App Developer for Android is owned and run by a highly experienced web and mobile app developer who has traded as New Media Aid Ltd for over a decade, developing high-end bespoke applications for over 200 organisations including large multi-national blue chips companies, public sector organisations and small SMEs.
App Developer for Android specialises in the development of business apps (rather than quirky consumer apps) and
as well as developing bespoke Android apps, App Developer for Android of course offers all the related services needed for cutting-edge Android app development such as advanced web app development, database development,
e-commerce development and secure hosting in a state-of-the-art data centre. After all, you will want your Android app to connect to your data in the cloud and we can deal with all this for you.
A one-stop-shop for your Android and web app development requirements.
 |
"New Media Aid has developed a number of advanced, bespoke apps for BAE Systems and we are happy to recommend them for bespoke app development."
Rob Morris, Vice President Marketing & Analysis
BAE Systems Asset Management
|
| |
 |
"New Media Aid has successfully developed a number of bespoke applications for us over the last few years - we have always been pleased with the results and with the ongoing support and assistance we receive."
Anne Barlow, Marketing Manager
British Chiropractic Association
|
| |
 |
"New Media Aid develops business-critical bespoke applications for Gateway College and we are happy to recommend them for bespoke application development."
Paul Taylor, Network And Corporate Data Manager
Gateway College
|
| |
 |
"New Media Aid has been the app development partner for Kelly Turkeys for the last four years and has developed a number mission-critical bespoke apps for us and we highly recommend them for bespoke application development."
Asa Howard, Finance and Administration Manager
Kelly Turkeys
|
| |
 |
"New Media Aid has been our development partner for both our website and virtual learning environment for the past 6 years. The quality of service is second to none and we would be happy to recommend them for any bespoke app development."
Colin Everitt, Management Information Systems Manager
Woodhouse College
|
What is Android?
Source: Wikipedia
Android is an open-source software stack for mobile devices that includes an operating system, middleware and key applications. Google Inc. purchased the initial developer of the software, Android Inc., in 2005. Android's mobile operating system is based upon a modified version of the Linux kernel. Google and other members of the Open Handset Alliance collaborated on Android's development and release. The Android Open Source Project (AOSP) is tasked with the maintenance and further development of Android.
Canalys reported that in Q4 2010 the Android operating system was the world's best-selling smartphone platform, dethroning Nokia's Symbian from the 10-year top position. According to Gartner, Symbian is still slightly ahead on sales if some legacy non-Nokia Symbian smartphones are included in the Q4 2010 figures.
Android has a large community of developers writing application programs ("apps") that extend the functionality of the devices. There are currently over 250,000 apps available for Android. Android Market is the online app store run by Google, though apps can also be downloaded from third-party sites. Developers write primarily in the Java language, controlling the device via Google-developed Java libraries.
The unveiling of the Android distribution on 5 November 2007 was announced with the founding of the Open Handset Alliance, a consortium of 79 hardware, software, and telecom companies devoted to advancing open standards for mobile devices. Google released most of the Android code under the Apache License, a free software and open source license.
The Android open-source software stack consists of Java applications running on a Java-based, object-oriented application framework on top of Java core libraries running on a Dalvik virtual machine featuring JIT compilation. Libraries written in C include the surface manager, OpenCore media framework, SQLite relational database management system, OpenGL ES 2.0 3D graphics API, WebKit layout engine, SGL graphics engine, SSL, and Bionic libc. The Android operating system consists of 12 million lines of code including 3 million lines of XML, 2.8 million lines of C, 2.1 million lines of Java, and 1.75 million lines of C++.
History of Android
Source: Wikipedia
Android, Inc. was founded in Palo Alto, California, United States in October, 2003 by Andy Rubin, Rich Miner, et al. to develop, in Rubin's words "...smarter mobile devices that are more aware of its owner's location and preferences." Other early key employees include Andy McFadden, who worked with Rubin at WebTV, and Chris White, who led the design and interface of WebTV, before helping to found Android.
Rubin, a co-founder of Danger Inc., Miner, a co-founder of Wildfire Communications, Inc. and former vice-president of Technology and innovation at Orange, and the other early employees brought considerable wireless industry experience to the company. Despite the obvious past accomplishments of the founders and early employees, Android Inc. operated secretively, admitting only that it was working on software for mobile phones.
