Microsoft Adds Android Support To Windows Azure Mobile Services

Last year, Microsoft launched Azure Mobile Services, a cloud backend for mobile applications. But at the time, it only supported Windows 8, and the team then added iOS and Windows Phone 8 support a short while later. Starting today, Android users can also connect their apps to Azure Mobile Services and use the platform to store their structured data, use its user authentication tools and send out push notifications. The Android SDK is now available on GitHub and as Microsoft’s Scott Guthrie notes, the team welcomes community contributions. The SDK was actually developed by the Microsoft Open Technologies team, while the Azure team focused on the push support and the portal integration. To enable push notification to Android apps, developers still have to sign up for Google’s Cloud Messaging service. Developers who are interested in getting started with connecting their Android apps to Azure can find a tutorial here, and Microsoft’s Channel 9 (the company’s long-running video site ...

ability android applications authentication availability azure community configuration contributions directory east asia enhancements experience github google guthrie integration ios latency localization management microsoft notifications region scott sdk service sql technology windows