Android Essentials is a no--frills, no--nonsense, code--centric run through the guts of application development on Google's Mobile OS. This book uses the development of a sample application to work through topics, focusing on giving developers the essential tools and examples required to make viable commercial applications work. Covering the entirety of the Android catalog in less than 150 pages is simply impossible. Instead, this book focuses on just four main topics: the application life cycle and OS integration, user interface, location--based services, and networking. *Thorough, complete, and useful work on the nuts and bolts of applicatio development in Android*Example driven and practically minded*A tool for hobbyists and professionals who want to create production--quality applications What you'll learn*Understand how an Android application functions and communicates with the handset that hosts it.*Comprehend the complexities of timers, services, and multimedia playback.*Create and display a rich mix of custom--rendered screens and tailored Android widgets.*Understand how location--based services are becoming more and more important in the mobile world.* See how to use Google's powerful Map tool.*Explore the intricacies of network connectivity in the mobile world. Who is this book for This book is for professional software engineers looking to move their ideas and applications into the mobile space with Android. The author assumes the reader has a passable understanding of Java. They should be able to write classes and handle basic inheritance structures. This book also targets hobbyist developers looking to negotiate the complex minefield of mobile software.