Google and Udacity are offering a free course on Android App development

Google and Udacity have teamed up to offer a nanodegree in Android application development. Called the  Android Basics Nanodegree by Google, the course is for $200 and gives you a certificate along with face to face interactions with instructors and partners. The course requires 165 hours to be completed. The course teaches you the basics of Java to start off with. Those interested can try it out for a week, for free. There is a more advanced course called the Android Developer Nanodegree.

There is a free version of the course, for which  131,406 students have already signed up. You do not get the certificate, or the personal interactions with teachers. However, instruction videos are available and those interested are expected to learn by following step by step instructions and doing exercises. The course allows you to build a portfolio of basic Android apps over a period approximately four weeks, a the rate of 6 hours of learning per week. The course is meant for people without any prior coding experience. For users who are interested in creating more advanced applications, but do not have the resources to set up the infrastructure required for the backend, Google offers Firebase as a solution to its developers. Firebase allows users to quickly create apps, and offers a number of services. Developers can choose to incorporate only a few of these services. There are pricing tiers available for emerging apps (mostly free), growing apps, and applications at maximum scale.