Android is busy conquering the mobile app development market and there are a lot of companies that have jumped into mobile app development by landing Android app development projects. Since Android is an open source platform, its popularity is constantly growing and there are many mobile app developers trying to make the most of the mobile platform. Since most of the startups in the field of mobile app development rely on free app development tools and technologies, it is easy for them to undertake Android-based development projects to meet the demands of customers.
Mobile developers building Android apps rely primarily on the Java language, although the Scripting Layer for Android (SL4A) is used consistently for writing apps in Python, Perl, and other environments. With the recent developments on the platform with Android 2.3 and Android 4.0, developers got an opportunity to start developing apps on Android as the latest versions support Adobe Flash and Adobe AIR technologies.
The Android SDK is provided to developers for the application development process along with the environment for writing, testing, and debugging mobile applications.
The Eclipse IDE is useful for a quick and easy Android application development process. It can be customized with the Android Developer Tools plugin, which helps improve the quality and quantity of Android mobile apps.
Android Emulator ensures that testing and debugging with Android device emulators goes smoothly, helping developers create an environment that simulates operating system and mobile device functions.
Android application developers use the Android framework APIs and take advantage of a large number of C/C++ libraries. Libraries include System C library, SQlite, SGL graphics engine, 3D libraries, and some other technologies.
Mobile app developers working on Android app development can sell their mobile solutions on Android Market and even advertise them through a website. Android Marketplace is basically an app store that was launched by Google for the distribution of Android based apps. Apps are created and distributed by developers from all over the world and the store now has more than 200,000 Android apps, showing that it is second only to iOS and rapidly catching up in popularity.
The Android platform has widely spread its wings in the mobile app development market and has gained a lot for tablets as well. With the advent of the offshore software development market, the mobile market has wanted to outsource the process, which has resulted in drastic productivity and cost returns.