Android University

Spring is on the way, and temperatures are rising. We're no exception, and things are starting to heat up over here in Android-land, too.

The Android Developer Challenge deadline is approaching quickly. Wow, that's strange to me. On one hand, we've come so far that the first announcement back on November 12 seems like a prior geologic era, but on the other hand it seems like the Challenge just started! But it's been five months, so it's time to finish your code, polish your UI, and submit your application. Remember to submit by midnight on April 14th, PST (GMT-8).

But after the Challenge, what's next? Well, on the 28th and 29th of May we have Google I/O. This is the biggest Google developer event of the year, and you can bet that the Androids will be there in numbers.

Here are the sessions we've prepared on Android.

• Android 101: Building an Application
• Anatomy & Physiology of an Android
• Dalvik Internals
• Inside the Android Application Framework
• Building Great UIs with Android
• Internationalizing Android Applications
• Location, Location, Location
• Mobile Mashups

For more details on these sessions, visit the Google I/O site. Please do, in fact—I'm really excited by some of these because we're going to go into a level of detail that we haven't before. Ever wanted to hear the tech lead on Dalvik talk about Dalvik? Ever wanted an exhaustive review of the i18n/resource system? Then don't miss this event.

Besides the technical sessions, there will be a Fireside Chat with as many members of the Android team as we can rustle up, and an Android section in the demo and coding area. (Personally, I'm looking forward to that the most: it's shaping up to be a code festival of mammoth proportions.) If you need a break from Android, there are also tons of sessions on other developer technologies from Google, too.

We intend this to be the premier developer event for Android, this year. If you only go to one Android event, we humbly suggest that you consider this one. Early-bird registration ends TODAY (April 4th), so be sure to sign up soon.

I'll see you there!