I mostly play SimCity deluxe on the iPad now, but these tips apply for all SimCity games in general. BTW, I have not tried this for Android, but it should work.

• Put your powerplant in a far corner of the board.
• If you have a river near the centre of your world, build near it.  Any housing near a river is attractive to the Sims.  Be careful though, do not build such that you cannot grow from there.
• Build 3×3 area first before building larger blocks
• Do not build too big too fast, but make sure you have a good balance. I’ve found starting with 4 light housing blocks, 2 med and 2 dense blocks to be useful.  2 light and 2 med business blocks are good.
• Build your industry zones along the edge of the world. Yes you need more road and it takes more money, but it will protect against lots of pollution.  You will fight this battle throughout the game.
• The Sims will scream for Police and Fire in the beginning.  Ignore them. These service cost lots of money.  Wait till you have solid income.
• Build the Fire station first, then the police station.
• You can never have enough water towers in the beginning.  Plan for that.
• Pay attention to taxes.  This is your best tool for regulating income and growth.
• Build parks to improve those borderline neighborhoods. Yes they take some money, but well worth it to turn a neighborhood around.
• Don’t go nuts with roads.  You will not notice at first, but they can really add up.  As your town grows, make larger blocks.  Plan for buses.  I’ve only once used a train system and that was when my city was becoming like Tokyo.
  

Have other tips, let us know.