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[This post is by Reto Meier AKA @retomeier, who wrote the book on Android App development. — Tim Bray]
As a developer, I’m excited by Android’s potential as a single development platform that can make my apps available on a wide range of devices. From smartphones to televisions, Android is now being used on an increasingly diverse collection of hardware.
Last year’s Android SDK 1.6 release was the first to introduce support for variations in device hardware, paving the way for devices like the HTC Tattoo — a small screen device with a non-autofocus camera. Future devices, like Google TV, may not include some of the hardware features that we now expect, such a accelerometers and telephony.
We all want our apps available on as many devices as possible, but on some hardware they might just not make sense, so it’s important that apps are available only on the devices where they do.
Android Market Rule #1: Don't let existing applications break on new devices
As curators of the Android Market, one of our most important responsibilities is ensuring consumers and developers can trust the Market to only deliver applications to devices capable of running them.
The Android SDK includes built-in support for specifying which hardware features your application needs, ensuring that when we see more hardware variations, the Market will make sure your apps are available everywhere (and only where) they make sense.
