Beginning Android 4

Chapter 34

Communicating via the Internet

The expectation is that most, if not all, Android devices will have built-in Internet access. That could be Wi-Fi, cellular data services (EDGE, 3G, 4G, etc.), or possibly something else entirely. Regardless, most people—or at least those with a data plan or Wi-Fi access—will be able to get to the Internet from their Android phone.

Not surprisingly, the Android platform gives developers a wide range of ways to make use of this Internet access. Some offer high-level access, such as the integrated WebKit browser component. If you want, you can drop all the way down to using raw sockets. In between, you can leverage APIs—both on-device and from third-party JARs—that give you access to specific protocols: ...