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CHAPTER 1: Android, the New Kid on the Block
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registration, a developer can immediately start to publish a new application in a matter
of minutes.
The Android Market has no approval process but relies on a permission system. A user
is presented with a set of permissions needed by an application before the installation of
the program. These permissions handle access to phone services, networking access,
access to the Secure Digital (SD) card, and so on. Only after a user has approved these
permissions is the application installed. The system relies on the user doing the right
thing. On the PC, especially on Windows systems, this concept didn’t work out too well.
On Android, it seems to have worked so far; only a few of applications have been pulled
from the market because of malicious behavior.
To sell applications, a developer has to additionally register a Google Checkout
Merchant Account, which is free of charge. All financial business is handled through this
account.
Challenges, Device Seeding, and Google I/O
In an ongoing effort to draw more developers to the Android platform, Google started to
hold challenges. The first challenge, called the Android Developer Challenge (ADC) was
launched in 2008, offering relatively high cash prices for the winning projects. The ADC
was carried out in the subsequent year and was again a huge success in terms of
developer participation. There was no ADC in 2010, which can probably be attributed to
Android now having a considerable developer base and thus not needing any further
actions to get new developers on board.
Google also started a device-seeding program in early 2010. Each developer who had
one or more applications on the market with more than 5,000 downloads and an
average user rating of 3.5 stars or above received a brand new Motorola Droid, Motorola
Milestone, or Nexus One phone. This was a very well-received action within the
developer community, although it was initially met with disbelief. Many considered the e-
mail notifications that came out of the blue to be an elaborate hoax. Fortunately, the
promotion turned out to be a reality, and thousands of devices were sent to developers
across the planet—a great move by Google to keep its third-party developers happy and
make them stick with the platform and to potentially attract new developers.
Google also provides the special Android Dev Phone (ADP) for developers. The first ADP
was a version of the T-Mobile G1 (also known as HTC Dream). The next iteration, called
ADP 2, was a variation of the HTC Magic. Google also released its own phone in the
form of the Nexus One, available to end users. Although initially not released as an ADP,
it was considered by many as the successor to the ADP 2. Google eventually stopped
selling the Nexus One to end users, and it is now available for shipment only to partners
and developers. At the end of 2010, the latest ADP was released; this Samsung device
running Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) is called the Nexus S. ADPs can be bought via the
Android Market, which requires you to have a developer account. The Nexus S can be
bought via a separate Google site at www.google.com/phone.