Windows Azure Toolkit for Android Launches

With the availability of the Windows Azure Toolkit for Android, it’s now easier than ever for developers to stretch their mobile applications into Microsoft’s Cloud, regardless of whether the apps run on iOS, Windows Phone, or Google’s open source mobile platform.

Announced back in May 2011, the Windows Azure Toolkit for Android joins its predecessors, Windows Azure Toolkit for Windows Phone and Windows Azure Toolkit for iOS, both of which have been updated this week.

“It’s my belief that cloud computing provides a significant opportunity for mobile device developers, as it gives you the ability to write applications that target the same services and capabilities regardless of the device platform. Furthermore, I believe that Windows Azure is the best place to host these services,” revealed Wade Wegner, technical evangelist, Windows Azure.

Devs creating Android apps using Eclipse and the Android SDK can also take advantage of the newly launched Windows Azure Toolkit for Android in order to connect their projects with the software giant’s Cloud platform.

The toolkit is designed to make it easy for apps to access Windows Azure storage, either by connecting directly or by redirecting traffic through a proxy server.

In addition to the Windows Azure Toolkit for Android - v0.8.0, developers can also get Windows Azure Toolkit for iOS - v1.2.1 and Windows Azure Toolkit for Windows Phone - v1.3.0.

Wegner promised that “over the next few months, (…) we’ll focus on:

• Continue to update the Windows Azure Toolkits for iOS and Android so that they are in full parity with the Windows Azure Toolkit for Windows Phone.

• Samples, samples, and more samples! We want to have a great set of samples that work across all three device platforms. We’ve got a good start with BabelCam, but we need to bring it to iOS and Android, and then build more!”

Windows Azure Toolkit for Android - v0.8.0 is available for download here.

Windows Azure Toolkit for iOS - v1.2.1 is available for download here.

Windows Azure Toolkit for Windows Phone - v1.3.0 is available for download here.