Calling all Android fans, it’s time to feast your eyes on our latest news

There’s always a lot going on in the worlds of Android and Sony, so we’ve put together the latest top stories to keep you up to speed. We’ve got a smartphone project designed to save lives,  insight into Android app development and an exciting Twitter release.

It’s without a doubt that food photography has dramatically increased in popularity in recent years, with many now unable to resist the temptation to snap away the moment their food arrives in a restaurant. Just one foodie fanatic is Hugh Johnson, a renowned photographer who has taken photographs for celebrity chefs including Yotam Ottolenghi and Heston Blumenthal. Just this week he released a series of stunning food photography images capturing the exquisite, mouth-watering detail of the dinner table close up – all taken on Sony’s full frame, palm-sized α7R II. Luckily for us, Hugh also shared his guide to capturing the essence of a delicious plate in a photograph, following a successful series of shots he took on his

From making this simple to shooting food at the widest aperture possible, here’s everything you need to know!

Have you ever dreamed of developing your own Android app? Twitter surprised many of its users this week with the release of a Mobile Playbook designed to help new developers. The playbook is a compilation of blog posts outlining Twitter’s experience in the sector, designed to give new app developers some great advice to follow. The series walks you through everything from prototyping and design, to analytics – as well as taking a look at topics including using APIs and monetization.

So developing your own Android app may not be as hard as you think, and to help with this we found a couple of additional resources that could help you on your way.

Android’s very own website is, unsurprisingly, the most up-to-date source you can access – and there’s a whole range of exercises on app development to get your knowledge up to scratch.

Another useful resource is Envatotuts+ – a site based around written tutorials. There’s a huge selection of courses that range from general overviews, to more specific tasks like handling intents and acquiring device sensor data.

If you manage to create your very own app, make sure you share it with us. You may even get featured as our latest ‘App of the Month’.

An interesting piece of news came to light this week, as Android Authority reported on a brand new ‘life saving’ project that will suit all the smartphone fanatics out there. Ausburg, a city in Germany, revealed that it has begun to embed traffic lights in the pavements, so smartphone users never have to take their eyes away from their phone.

According to a city spokesperson, the project “creates a whole new level of attention” however others have suggested that it in fact serves as an “unnecessary crutch for bad habits”, with city leaders citing a recent European study that found nearly 20 percent of pedestrians are distracted by their smartphones.

Whilst it’s unclear whether or not the project will work, we’d love to get your thoughts on this new traffic-light concept. Remember, this project is just in Germany, so have your eyes on the roads at all times!

Finally, some exciting news now for the super Android fans out there. If you want to show your Android support beyond simply using a phone or tablet, you can now get your hands on your very own Android t-shirt via Android Central!  The garments feature the writing ‘Team Android’, with the classic bugdroid logo below. They’re available for a limited time only, so put in your order now!

Unfortunately that’s all we have time for this week. Have a top weekend and make sure you catch us on Twitter.

by Sony Mobile PR Team via Blog Portal