Google offers workshops to lure Android developers
The search giant is holding a series of developer workshops in the coming weeks, specifically geared toward optimizing apps for Android tablets.
Google is launching a series of workshops designed to grab developers who can create high-quality Android apps.
Set up by the folks at Google's Android Developer Relations, the Android Developer Labs (ADLs) will try to show developers how they can optimize their apps for Android tablets, according to an Android developers blog.
Dubbed "Optimizing Honeycomb Tablet Applications," the ADLs will cover how to develop apps for the screen size and user interface of Honeycomb tablets and how to migrate apps from mobile phones to tablets.
The sessions are for experienced developers only, specifically those who have already published apps to Google's Android Market.
"The goal is to bring your app to the ADL, and leave equipped to make it into one that makes Android tablet users smile," according to the blog.
The first workshop kicked off yesterday in Bangalore, India. The next two workshops will run in Seattle on August 15 and 16. Those will be followed by two workshops in New York City, one on August 23 and another on August 24. The series will wrap up with a final session in Los Angeles on September 2.
Anyone with the necessary qualifications can register, according to Google, but only a small number of people will be chosen to attend based on the quality of their existing Android apps.
Trying to drum up developer interest in Android is of course only one of many factors that could push more business toward Android tablet makers. But even that may be difficult. A recent study from mobile analytics firm Flurry found that mobile developers are inching back toward Apple, the iPad, and iOS following earlier excitement over Android.
Despite the flood of Android tablets that have hit the market this year, Apple's iPad still holds its dominant market share. CEOs at such companies as Dell and Nvidia said they believe Android tablets could eventually outsell the iPad. Some reports have pointed to the iPad already losing customers to the combined might of all the Android tablets on the market.
But most analysts agree that Google and its tablet partners face a tough time trying to take a huge enough bite out of Apple's sales. Speaking with CNET on Monday, IHS iSuppli analyst Wayne Lam said that Google is unlikely to catch up with the iPad and iOS anytime soon. Lam feels that Android's makers still can't match the design of the iPad since, among other reasons, Apple controls both the operating system and the hardware.