Embedded Android

Preface

Android’s growth is phenomenal. In a very short time span, it has succeeded in becoming one of the top mobile platforms in the market. Clearly, the unique combination of open source licensing, aggressive go-to-market, and trendy interface is bearing fruit for Google’s Android team. Needless to say, the massive user uptake generated by Android has not gone unnoticed by handset manufacturers, mobile network operators, silicon manufacturers, and app developers. Products, apps, and devices “for,” “compatible with,” or “based on” Android seem to be coming out ever so fast.

Beyond its mobile success, however, Android is also attracting the attention of yet another, unintended crowd: embedded systems developers. While a large number of embedded devices have little to no human interface, a substantial number of devices that would traditionally be considered “embedded” do have user interfaces. For a goodly number of modern machines, in addition to pure technical functionality, developers creating user-facing devices must also contend with human-computer interaction (HCI) factors. Therefore, designers must either present users with an experience they are already familiar with or risk alienating users by requiring them to learn a lesser-known or entirely new user experience. Before Android, the user interface choices available to the developers of such devices were fairly limited and limiting.

Clearly, embedded developers prefer to offer users an interface they are already familiar with. ...