Google acquired Android Inc. in August, 2005, making Android Inc. a wholly-owned subsidiary of Google Inc. Key employees of Android Inc., including Andy Rubin, Rich Miner and Chris White, stayed at the company after the acquisition.
At the time of the acquisition, because little was known about the work of Android Inc., some guessed that Google was planning to enter the mobile phone market.
Open Handset Alliance
Source: Wikipedia
On the November 5, 2007 the Open Handset Alliance, a consortium of several companies which include Texas Instruments, Broadcom Corporation, Google, HTC, Intel, LG, Marvell Technology Group, Motorola, Nvidia, Qualcomm, Samsung Electronics, Sprint Nextel and T-Mobile unveiled itself. The goal of the Open Handset Alliance is to develop open standards for mobile devices. On the same day, the Open Handset Alliance also unveiled their first product, Android, a mobile device platform built on the Linux kernel version 2.6.
On December 9, 2008, 14 new members joined, including PacketVideo, ARM Holdings, Atheros Communications, Asustek Computer Inc, Garmin Ltd, Softbank, Sony Ericsson, Toshiba Corp, and Vodafone Group Plc.
With the exception of brief update periods, Android has been available under a free software / open source license since 21 October 2008. Google published the entire source code (including network and telephony stacks) under an Apache License. Google also keeps the reviewed issues list publicly open for anyone to see and comment.
Android Software Development Kit
Source: Wikipedia
The Android software development kit (SDK) includes a comprehensive set of development tools.These include a debugger, libraries, a handset emulator (based on QEMU), documentation, sample code, and tutorials. Currently supported development platforms include computers running Linux (any modern desktop Linux distribution), Mac OS X 10.4.9 or later, Windows XP or later. The officially supported integrated development environment (IDE) is Eclipse (currently 3.4, 3.5 or 3.6) using the Android Development Tools (ADT) Plugin, though developers may use any text editor to edit Java and XML files then use command line tools (Java Development Kit and Apache Ant are required) to create, build and debug Android applications as well as control attached Android devices (e.g., triggering a reboot, installing software package(s) remotely).
On 18 August 2008 the Android 0.9 SDK beta was released. This release provided an updated and extended API, improved development tools and an updated design for the home screen. Detailed instructions for upgrading are available to those already working with an earlier release. On 23 September 2008 the Android 1.0 SDK (Release 1) was released. According to the release notes, it included "mainly bug fixes, although some smaller features were added." It also included several API changes from the 0.9 version. Multiple versions have been released since.
Enhancements to Android's SDK go hand in hand with the overall Android platform development. The SDK also supports older versions of the Android platform in case developers wish to target their applications at older devices. Development tools are downloadable components, so after one has downloaded the latest version and platform, older platforms and tools can also be downloaded for compatibility testing.
Android applications are packaged in .apk format and stored under /data/app folder on the Android OS (the folder is accessible to root user only for security reasons). APK package contains .dex files(compiled byte code files called Dalvik executable), resource files, etc.
Android Market
Source: Wikipedia
Android Market is the online software store developed by Google for Android devices. An application program ("app") called "Market" is preinstalled on most Android devices and allows users to browse and download apps published by third-party developers, hosted on Android Market. As of December 2010 there were about 200,000 games, applications and widgets available on the Android Market, with an estimated 2.5 billion total downloads.
Only devices that comply with Google's compatibility requirements are allowed to preinstall Google's closed-source Android Market app and access the Market. The Market filters the list of applications presented by the Market app to those that are compatible with the user's device, and developers may restrict their applications to particular carriers or countries for business reasons.
Google announced the Android Market on 28 August 2008, and it was available to users on 22 October 2008. Support for paid applications was available from 13 February 2009 for US and UK developers, with additional support from 29 countries on 30 September 2010. In February 2011, the Android Market was made fully accessible on the web, allowing users to browse and pick up applications using their PCs, send them to their mobile phone and make comments on them. All this functionality was previously accessible only from mobile phone devices.
Users can install apps directly using APK files, or from alternative app markets. Unlike Apple, Google allows independent app stores to operate for Android.