This thread is a little old, and I am brand new to this, but I think I found the preferred solution.
First, I assume that you are using Eclipse and the Android ADT plugin.
In Eclipse, choose Window/Android SDK Manager. In the display, expand the entry for the MOST RECENT PLATFORM, even if that is not the platform that your are developing for. As of Jan 2012, it is "Android 4.0.3 (API 15)". When expanded, the first entry is "Documentation for Android SDK" Click the checkbox next to it, and then click the "Install" button.
When done, you should have a new directory in your "android-sdks" called "doc". Look for "offline.html" in there. Since this is packaged with the most recent version, it will document the most recent platform, but it should also show the APIs for previous versions.