Developers prefer using Google Android Over Apple iOS

MOUNTAIN VIEW, USA: Appcelerator, solution provider for developing native mobile, desktop, and iPad applications using Web technologies, and analyst firm International Data Corporation (IDC) has announced results from a joint Appcelerator-IDC survey of nearly 2,400 app developers around the world.

The survey reveals developer plans to build applications for various mobile and tablet platforms, as well as their preferences for popular mobile APIs. Appcelerator also announced that it has entered into a partnership with IDC to deepen the level and quality of research conducted in Appcelerator’s quarterly reports.

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The Appcelerator-IDC Q4 Mobile Developer Report shows that Appcelerator Titanium developers favor Android over iOS in TVs and other embedded devices.

The survey also provides fresh insight into the emerging "war of the Mobile Web 2.0 SDKs" between popular social, advertising, commerce, media, and other Web-based APIs that are now shaping the mobile application landscape.

Google's strategic lead lies beyond phones

In a similar survey taken this past June, Appcelerator found that while Apple leads in iPhone/iPad interest, developers favor Android in the long-term. In its latest survey, Appcelerator and IDC dug deeper into the reasons behind this claim to uncover Android's strategic advantage. Below are key findings:

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* Seventy-two percent of developers say Android "is best positioned to power a large number and variety of connected devices in the future." compared to 25 percent for iOS. As a result, 59 percent of developers now favor Android's long-term outlook versus 35 percent for iOS. This gap has widened 10 points since a similar survey in June.

* However, Apple iOS continues to dominate in all categories relating to market/revenue opportunity and current devices. iPhone continues to lead overall developer sentiment with 91 percent saying they are "very interested" in developing for the device compared to 82 percent for Android phones.

* Developers show enthusiasm for connected TVs, with 44 percent saying they are "very interested" in developing for Google TV versus 40 percent for Apple TV. Explained Scott Ellison, vice president of Mobile & Wireless research at IDC,

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* Android tablets are poised for developer lift-off: At 62 percent expressing strong interest, Android has similar enthusiasm to the iPad at an analogous point in time (last January pegged iPad at 58 percent). This is great news for Android tablet device OEMs. On the other end, new research shows webOS and BlackBerry tablets currently have little interest from developers (16 percent for both), indicating HP, RIM, and other tablet platform challengers need to generate significant developer enthusiasm well in advance of upcoming launches.

* Fragmentation remains a key concern for Google, with 74 percent of developer respondents describing iOS as "least fragmented" but only 11 percent describing Android as such.

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Results of first-ever mobile web 2.0 developer research

With over 4,000 applications now powered by Appcelerator Titanium - one of the most extensive mobile APIs on the market — developers are making significant use of third-party social, commerce, advertising, messaging, media, and analytic APIs. Below are top-line findings that reveal battles going on behind the scenes between these popular developer plug-ins

* Social: Facebook slightly leading Twitter 65% to 60%, with Foursquare trailing at 22%. Appcelerator's direct experience shows Facebook having a key strategic advantage in its popularity as a primary identity system for mobile applications.

* Commerce: iOS in-app purchasing and PayPal payments are also locked 49% to 48% in a head-to-head battle for mobile commerce leadership. Of note, PayPal is nearly as popular as Google Checkout (33%) and Amazon (18%) combined. PayPal also leads iOS in developer popularity in Europe and Asia.

* Media: Use of the camera (58%) far exceeds use of popular photo sharing services Flickr (21%) and TwitPic (19%). Stronger interest in using the camera for barcode scanning (31%) and augmented reality (41%) shows developers have bigger plans for mobile phones than simple photo sharing.

* Advertising: iAd (52%) leads AdMob (36%) with developers noting a preference for iAd's richer ad units and higher click-through rates, even as fill rate remains an issue.

* Analytics: Application analytics (54%) is currently the most popular form of analytics, however there is strong interest in transaction (42%) and geo-analytics (35%) as location and commerce take center stage in mobile.

The Future of Apps: Native Apps Lead Mobile Web

Four out of five developers say their users prefer native applications to mobile Web sites because of user experience expectations. When ranking features needed for their apps, developers prioritize native features as most important (% of developers using or planning to use feature):

   1. Native user interface (91percent)

   2. Local database (81percent)

   3. Push notifications (74 percent)

   4. Web services/Internet connectivity (72 percent)

   5. Geo-location(69 percent)

   6. Facebook integration (65 percent)

   7. Google maps (62 percent)

   8. Twitter integration (60 percent)

   9. Camera support (58 percent)

  10. Filesystem (56 percent)

  11. Application analytics (54 percent)

  12. iAd (52 percent)

  13. Audio/Video playback (50 percent)

  14. iOS in-app payments (49 percent)

  15. PayPal payments (48 percent)

Top consumer app categories include: social networking, entertainment, utility, games, and lifestyle applications. Top business applications include: productivity, document management, sales force automation, messaging/communications, and a 3-way tie between finance, retail, and healthcare vertical applications. Note that most of these scenarios rely on Internet connectivity and the native device capabilities listed above.

Recent Oracle and Apple Announcements Have Minimal Impact on Developer Enthusiasm

Finally, when asked about their thoughts on recent announcements from Oracle and Apple on their enthusiasm for either platform, developers responded:

* 93 percent say Oracle's lawsuit has little or no impact on enthusiasm for Android

* 83 percent of developers say Apple's easing iOS development restrictions has little or no impact on already high levels of enthusiasm for iOS.