Microsoft has released the Azure Toolkit for Android, providing an SDK and native libraries to support storage and authorization for its Windows Azure cloud-based development platform. This will give Android developers a way to write applications that use the Windows Azure services, and will lead to more cross-platform apps that use the same data set. Included with the toolkit is a sample application and unit tests, allowing developers to write and build everything using Eclipse with the standard Android SDK.
Love it or hate it, Microsoft knows application development. It also understands that an open platform model and cross-platform applications are not only good for business, but good for the consumer -- giving app developers a way to write an application for Android, iOS, and Windows Phone 7 using well written and supported tools. Windows Azure offers features that developers may want to explore, and not locking those devs to WP7 only apps is a smart move and a recipe for success.
Source: Microsoft; Wade Wenger
