Droid Matrix is a personal blog I began in January 2025. Ever since I started living my dream as an Android app developer last year, I’ve felt a strong desire to share both my knowledge and my undeniable passion for this fascinating mobile operating system.
This blog will focus on tech tutorials, with a particular emphasis on Android app development. As I’m currently building my own Android apps using Kotlin—with the goal of releasing them sometime this year—I also want to use this platform to document my personal growth as a developer.
But Droid Matrix won’t be limited to just Android. I plan to cover a wide range of topics across the tech landscape. Here are some of the areas I intend to explore on the blog:
Linux:
Android is Linux. While this might be a bit confusing for the average Android user, it’s important to note that Android OS is built upon the Linux kernel.
That said, my own interaction with Linux hasn’t been directly related to Android OS development. Rather, Linux has been my go-to operating system since the beginning of my tech career over a decade ago.
I still remember the moment that changed everything—navigating Ubuntu’s Linux system via the command line for the first time, guided by a YouTube tutorial. Coming from a Windows GUI background, the experience was entirely new and refreshing. The control, the structure, and the efficiency of the command line completely captivated me.
Since then, I’ve had many opportunities to work with Linux professionally. In the early days of my programming career, shell scripting—alongside Java—played a major role in shaping my technical foundation.
At home, I currently run three Linux-based servers for different purposes. One acts as a home network server to store personal files, while the other two are dedicated to experimental work related to app development.
If you’re interested in setting up your own home network server, you can check out the book I’ve written based on my hands-on experience. The link is provided below.
Python:
Python works particularly well with Linux. Although I haven’t had the opportunity to use Python in a professional setting, I rely on it extensively in my home network servers for automation tasks—such as file backups, inserting data into MySQL databases, and syncing files between different server systems.
As an object-oriented programming language, Python enables you to write more robust and well-structured scripts compared to traditional shell scripting. While my professional scripting experience has primarily been with shell scripts, I genuinely hope to gain professional experience with Python in the future.
In my book, I’ve included a section on Python and how it can be used to automate common Linux tasks. If that interests you, I encourage you to check it out. Additionally, I’ll be regularly posting articles on this blog about Python and the many ways it can benefit Linux users like you and me.
Android:
Last but certainly not least, the true star of the show is—of course—Android! This open-source mobile operating system is something I simply can’t imagine living without. Looking back, my very first smartphone was the Galaxy Nexus, the third-generation Nexus device. Since then, I’ve primarily stuck with Google’s Nexus and Pixel lines, with a few exceptions using Samsung and Huawei devices. When it comes to tablets, I’ve had hands-on experience with models from Asus, Huawei, and Samsung.
My journey began with customizing launchers and tweaking the standard UI, which eventually led me to rooting devices and installing custom ROMs. That curiosity naturally evolved into coding Android apps using Android Studio—especially after gaining professional experience in Java.
In Japan, where iPhones dominate the market, I’ve always stood out as something of an outlier. During my interview with my current employer, I was seen as a rare kind of geek—in the best possible way—for wanting to specialize in Android while most others gravitated toward iOS development.
For over a decade, I’ve immersed myself in the Android ecosystem. So, when I finally landed a job as an Android app developer, it felt like a dream come true—one I had been chasing for years.
What makes Android even more fascinating to me is its foundation: Linux. Since Android is built on the Linux kernel, my long-standing passion for Linux naturally deepened my interest in Android. This inspiring intersection between the two is one of the key reasons I started this blog—to share not only my love for Android, but also my enthusiasm for Linux and the powerful synergy between them.