Are You Developing for Android? - Publishing Perspectives

By Hannah Johnson

Publishers, now that you have all mastered the iBook format and created e-book and apps for Kindle, iPhone, iPad and Blackberry, it’s time to tackle the next rising star of the mobile world: Android.

Droid 2

Ok, yes, Android has been around since last year, but only recently has it taken off in the United States. With Android’s open-source developer kit, free-for-all app store, and support of Adobe Flash, it has some things that the iPhone and Blackberry do not have. Now, three new Android smartphones are about to enter the market that may tip the scales even further in the favor of Android.

Motorola’s Droid 2 will be available in the USA online tomorrow, August 11, and in stores on August 12 through Verizon. With a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, 5-megapixel camera with a flash, 8GB of memory, and the latest Android Froyo 2.2 operating system, this could be a big hit.

Droid X

If the Droid 2 is a little light on features for you, Motorola and Verizon are also releasing the much hyped Droid X this week (only for US Verizon customers). It features a bigger touch screen, 8-megapixel camera with HD video capturing and playback, HDMI output, tethering capability, three microphones, and a 1Ghz processor. Adobe Flash 10.1 and Android 2.2 updates will be available for the Droid X later this summer. That is a lot of computing power in your pocket!

Also coming out this month (August 15) is the Xperia X10 from Sony Ericsson and AT&T. In addition to the 4-inch touch screen, 8.1 megapixel camera, GPS navigation, 1Ghz processor, and face and smile recognition, the Xperia user experience is focused on sharing content from the web and the device across various social media networks.

Xperia X10

There was a time when the iPhone and Blackberry were the only smartphone devices worth owning. However, Android is open-source, which means more devices, carriers and developers can build on it. The smartphone market is about to explode, and all of those carriers and devices are going to need lots of mobile content to keep their users happy.

As content creators, publishers are well-positioned to take advantage of a growing number of content-hungry consumers who will want to read on their phones. Are you developing for Android yet?

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About the Author

Hannah Johnson

Hannah Johnson is the publisher of international book industry magazine Publishing Perspectives, which provides daily information and news about book markets around the world. In addition to building partnerships with international cultural and trade organizations, she works with the Frankfurt Book Fair to organize and support a number of its overseas initiatives. Hannah has also worked as the managing editor for an online media company, The Hooch Life, focused on craft distillers and cocktail experts. Prior to that, she worked as a project manager for the Frankfurt Book Fair’s New York office, managing various business and marketing activities.