The Android operating system has been taking the world by storm. Ever since its introduction to the world in a beta release in 2007, it has grown to become the dominant mobile phone OS. Aside from mobile phones, it has also been used for tablets (such as the Barnes & Noble Nook eReader and the Tesco Hudl tablet) and a variety of other embedded multimedia devices. The OS has added new features and evolved over the years, but it still has the same primary design principles as it did when it was first conceived. It provides a lightweight OS with a touchscreen interface that gives quick and easy access to multimedia applications while using minimal resources.

Aside from its general popularity, Android has a number of advantages that make it an excellent OS for your projects. The source code of Android is open source and freely available from http://source.android.com. It is free for you to use in any products that you create. Android uses the popular Linux kernel, so any expertise that you already have with Linux will aid you in your Android development. There is a well-documented interfacing API that makes developing for Android simple and straightforward.

The broad availability of Android-based devices has generated a large amount of interest in developing software applications, or apps, that target Android. It has become easier to develop Android apps. Eclipse Android Development Tools (ADT) allows app developers to prototype software and then execute that software within an emulated Android device environment. However, the emulated device differs from real hardware in subtle (and sometimes dramatic) ways in terms of speed and appearance. Luckily, a powerful and low-cost hardware platform is available that allows you to quickly and easily test your apps on real hardware: the BeagleBone Black.

The BeagleBone Black (BBB) hardware platform, produced by CircuitCo for the BeagleBoard.org nonprofit organization, is a newcomer to the open source hardware scene. First produced in 2013, this low-cost, ARM-based single board computer is an improvement over the original BeagleBone platform. The BBB is an improvement over the original BeagleBone board that offers increased processing power, built-in HDMI video, and either a 2 or 4 GB (depending upon the BBB's revision) on-board eMMC memory. With a focus on small size and a wide variety of expansion and interfacing opportunities, the BBB provides a lot of processing power at a very low price. The following image shows a typical BBB:

The BeagleBone Black (Source: www.beagleboard.org)

Android runs on the inexpensive BBB, which makes it an excellent hardware platform to use to explore Android and develop your own custom Android projects, for example, if you had an idea for an Android kiosk device, a hand-held gaming console, or some other multimedia device. The combination of Android and the BBB will allow you to prototype such devices quickly and cheaply.

Now that we have taken a quick look at the BBB and Android, let's take a look at the hardware that you will need to make the most out of both of them.