According to Gartner [1], the world sales of smartphones to end users totaled 403 million units in the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2015. Of this number, 80.7 percent were smartphones with the Android operating system (OS). Considering that according to the same source [2], shipments of personal computers totaled 75.7 million units during the same Q4 of 2015, it is safe to think that for many people their main environment for computing, entertainment, and Internet browsing is the smartphone, and that there is an opportunity for those programmers who want to develop applications on Android. Although by July 2015 there were about 1500 million applications available on the Play Store [3], it is never too late to jump on the bandwagon.

In this book, the authors present a comprehensive overview of what is required to program applications in Android 5 (Lollipop). It is not a basic book. The authors assume that readers just want to know the specifics of Android and already have an intermediate knowledge of the Java programming language, including the programming of event-driven graphical user interfaces (GUIs). The book adequately covers the four components of an Android application: activities, services, content providers, and broadcast receivers. In particular, the chapters devoted to the design of GUIs are well explained and illustrated profusely with source code.

Physically, the book is large; excluding the front matter, it’s grouped into 30 chapters. At the end of each chapter is an extensive list of references in case readers want to delve into a particular topic. Moreover, the complete source code of the examples explained in each chapter can be downloaded from a website provided by the publisher.

In conclusion, the book can be used in several ways. First, Java programmers can read it to learn the Android OS. Second, it can be used by seasoned Android programmers as a reference book thanks to its list of references and the availability of the source code. Third, it can be used to teach a course in mobile computing (I know I will), as the book has enough material for a one- or two-semester class.

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