The Android Developer Ecosystem has announced that in-app purchases will soon be enabled for the Android platform. Android has already cemented its position as the the overarching mobile platform in the world, its growth driven by low cost and open source nature. With the in-app sale functionality enabled, Android could likely give rise to a whole new mobile economy.

Developers the world over will now be able to sell intellectual (or even tangible) serivices within their applications, giving rise to new possibilities and changing lives the world over. Mobile devices will give emerging businesses new opportunities to showcase their wares.

Catalogs of in-app products, replete with pricing information,  can now be created in the Developer Console. Although testing is available this week, the full functionality won’t be released until the week starting on the 28th of March 2011.

Android revolutionized the mobile application development industry by providing a free and easy to use development framework. You too can build an Android app on your computer – it is definitely easier(not to mention cheaper) than building an iPhone app! Try it now to see how easy it is.

Step 1. Get JDK

Installing the Java Development Kit is a prerequisite to developing applications for Android platform. Getting just the Java Runtime Environment is not enough; you need to get the JDK. Java Development Kit standard should be sufficient for your development platform. You first need to select your operating system before downloading and installing the JDK.

Step 2. Get Eclipse

Download the Eclipse development environment. The preferred version is Eclipse Classic. You can unpack it to your desktop or to a preferred folder. You don’t need to install Eclipse as it runs by an executable file. You do, however, need to set the workspace path to save your work to.

Step 3. Get the Android SDK

Download and install the Android SDK. Google’s dedicated Software Development Kit for the Android mobile operating system makes development much easier by creating a Java framework that you can use. After you install the SDK, make sure you download all the updates just to play it safe.

Step 4. Get the Android ADT Plug-in for Eclipse

Before you can use Eclipse effectively, you need to install the proper plugin for Android. This will effectively link the Android SDK to Eclipse.

You can’t just grab the plugin off a URL. To get the ADT plugin, you will need to do a bit of tinkering with the Eclipse environment. Launch Eclipse, then go to Help>Install new software. Then click on the “Add” button.

This will take you to a screen where you can specify the download path for the Android Plug-in.

Now you need to input the path from where the Plugin will be downloaded and installed into Eclipse. This path is http://dl-ssl.google.com/android/eclipse/
Press OK. Eclipse will now download and install the list of Android Plugin components.

Step 5. Configuring the ADT Plugin

Within Eclipse, you now need to specify the Android SDK path (the one you installed the Android SDK into in Step 3).
Go to Window > Preferences > Android and then Browse to the relevent SDK location.

And Voila! You have just configured your first Android Development environment. Wasn’t that easy?

Google’s Android mobile operating system has all but conquered the global mobile industry. From smart mobile phones to dazzling tablet computers, Android has virtually revolutionized mobile computing – and then some. Spawning competition among hardware and software makers alike, the open source OS has done to the mobile industry what many Linux distributions couldn’t to the personal computer. Apple and Microsoft, while both big personal computing players in their own right – are reeling from the relentless onslaught of the plucky green alien.

In the East, a Mobile Dawn

However, as far as tech journalism is concerned, one corner of the world has been largely neglected. Asia, led by economic powerhouse China is a rapidly dominating area of the global economy. It wouldn’t be far fetched to suggest that some of the most significant and innovative growth in the mobile arena really stands to occur in the corridor between the Indian Ocean and the Sea of Japan. The Asia Pacific region is already moving beyond the manufacturing realm of Japan to smaller yet rapidly growing tech economies of Malaysia, Singapore, China and India.

China is currently manufacturing mobile hardware that is being readily exported to low-income economies across Asia, from Pakistan to Myanmar. Will the inheritors of Confucius ever move beyond reverse engineering and essentially copying Western technologies for mass production? Most signs point to the affirmative.  A global creditor flush with cash, China is well placed to initiate innovation in both mobile software and hardware. Wophone and Ophone are currently the most prominent Chinese mobile operating systems. Both are derived from the Linux open source operating system, much like Android.

The next few years may see the rise of new mobile operating systems from the East, imparting an unprecedented oriental flavour to the global mobile phone industry. And with China’s financial clout coupled attracting top talent from around the world, China’s nascent mobile industry could lead Asia into a new era of global competitiveness.

Following a stunning exposé by an observant Reddit user, it has come to light that Android applications containing malware and viruses had been downloaded thousands of times by unsuspecting mobile users. Masquerading as legitimate apps – complete with matching names, user interface and even duplicated source code – the malicious software was uploaded to a lax Android market that has caused as much embarrasment as it as raised security fears.

