The Best of the Week (May 2): Mobile Zone

Make sure you didn't miss anything with this list of the Best of the Week in the Mobile Zone (May 2 to May 8). Here they are, in order of popularity:

1. Android Devs: You're Doing LayoutInflater Wrong

According to Dave Smith of Double Encore, if you're using LayoutInflater in your Android code and it looks something like this - inflater.inflate(R.layout.my_layout, null); - you're doing it wrong.

2. Android First: Strengths, Weaknesses, and Regrets

"Android first" isn't a phrase you tend to hear that often, but some people embrace it. There are advantages. That's why Dave Feldman's team at Emu decided to launch their app on Android first. Apparently, they regret it.

3. Getting Started with Android Development in 2014 - Windows Version

Getting started as an Android developer can be a bit confusing. Unlike developing for iOS or Windows Phone, Android developers have lots of choices.

4. Ion: An Android Library for Asynchronous Networking and Image Loading

You already have to get all your Android networking and downloading off the UI thread, so from Koushik Dutta comes a library to make it a bit easier: Ion.

5. How to Consume APIs in Android Applications

If you're working with web APIs in Android apps (and want to do it the most efficient way), you may be interested in this talk on Consuming Web APIs in Android Applications, along with its corresponding blog post.