This document provides tips for developing Android apps. It recommends identifying your target market and how you will monetize your app. It suggests choosing screen sizes to target like phones or tablets. It also recommends using fragments and action bars, following UI patterns, and getting help if needed. The overall message is to plan your app thoroughly before developing it.

1. If I Were
Starting Now...
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2. Know Why You Are Writing an App
● Money!
– Directly from the app
– Indirectly from other services
– Getting a better job
● Save the World
● Save the Whales
● Save the Cheerleader
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3. Have a Plan
● Who Is Your Market?
● Why Will They Care?
● How Will You Communicate with Them?
● How Will You Get Paid?
– Where relevant
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4. Distribution and Discovery
● Long Tail Distributions
– More competition = less likely to be in head
– Consider mid-sized markets (Kindle Fire, NOOK
Color)
– Consider marketing
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5. Choose Your Screen Targets
● Phone?
– Most in US are “normal” (3-5”)
– Elsewhere, many are “small” (under 3”)
● Tablet?
– Can run from 5” to 10” or over
● TV?
– Inches less relevant due to distance
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6. Fragments and Action Bars
● Use Them. Now.
– Prediction: ~25% of Android devices will be on
ICS by June
● Most Likely Candidate: ActionBarSherlock
– Based on Android Support package
● Gives you fragment support back to Android 1.6
– Provides ActionBar-compatible
implementation
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7. Make It Look “Right Purty”
● Get Good Graphics
– Ideal: custom artwork
– Stopgap: clip art and Android Asset Studio
● Think Color Scheme
– Theme/Theme.Holo = white on black
– Theme.Light/Theme.Holo.Light =
black on white
– Something totally custom
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8. Follow Established UI Patterns
● Don't Reinvent the Wheel
– Especially when users will be expecting existing
wheels and may get confused by your new one
● Classic Example: PreferenceActivity
● If You're Not a UX Expert, Follow One!
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9. Check Your Sanity
● Code Validation Tools
– MOTODEV's AppValidator
– ADT r16 “lint”
● Test Services
– TestDroid
– LessPainful
– Apkudo
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10. BACK UP YOUR
SIGNING KEY!
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11. Don't Worry About Pirates
● “Obscurity is a far greater threat... than
piracy” – Tim O'Reilly
● Options
– Have a reason for the app beyond per-app fee
– Focus on who is paying
● People who don't know of pirated copies
● People who think piracy is immoral
● People who love your work
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12. Getting Help
● Where
– StackOverflow
– [android-developers] Google Group
– Other specialized forums
● How
– Write good questions!
– If crashing, include stack trace and
relevant portion of code!
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