Professional Android 4 Application Development 3rd Edition

I used this book as my primary method of teaching myself Android.Prior to this it was Googles basic examples and StackExchange results.This is a good book because:It goes through many things I had no idea how to do in Android.It gives examples and shows how to use them.I felt it was lacking:Definitely in the building in advertisements section. Other than to say they exist, there was no mention of them.Can definitely be dry, and took a while to read.I was most bummed about the lack of advertisement instruction, but not enough to knock off a star.

I found this book very informative. It covers almost all aspects of core Android 4, emphasizing best practices. I learned a lot about what is possible in Android, and how a developer can develop really robust & great looking apps.The examples were mostly excellent, progressively taking the reader through the different aspects of Android. I found the book quite broad in its covering of the material, such as - all you can do with Fragments. Although sometimes, when I wanted more detail on some more obscure aspect, it wasn't there, and the explanation didn't quite tie together.I wouldn't recommend this book for a beginner, because it very quickly covers more detail than a beginner would need to know. I would recommend this book to someone who has done some Android development and wants to progress to the next level.If more developers with apps in the Play Store would read this book, it would greatly improve the hideousness of many of the apps that are out there.

I have been making Android apps for about 2 years but I am mostly self taught (with a generous amount of help from StackOverflow). I have a few Android books, but they weren't too helpful and I bought them so long ago that they only covered up to Android 2.1, so I decided I needed to upgrade. I bought this book mostly to learn about Android 4.0 specific features, but it is so much more than that. This book will teach anyone who has at least some experience with Android to be an elite Android developer. I think every single developer should be required to read this book, it teaches you the best practices and how to make your app as good as the best on the market. I've learned so much from reading this book I can't wait to make a whole slew of apps that use it all. This book teaches you why Android is praised for being such a customizable environment by explaining everything you need to know about all of the features of Android. I can't recommend this book enough.

My background:I have some experience with Java but completely new to Android development. I wanted to learn Android development from scratch so I bought this book.First thought:This book goes very deeply into the topics, and has a lot of useful information. And I think that's what makes it not good for beginners. Since Android components are closely related to each other, I would prefer the book goes through how the components work with each other in each chapter, how to build apps using what presented in the chapter, and then goes deeper in next chapter instead of delving too deep into a specific topic in each chapter.About the chapters:As stated above, each chapter in the book discuss about specific topic in Android and and goes very deeply into that topic, and since Android components are closely related to each other, sometimes it confusing to keep up with the book (if you are a beginner like me). Most of the chapters has hands-on exercise, but not all of them. Some of the exercises are not well written, you have to tweak them to make them run correctly. I think the exercises are too complicated for the purpose of helping you understand the information in the chapter. I think they can make the exercises simpler and get more to the points of the chapter.Suggestions:- As a learner book, I think each chapter should not go too deeply into a specific topic, instead discuss about the components at a specific level in each chapter, and then go to a more difficult level in next chapter.- Make the exercises simpler, you can have complicated projects in the advanced topicsFinal thoughts:Overall, this is a good book. It loaded with a lot of useful information. I'm using it as a reference guide though.

I have been doing Android Development since the bad "old" days of 1.5 (and even before, trying to get it running on several Palm/WIndows Mobile phones during beta).I have been subjected to "The Source is your docs" for so much of that time that I rarely rely on someone else to collate all of the necessary day-to-day information needed to create apps that delve below the "inch-deep" level.Now, I may not change my "Google it" habits (after all, Google-fu is a must-have weapon in a modern programmer's arsenal), however, I can turn to the relevant section of this book and find exactly what I need to get started or dig deeper into nearly any facet of app creation, and even (gasp!) find the relevant best-practices!All in all, Professional Android 4 Application Development is suited to either a programmer just getting started with Android, or the "I have 6 apps in Google Play" developer who thinks they have this Android thing figured out.Excellent work, and I will definitely recommend it to everyone who asks me how to do the Android thing. ;)Peace,Dan