I've spent the last few weeks building my first Android application. I wanted to get my feet wet, but watching videos and reading about it just doesn't quite cut it for me, so I decided it was time to dive into a real application - the best way for me to learn. It took me a while, but I finally found an app worth building, so that's what I'm doing.

This is my first dip into the Java pool, so it's been a bit slow going - learning a new language (yes, it's very similar to C#, but different enough to trip me up every now and then), a new IDE, and a new environment. I've been doing mobile development at TrackAbout, but not for Android, so it's a bit different, although there are some similarities.

Anyway, I'm going to do a little series about Android development. No promise on how many articles it'll be or a schedule - just that since I'm going to be doing the development, I should write about my progress.

We'll start off with an overview of the application, so we're all on the same page and have an understanding of what will be built. I created a few mockup using Balsamiq Mockups, and while I'm sure the look will change, the functionality will be roughly the same. The application will be a mobile application for Pay It Square. For those not familiar with Pay It Square, it's a site that allows you to create collect pages so you can collect money from friends, do event registrations, or collect donations. We think allowing people to see and manage their collect pages on the go will be a great addition.

I didn't mock up all of the screens, but I have a few I'll share. The main screen will show you a list of your collect pages, along with a bit of information about each one, such as information about how many people have and haven't paid, how much each member owes, and how much you've collected so far. Once you select one of the collect pages, you're taken to a tabbed interface, where you can see a list of who's paid, who hasn't paid, and be able to add new payees. The screens are below.

For V1, we're mainly focusing on displaying information, rather than collecting it (with the exception of adding a payee). V2 will add more of that functionality, but we want to get something out the door soon, so we've limited scope to be able to accomplish that. The functionality required to implement these few screens (and a couple of others not shown) will be what I plan to cover in this series.