Continuing the interaction with CIOL, Ben Hanley, senior project manager from Evans Data Corporation, tells developers to be careful while choosing their platform even as he lists out what's good and bad about Android and iOS
Continuing the interaction with CIOL, Ben Hanley, senior project manager from Evans Data Corporation, tells developers to be careful while choosing their platform even as he lists out what's good and bad about Android and iOS
CIOL: How do you see developer community's involvement when it comes to apps development for Android and iOS platforms?
BEN HANLEY: Evans Data Corporation's syndicated report, Application Distribution Survey of 2011, indicates that the developer community perceives certain key strengths and weaknesses in both the Android and iOS platforms.
Below I discuss each in turn.
Strengths for Andriod:
Asked to identify which qualities best exemplify Android’s strengths, developers said that more than other reasons, they find Android’s primary draws to be revenue potential and device features. EDC’s research indicates that revenue potential is the most important consideration for developers when choosing platforms. The fact that it is rated as the strongest feature of the Android platform may explain why Android is currently the most commonly-targeted mobile OS by developers. Also, hardware manufacturers have consistently used the availability of the newest device features and technologies to attract developers. Research demonstrates that Android developers recognize this and rate device features as the second strongest feature of the Android platform.
Weaknesses for Andriod:
A major criticism that respondents sometimes levy against Android is the lack of tools that allow easier - and secure - deployment of Android-based hardware in corporate environments. Unlike Windows-based phones, and BlackBerry handsets, which have found great supporters in IT departments, Android suffers from the possibility of fragmentation due to its open-source internals and multiple hardware vendor approach, and from questions about security.
Strengths for iOS:
In Evans Data’s Application Distribution Survey of 2011, the Apple App Store was considered a leader in current market share, and the high visibility given to apps within the store. Respondents have consistently indicated that current market share is extremely important to their choice of platform, and statistical analysis places the Apple App Store as the leader in perceived current market share. Another area of strength for the Apple App Store, which is considered of high importance by developers, is the high visibility given to apps in the Apple App Store, an area where respondents consistently responded that they were very satisfied with Apple.
Weaknesses for iOS:
The iPhone shares its largest weakness with other mobile platforms that are not BlackBerry or Windows-based. Developers feel that the iPhone lacks in the area of integration with corporate applications. While the iPhone does not suffer from the same fragmentation potential that Android has, iPhone - and other Apple products- still have not found comfortable homes in IT departments. Much of this can be attributed to lack of tools to access enterprise technologies.
CIOL: What kind of role a telecom company plays to promote applications developed by developers?
BH: By way of background to our analysis, it should be noted that the introduction of iPhone and Android several years ago drastically changed the roles carriers played in mobile development. At one time, mobile application developers had to deal more directly with carriers in order to get their applications on feature phones, in order to use carrier-specific APIs, and in order to have their applications certified.
With a newer crop of smartphones that tout platforms and app stores that give developers more access to device functions, and the introduction of technologies that allow developers to bypass communication features that carriers would otherwise control, carrier responsibilities as gatekeepers of mobile networks would seem curtailed.
Carriers have adjusted to the new landscape, and now sell not just the bandwidth, but also services which they hope could give users better experiences than those available from third parties.
In this light, the kinds of APIs that carriers are making available for developers have diversified beyond the typical messaging functions that used to typify mobile development in its early days. In 2011, one in four mobile developers worked with carrier APIs. Another quarter expect to do so in 2012.
Even the best carriers have their fair share of critics. For developers who must deploy their applications, network operators play an integral role in defining the end user experience. Regional and platform targets assert the greatest influence in network usage for developers, though developers may still partner with carriers to deliver their applications direct to consumers through the carrier’s app stores as well.
