The Mono for Android beta is now open for anyone who wants to use it and provides a way for any .NET programmer to create Android apps without having to learn Java.

After a closed testing program with the early Beta, Mono for Android or MonoDroid can now be test driven by anyone who cares to sign up.

It brings the full Mono VM to the Android so that you can develop applications using C#. In addition the Dalvik APIs have been bound to C# so that you can make use of many of the builtin facilities of the Android OS. The OpenTK library has also been ported so that you can share the same OpenGL code across Windows, Linux and iPhone.

The current release works with C# but in principle it should work with other .NET compilers. Until recently it also only worked with Windows and Visual Studio but the new beta also supports MacOS X using MonoDevelop.  Linux support is planned for the near future.

Depending on how will it all works, MonoDroid could provide an alternative route for Windows .NET developers who want to create mobile phone apps but don't want to learn or write Java and don't really see Windows Phone 7 as a good bet.

Although the use of the beta is free, MonoDroid will be a commercial product when it is launched later in the year.

Look out for a forthcoming I-Programmer introduction to MonoDroid to get you started using it.

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More Information

http://monodroid.net/

Mono for Android - Miguel de Icaza

MonoDroid - .NET for Android