Are you writing applications to run in the Android Platform? Android has a far reaching implementation, as you probably know, on a large number of small devices. You’ll find it on DVD/Blue Ray players, Smart TVs, phones, tablets, and much more. It is a very popular platform because it provides all the basic services necessary to host your application. As an embedded OS, it can have a very small footprint, and still provide a great number of services.
Recently I came across a short editorial from “The Code Project”, that caught my attention. They provide a tool whereby you can test your application to see if it is compatible with the Amazon Kindle version of Android. Like many vendors who use Android as a base platform, Amazon has customized their Kindle version to integrate it with the Amazon products.
Many other vendors align with Google Store, or perhaps their carrier specific stores. Amazon has chosen to push their products through their branding of the Android engine, and smooth integration with their services. I can easily interact with my purchased books, music, and even movies from my Kindle without even knowing Android is running underneath the apps.
Because of the way the Kindle version of Android operates, not all programs written for Android will work on the Kindle platform. If you go to The Code Project home page, they have a utility that will test your code for compatibility with the Kindle/Android OS, allowing you to expand your audience by deploying to Amazon as well as other Android publishing resources.
Are you writing mobile applications? The techniques learned there can be useful in other enterprise apps as well. Perhaps this is the year to write your first mobile application.
Cheers,
Ben