Android is a software toolkit for mobile phones, created by Google and the Open Handset Alliance. It's inside millions of cell phones and other mobile devices, making Android a major platform for application developers. That could be your own program running on all those devices.

Within minutes, Hello, Android will get you started creating your first working application: Android's version of "Hello, World." From there, you'll build up a more substantial example: an Android Sudoku game. By gradually adding features to the game, you'll learn the basics of Android programming. You'll also see how to build in audio and video support, add graphics using 2D and 3D OpenGL, network with web pages and web services, and store data with SQLite. You'll also learn how to publish your applications to the Android Market.

The #1 book for learning Android is now in its third edition. Every page and example was reviewed and updated for compatibility with the latest versions. Freshly added material covers installing applications to the SD card, supporting multi-touch, and creating live wallpaper. You'll also find plenty of real-world advice on how to support all the Android versions in use today-everything from Cupcake (Android 1.5) to FroYo (Android 2.2) and beyond.

If you'd rather be coding than reading about coding, this book is for you.

Ed Burnette is editor of the articles section at eclipse.org, and author of the web site's "The Rich Client Platform (RCP) Tutorial" series. Ed also co-authored Eclipse in Action (Manning) and runs the eclipsepowered.org site, where he can often be found hanging out in the Eclipse community forums. He's written everything from multi-user servers to compilers to commercial video games since earning a Bachelor of Science degree in computer science from North Carolina State University. He is a Principal Systems Developer at SAS, and lives near Research Triangle Park, NC.