You ask a great question, but it seems to be two questions:
1) Should you upgrade your skills to programming applications with one of the popular smartphone OSes?
2) Which OS?
To the first, the overwhelming answer is ABSOLUTELY YES. I recently ( AUgust 30) wrote on my blog for embedded microcontroller designers my own feelings on this subject: why someone designing/programming in an unrelated field should learn to develop iPhone apps (PSoC Design Methods and Madness).
My answer to the second question is choose iOS and learn to program for iPhone. The main reason for is that I believe Apple has the bar-setting tools and they reinforce learning how to develop great applications. For instance, in the interface tool there are automatic guides that support laying out buttons so they are well-placed: not too close to edge or each other and not too small.
The disadvantage of iOS is that to distribute apps you need to pass the review board and get them into the app store. This is not, in my mind a disadvantage. It means that there are a set of minimal requirements that need to be met before distributing an app, and that when you get an app yourself off the app store these requirements have been met. And if you can get friends who trust you to let you disposition their iPhone or iPod Touch for testing, then you can load your app on their device before it gets in the app store.
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You ask a great question, but it seems to be two questions:
1) Should you upgrade your skills to programming applications with one of the popular smartphone OSes?
2) Which OS?
To the first, the overwhelming answer is ABSOLUTELY YES. I recently ( AUgust 30) wrote on my blog for embedded microcontroller designers my own feelings on this subject: why someone designing/programming in an unrelated field should learn to develop iPhone apps (PSoC Design Methods and Madness).
My answer to the second question is choose iOS and learn to program for iPhone. The main reason for is that I believe Apple has the bar-setting tools and they reinforce learning how to develop great applications. For instance, in the interface tool there are automatic guides that support laying out buttons so they are well-placed: not too close to edge or each other and not too small.
The disadvantage of iOS is that to distribute apps you need to pass the review board and get them into the app store. This is not, in my mind a disadvantage. It means that there are a set of minimal requirements that need to be met before distributing an app, and that when you get an app yourself off the app store these requirements have been met. And if you can get friends who trust you to let you disposition their iPhone or iPod Touch for testing, then you can load your app on their device before it gets in the app store.