I apologize in advance for the "newbie" nature of this question.

Here is my predicament: I'm brand new to android and developing in general. I'm using android's SDK with eclipse Galileo. I've followed several tutorials to create different layouts. I've even learned recently how to use radio buttons and verify which ones were selected. Now I need to create a service that downloads and updates an xml file within the application. I've tried to locate a simple tutorial for services on Google's developer site but so far, so bad. If they exist could somebody point me in the right direction?

On the other hand, I've been told Google's tutorials are a little out dated. Is that true? If so, are there any other tutorials that would hand-hold (and possibly over-explain) how to use a service to a true newbie for free (like google)?

Any suggestions would be appreciated.