich notifications, resizable home screen widgets, and more — as well as new elements and APIs.

For developers, the unified UI framework in Android 4.0 means new UI tools, consistent design practices, simplified code and resources, and streamlined development across the range of Android-powered devices.

For Android specific information visit Tim's portal at http://www.learnandroidsdk.com and for all of Tim's IT tips and programming lessons visit http://techtips.timlaytonllc.com.

Tim Layton

Testing Your Android Development Environment

In this training video Tim Layton walks you through testing your installed and configured Android development environment before moving onto the programming lessons.



The "Android Programming in 10 Days" series helps developers learn the skills they need to write Android applications for mobile phones, tablets and devices. Android has never been more popular and with the release of API 14 "Ice Cream Sandwich" developers can now create applications for all Android devices in a single environment.

Android 4.0 brings a unified UI framework that lets developers create elegant, innovative apps for phones, tablets, and more. It includes all of the familiar Android 3.x interface elements and APIs — fragments, content loaders, Action Bar, rich notifications, resizable home screen widgets, and more — as well as new elements and APIs.

For developers, the unified UI framework in Android 4.0 means new UI tools, consistent design practices, simplified code and resources, and streamlined development across the range of Android-powered devices.

For Android specific information visit Tim's portal at http://www.learnandroidsdk.com and for all of Tim's IT tips and programming lessons visit http://techtips.timlaytonllc.com.


Tim Layton

How to Install Eclipse and the Android Developer Tool (ADT) Plugin

In this training video Tim Layton presents and then walks you through the process of installing Eclipse and the ADT (Android Developer Tool) plugin for your Android development environment.



The "Android Programming in 10 Days" series helps developers learn the skills they need to write Android applications for mobile phones, tablets and devices. Android has never been more popular and with the release of API 14 "Ice Cream Sandwich" developers can now create applications for all Android devices in a single environment.

Android 4.0 brings a unified UI framework that lets developers create elegant, innovative apps for phones, tablets, and more. It includes all of the familiar Android 3.x interface elements and APIs — fragments, content loaders, Action Bar, rich notifications, resizable home screen widgets, and more — as well as new elements and APIs.

For developers, the unified UI framework in Android 4.0 means new UI tools, consistent design practices, simplified code and resources, and streamlined development across the range of Android-powered devices.

For Android specific information visit Tim's portal at http://www.learnandroidsdk.com and for all of Tim's IT tips and programming lessons visit http://techtips.timlaytonllc.com.


Tim Layton

How to Configure AVD (Android Virtual Devices)

In this training video Tim Layton presents and then walks you through the process of configuring AVD's (Android Virtual Devices) for your Android development environment.



The "Android Programming in 10 Days" series helps developers learn the skills they need to write Android applications for mobile phones, tablets and devices. Android has never been more popular and with the release of API 14 "Ice Cream Sandwich" developers can now create applications for all Android devices in a single environment.

Android 4.0 brings a unified UI framework that lets developers create elegant, innovative apps for phones, tablets, and more. It includes all of the familiar Android 3.x interface elements and APIs — fragments, content loaders, Action Bar, rich notifications, resizable home screen widgets, and more — as well as new elements and APIs.

For developers, the unified UI framework in Android 4.0 means new UI tools, consistent design practices, simplified code and resources, and streamlined development across the range of Android-powered devices.

For Android specific information visit Tim's Android portal at http://www.learnandroidsdk.com and for all of Tim's IT tips and programming lessons visit http://techtips.timlaytonllc.com.

Tim Layton

How to Install Android SDK

In this training video Tim Layton walks you through the system requirements and how to install the Android SDK tools on your system as part of the Android system development environment.



In this video Tim walks you through the process of installing the most current release of the Android SDK.



The "Android Programming in 10 Days" series helps developers learn the skills they need to write Android applications for mobile phones, tablets and devices. Android has never been more popular and with the release of API 14 "Ice Cream Sandwich" developers can now create applications for all Android devices in a single environment.

Android 4.0 brings a unified UI framework that lets developers create elegant, innovative apps for phones, tablets, and more. It includes all of the familiar Android 3.x interface elements and APIs — fragments, content loaders, Action Bar, rich notifications, resizable home screen widgets, and more — as well as new elements and APIs.

For developers, the unified UI framework in Android 4.0 means new UI tools, consistent design practices, simplified code and resources, and streamlined development across the range of Android-powered devices.

For Android specific information visit Tim's portal at http://www.learnandroidsdk.com and for all of Tim's IT tips and programming lessons continue to visit http://techtips.timlaytonllc.com.

Tim Layton

Using the New Samsung Galaxy 4 Player for Android Development

If you are exploring Android development or even a seasoned Android developer, you have had limited and very expensive options for testing your applications on a real device until now.  If you have done much development you know the simulator, even though it has been improved, is still a long stretch from speed and viability as compared to a real device.  The new Samsung Galaxy 4 Player is the perfect option for Android developers in my opinion.  I picked one up today and I will keep you posted as I use it in my development efforts.  Samsung also made a 5" version as well.  The 4" version was $229 USD at my local Best Buy and the 5" was $269.  I personally elected to go with the 4" version because it was more like a typical phone size and I felt this was more flexible for my testing process. 

Both of these Android Gingerbread-based devices (2.3.5) closely resemble an Android smartphone, and that is why I think either one of these devices can be a good option for developers.  The equivalent smartphone was $350 more, making this even more attractive. 

The Galaxy Players can be a great choice for someone who already has a phone but wants all the perks of Android as well as access to the apps in Android Market without having to sign a two-year contract and deal with the horrific termination fees that continue to grow from the various service providers.

Both devices have a 1 GHz CPU, 512 MB of RAM, 8 GB of storage memory, expandable with microSD memory cards (up to 32 GB) and cameras on the front and back of the unit. The Player 4 has a WVGA 4.0" display (800x480) in addition to a handy FM tuner, GPS, and a multi-touch screen.  The 4 inch unit weighs in at a whopping 4.27 ounces!

One of the things that I like is being able to view Adobe® Flash® Player compatible websites. Both units are fully integrated with services like Google Maps™ and YouTube™, and you can search, view, and easily download any of the over 250,000 apps available in Android Market.

For a full listing of technical specifications visit the Samsung site.

For Android specific information visit my portal at http://www.learnandroidsdk.com and for all of my IT tech tips and programming lessons visit http://techtips.timlaytonllc.com.

Tim Layton

Introducing "Learn Android Programming in 10 Days"

I am publishing a new series "Android Programming in 10 Days" helping developers learn the skills they need to write Android applications for mobile phones, tablets and devices. Android has never been more popular and with the release of API 14 "Ice Cream Sandwich" developers can now create applications for all Android devices in a single environment.

Android 4.0 brings a unified UI framework that lets developers create elegant, innovative apps for phones, tablets, and more. It includes all of the familiar Android 3.x interface elements and APIs — fragments, content loaders, Action Bar, rich notifications, resizable home screen widgets, and more — as well as new elements and APIs.

For developers, the unified UI framework in Android 4.0 means new UI tools, consistent design practices, simplified code and resources, and streamlined development across the range of Android-powered devices.



For Android specific information visit my portal at http://www.learnandroidsdk.com and for all of my IT tech tips and programming lessons visit http://techtips.timlaytonllc.com.

Tim Layton