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SDK Shoot Out, Android Vs. IPhone

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the take-the-pepsi-challenge dept.

snydeq writes "Fatal Exception's Neil McAllister delves into the Android and iPhone SDKs to help sort out which will be the best bet for developers now that technical details of the first Android smartphone have been announced. Whereas the iPhone requires an Intel-based Mac running OS X 10.5.4 or later, ADC membership, and familiarity with proprietary Mac OS X dev tools, the standard IDE for Android is Eclipse. And because most tasks can be performed with command-line tools, you can expert third parties to develop Android SDK plug-ins for other IDEs. Objective-C, used almost nowhere outside Apple, is required for iPhone UI development, while app-level Android programming is done in Java. 'By just about any measure, Google's Android is more open and developer-friendly than the iPhone,' McAllister writes, noting Apple's gag order restrictions on documentation, proprietary software requirements to view training videos, and right to reject your finished app from the sole distribution channel for iPhone. This openness is, of course, essential to Android's prospects. 'Based on raw market share alone, the iPhone seems likely to remain the smartphone developer's platform of choice — especially when ISVs can translate that market share into application sales,' McAllister writes. 'Sound familiar? In this race, Apple is taking a page from Microsoft's book, while Google looks suspiciously like Linux.'"

3 of 413 comments (clear)

  1. Biased much? by pez · · Score: 5, Funny

    Whereas the iPhone requires an Intel-based Mac running OS X 10.5.4 or later, ADC membership, and familiarity with proprietary Mac OS X dev tools, the standard IDE for Android is Eclipse.

    So I can run any CPU from any vendor, with any OS, and no familiarity with anything, to develop for Android? Cool!

    1. Re:Biased much? by Rik+Sweeney · · Score: 5, Funny

      Wow, what a treat we have today:

      It's a Slashdot user with a 2 digit user ID, they're very rare.

      OK, take some photos, but be very quiet in case you startle it. Don't point your flash directly at its eyes since it's probably unaccustomed to bright light and you might blind it.

      When you're done, I'll be over there with the rest of the tour group.

      --
      Summation 2
    2. Re:Biased much? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      It's a Slashdot user with a 2 digit user ID, they're very rare.

      You might say there's less than a hundred of them left in the world today!