What Is Android?

Android is a linux based operating system for mobile devices. It was originally begin with the startup name android inc,in 2005 Google purchased android and its development work. Google wanted android to be open and free so, they distributed source code, under the open source apache license agreement. Whoever wants to develop for android can download the source code, and they can add their own extensions to the android. Many hardware manufactures those had their own operating system faced the downfall due to the recent rise of  Apple's Iphone market. In this situation they adopted Android and developed new hardware platform to make it as a uniqe product.

The main advantage of using android is, it offers a unified approach for the application development. Developers need to develop only for the android and their application will run on many different devices.

Welcome to learn the basics for android.

If you are new to android get the latest version of the ADT bundle to start developing apps for Android
use the below link
http://developer.android.com/sdk/index.html

download the latest zip file specific to your operating system(windows, linux, mac). Un zip the file and launch the eclipse and your IDE for android development is ready.

If you already have an IDE check out the below link for the development setup
http://developer.android.com/sdk/installing/index.html

watch my tutorial to setup the IDE for windows
http://youtu.be/QzOe4vBQOw0