Getting up to speed with Android

This month, two speakers share their stories about getting themselves, and others, up to speed with Android.

● What I learned, learning Android, Smriti Das

So you have a killer idea for an app, and you want to build it for Android? But there are so many different, online options to choose from, especially for beginners looking to learn Android development… where to start?!

I will help you navigate the complexities of the Android Universe, first through my experience with Udacity’s Android Basics course. Then, through my experiences with other MOOC’s, such as: Treehouse, Udemy, Coursera, etc. and all along the path, I will share what I learned about learning Android, itself, often the hard way.

● Challenges and lessons from porting a complex iOS app to Android, Mike Dai Wang

“iOS first, Android after” has been a common undertaking for many companies and developers. Without proper preparation however, porting an iOS app to Android can be challenging and result in less than satisfying experience for developers and users.

This talk will detail my recent endeavour in helping a client company with no Android engineers launch their app on a tight deadline. I will explore both technical and non-technical challenges of the project with lessons learned in:

• Defining project scope

• Designing with Material Design vs. existing user tested UI elements

• Setting up efficient yet reliable development and testing process

• Training and helping engineers at different levels to ramp up on Android

• Architecting the app in a clean and modular way

• Making good use of tools and libraries

This presentation is aimed at all levels of Android developers as well as those who would like to explore areas beyond development.