Avid Redditor Lompolo noticed that a guitar app he had downloaded didn’t specify the correct author name. Piquing his curiosity, this led him to analyze source code for many other wrongly attributed apps. He subsequently discovered at least 21 malicious apps masquerading as legitimate ones. Lompolo reported his findings in the network security “subreddit” called netsec on the social bookmarking site.

That wasn’t the end of it, though. Further investigation by other sources revealed nearly 50 offending applications. The latest incident only goes to highlight the pressing need to provide better vetting and security on the Android Market. Ostensibly, the nascent Android platform is not being policed as strongly as other application marketplaces such as the Apple AppStore. We hope Google will take concrete steps to make the Android marketplace more secure in order provide confidence to both app creators and users.

By Waqar Shah

A new revolution is underway. According to a recent news report, distribution of mobile devices has overtaken that of personal computers in the United States. Combined with all-pervasive mobile phone adoption in the rest of the world – including very high growth rates seen in Africa and Asia – the increased mobile ownership we are witnessing today could usher in a new age of communications technologies.

In the late twentieth century, the world witnessed the dawn of the Internet age. As the information technology revolution culminated in the universal networking of computing machines around the world, people were exposed to unprecedented ways of creating and sharing information. The first cellular network was built in 1979 by NTT, Japan. The brick-like cellular telephones introduced at the time were little more than novelty devices – cumbersome to carry around, with questionable mobility. Nearly 20 years later, with lightweight smartphones in our pockets, we are in the midst of the next great technological upheaval: the mobile revolution.

While indicators of human development have consistently lagged behind in places such as Sub Saharan Africa and rural India, mobile devices have successfully circumvented infrastructure constraints such as electricity, sanitation and roads. Poor people in rural locations of Africa and the Indian subcontinent may not have electricity or running water, but they do own and use mobile phones. They use their mobile devices for aiding their livelihood, and keeping in touch with their friends and relatives. Mobile phones have come a long way from the brick-like devices introduced by Motorola and Ericsson.

2G leads the South

At their simplest (and most popular), the 2G communication devices with unlimited SMS service form the mainstay of the mobile carrier industry around the world. These simple devices with their cheap LED screens, long battery life and durable design may arguably be the real driving force behind the global mobile revolution. While smartphone use has exploded in the developed world, the developing world has experienced a different mobile reality.

The ubiquitous Short Message Service (SMS) still forms the bulk of mobile data communication in the developing world. Local and international carriers offer free or nearly unlimited SMS services in countries such as Pakistan and India. Rural farmers may rely on mobile updates to receive government sponsored information about their seasonal crops and agricultural problems like pest control. City dwellers may use  SMS to send and receive small business marketing information and advertisements.

Mobile Internet leads the North

The developed world tells a different story. Smartphone use has exploded in the US, Europe, China and developed Asia. Internet access is as frequent on mobile devices as it is on the PC or laptop.

Cisco’s Global Mobile Data Traffic Forecast certainly has a lot to reveal. According to US telecom giant AT&T, its traffic increased nearly 30 fold from 2009 to 2010. Across the Pacific in booming China, Unicom’s data communications increased by over 60 percent in the first quarter of 2010.  In Italy, Telecom Italia saw a 15 fold increase in mobile data delivery over the past five years. Across Europe, mobile data traffic is set to double each year for the next five years.

Meanwhile, Youtube video delivery nearly tripled in 2010 to a level of 200 million views each day. It is estimated that videos will account for the vast majority of mobile data traffic by 2015.

Cheaper Smartphones for the Developing World

The two mobile realities may be about to converge. Cheaper smartphones, such as the HTC Wildfire, may mean that mobile computing and Internet use may become a reality for an increasing number of people in the Third world. While mobile tablets such as the Motorola Xoom and the iPad are predicted drive as much data traffic alone by 2015 as all mobile phones did in 2010, the increasing adoption of low-cost smartphones in places like Africa and India may drive global mobile Internet traffic even higher. All this may mean that mobile traffic is set to grow to unimaginable levels in the next few decades, as the people of the world become increasingly interconnected with each other.

Following close on the heels of its Android based systems are HTC’s legion of latest Windows 7 based smartphones. Relying on the newest mobile avatar of the world’s first computing platform, the new Windows 7 mobile phones will be available across Europe, America and Asia.

The HTC Trophy will be carried by US network Verizon, with a Sprint-based version called the HTC Arrive due in later this spring. The HTC Trophy appears to carry many of the features of the Android-based Desire series, including a 1GHz Snapdragon processing unit, eight gigabytes of internal memory, a 3.8-inch WVGA capacitive touchscreen, and a 5-megapixel camera with 720p HD video recording to boot. For gaming enthusiasts, the system offers integration with the Xbox LIVE online gaming platform, further boosting its reputation as an upcoming portable gaming and graphics powerhouse.

