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Devs Bet Big On Android Over Apple's iOS
CWmike writes "A majority of mobile app developers see Android as the smart bet over the long run even as they vote for Apple's iOS in the short term, according to a survey conducted jointly by Appcelerator and IDC. The survey polled more than 2,300 developers who use Appcelerator's Titanium cross-platform compiler to produce iOS and Android native apps. Of the 2,300 polled, 59% said that Android had the 'best long-term outlook,' compared with just 35% who pegged Apple's iOS with that label. But three out of four said that iOS offers the best 'near-term' outlook, with 76% tagging Apple's operating system as the best revenue opportunity."
Most Android devices are more locked down than any iDevice. The ones that aren't tend to be more expensive than the equivalent iDevice. I'm actually surprised Google hasn't worked with Chinese manufacturers to make sure some cheap Android devices weren't more developer friendly. I'm not sure why these cheap devices aren't more friendly since the manufacturer isn't making any effort to benefit from the closed state of the devices.
I think Apple needs to be more clear in why they do or don't reject apps and it shouldn't be for political reasons. If there is a technical reason they should be clear on why and be open to change as the devices become more powerful or developers suggest workarounds. If there is a business reason (such as not allowing smut) they should be clear that they think it'll give the best experience for end-users. If anything though I think Apple should be more strict about maintaining quality. They need to make all apps pass a vigorous quality test that checks for stability, security, ease of use, and simply delivering what it claims to. Customers have to trust that when they buy an iOS app it won't suck.
Stealing functionality is a hard issue. If it makes the base better then they need to do it but if it's really anything novel they should compensate the app developer. Even if it's not really novel but well done they'd be foolish not to at least hire the developer. What better way to find the best people to develop iOS? Likewise they'd be stupid to crush the jailbreak community. It's much better to hire the best from the pool of developers there.
Of course for the most part none of this really matters. The more difficult it is to distribute iOS apps the better for the developers that stick to it so long as Apple maintains good sales and iDevice users remain more prone to spending money than Android users (who are actually pretty negative about paid apps). This is a good reason for maintaining strict quality controls. Users will be more willing to buy and there will be less noise in the system to keep people from finding and buying your app. It doesn't matter how easy it is to develop for Android if you're not going to make money doing it.
At what price learning? At what cost wisdom? The price is a man's peace of mind, and the cost is his life.
"Expensive"? Apple has the best economies of scale in the industry. No one can make an iPhone, iPod Touch or an iPad as cheaply as Apple. They managed to transition their component supplier pipelines nicely from iPods to iPhones, and have long-term contracts for flash memory, LCD screens, batteries, and the myriad other components that make up one of these things. Apple is in the driver's seat and is selling everything their manufacturing partners can make at a nice markup.
As for this survey, it's a very skewed sample and even so it says that iOS is the best way to make money and has the best short-term prospects. As long as Apple keeps always having the best short-term prospects and Android the long-term prospects, year after year, Apple will be okay.
E pluribus unum
The developers are treated a lot better than the customers.
You are welcome on my lawn.
Look I program for both Android basically sucks goat balls compared to running native code on IOS. Not only that but I don't have to worry about targeting a hundred different platforms I only have to address one. I build a app for the iphone it looks the same on ipod touch(all versions), iphone (all versions), ipad.
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You should pay anyone a price that's mutually agreeable to you both.
-jcr
The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
Who is easier to satisfy than the person who believes he has bought status?
You are welcome on my lawn.
So in a ideal capitalist society, a person would be encouraged to save everyone a million man-hours because if he made something that useful he'd become rich.
No. In an ideal capitalist society someone else would come along and sell a nearly identical solution for less.
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