OT: Android Dev Questions

[keith smith]

Posted to PLUG, TFUG, AzPHP



I wondering about trends.  Currently I
make my living as a LAMP developer.  The market seems strong and lots
of main stream apps are built with PHP.  So I expect the market to
continue to be strong for 10 – 15 years.  That is the time frame I
am interested in.  




Things are moving rather fast now. 
Cheap hardware is now a reality.  It looks like a smart phone has
more CPU and RAM than the laptop I bought 10 year ago, and the
desktop I bought 7 year ago.  I think I saw a smart phone that had a
dual core 1.5ghtz processor and a gig of RAM.  My first 2 computers
didn't even have hard drives...... 




I'm intrigued by Android development. 
Seems there is really only one option and that is the Android SDK
that is modified Java.  I don't find Java to be intuitive, however I
can live with it.   




My main question has to do with
compatibility.  A friend tells me he thinks there are comparability
issues between manufactures since they modify Android to met their
needs and the lack of standards. After exchanging emails, it sounds
like writing Android code is like writing JavaScript that needs to
run in all the currently available browsers.  We have JavaScript
solutions – MooTools, jQuery … etc.  However in the short time
I've been looking at Android development, I have not found any
information on compatibility issues (however I have not search
either).



I have lots of questions.



What is the life expectancy of
	Android?  Will it be around 15 years from now?
	How hard is it to upgrade a phone
	to a newer version of Android?
	Are there any compatibility
	issues?
	How does one monetize Android
	application development skills?
	Where can I find quality used
	Android phones? 
	
	What device would you recommend I
	use to learn Android development – Phone, Tablet, Simulator....? 
	




Thank you so much for all your insight.



   



------------------------

Keith Smith
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