Whether the Windows operating system can offer any advantages over the Linux-derived Android is anyone’s guess. But if the history of the desktop computing market is anything to go by, Windows 7 mobile could give Google’s Linux-based platform (not to mention Apple’s iPhone) a serious run for its money.

Caught off guard by the relentless onslaught of Android-based smartphones across the price spectrum, Apple is looking to regain its footing. New, cheaper iPhone models may be in the works, if rumors from Cupertino are anything to go by.

Said to be ready this summer, the cheaper iPhone could prove to be a hit with cash-strapped youngsters such as university students. The new device could offer watered down capabilities, including a lower resolution screen and limited connectivity options. Nevertheless, access to the popular iPhone apps store could more than compensate for the lower device capabilities.

Smartphones – previously dominated by the relatively pricey iPhone – were often perceived to be novelty, luxury or geeky items. Android’s openness slowly changed all that, bringing a new crop of mobile communication devices that were as smart as they were cheap. The Android platform has encouraged many manufacturers to compete in the cost arena, bringing down prices and giving customers more options when purchasing a smartphone. Android mobile devices such as the HTC Wildfire are being scooped up by many customers with limited budgets, allowing many to become the proud owners of a smartphone.

Continuing with its trend of global market domination, Google’s Android operating system has made its mark in the United Kingdom. And what a mark it is. Android based phones – with Taiwanese manufacturer HTC leading the pack – have pushed Apple’s iPhone down to number six position in overall UK popularity.

When it comes to smartphones in the UK, HTC now clearly dominates with three of its phones in the top three places according to price comparison site USwitch. The most popular smartphone is the HTC Desire, the trailblazing Android based system that first threatened the domination of Cupertino with its iconic interface. Following on its heels in a close second place is the Desire HD, the large screen, more expensive cousin of the Desire that outperformed the iPhone 4 in the graphics and visual arena with its 4.3 inch touchscreen and Android based integrated apps – a giant of a smartphone.

In third place is the HTC Wildfire, the budget smartphone is that is finding its place in the pockets of students and the younger generation. The dynamics of the mobile market are changing, and the latest development alone may propel HTC to possibly become the leading mobile manufacturer in the world in the near future.

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Here’s some good news for social media developers: Google has just released the full Software Development Kit (SDK) for Android 3.0 “Honeycomb”. The kit is available to all developers for download. Android 3.0 has been especially developed for tablet computers, offering a string of features tailored to the budding computing platform.

Also included with the latest release are updates to the SDK Tools (r10) and ADT Plugin for Eclipse (10.0.0) platforms.

Features for developers include:

Enhanced home screen widgets

Homescreen applications left a lot to be desired in previous versions of Android. Not so anymore. The enhanced home screen widgets builds upon Android’s homescreen capabilities to superior offer browsing and manipulation capabilities in 3D.

Activity Fragments

Activity fragments allow developers to break down application functions into smaller modules called Fragments. These can then be reassembled in different configurations to allow for more creative software builds and a wider range of functionalities.

Renderscript 3D Engine

The new Android version’s 3D capability, increased interactivity and powerful graphics are being heralded as groundbreaking for touchscreen devices. The Renderscript engine provides a powerful API to build 3D graphics solutions. With the new SDK, these can be easily ported to JavaScript.

From a user perspective, some of the unprecedented features include:

System bar

This is a bar that runs across the bottom of the screen, providing constant notifications and system information. This is roughly analogous to the “Taskbar” in Microsoft Windows version.

Action bar

This is available at the top of the screen, and provides application specific information such as functions. Again, this is akin to Windows program menus. Also available is information about contextual options, widgets, status, and navigation.

Improved Text Selection and Copying

This is purportedly an improvement over the previous version, with hopefully less false-selections.

A classic innovator in cellular telephony, US-based Motorola is living up to its credentials as an industrial pioneer. Motorola’s curiously named new tablet featuring Google’s Android Honeycomb operating system is a being lauded as a significant groundbreaker. The Motorola Xoom is giving Apple’s iPad a serious run for its money, and possibly sleepless nights to Steve Jobs. The stunning 1.01 inch touchscreen conceals a powerful 1 Ghz dual-core Tegra 2 processor, making the Xoom as much a workstation as an entertainment appliance.

The tablet also packs 32 gigabytes of fixed storage, as well as 1GB of RAM. Blurring the line between mobile computing and entertainment, the Motorola Xoom represents a new trend in portable computing whereby lesser known operating systems (including Linux variants such as Android, which is not officially a Linux distribution) have come to offer a wide spectrum of mainstream software applications. This may also encourage Linux variants and distributions to gain popular approval and  a wider market share, eventually forcing Microsoft Windows and Apple operating systems to cede market share.