Our reviewers peer under the hood of Google’s foray into the handheld OS realm and find out what it’s like to work with the Android SDK. “When a developer writes an Android application, that developer codes in Java,” Rick Grehan explains. And the Europa version of Eclipse is the preferred development platform for Android applications, though “you are not tied to Eclipse as your Android development system. The Android SDK does provide tools that let you use other IDEs in place of Eclipse.” Android also brings a whole new lingo for developers to learn which, Grehan points out, will require some time spent with the documentation. What it doesn’t bring is anything compelling enough to set it apart from other handheld OSes. “Android is definitely a work in progress. If you want to try your hand at creating a significant Android application with the existing toolkit, I salute you. But be prepared for a challenge.” Read the full preview. Software Development