IPhone Platform Top for Software Developers

Published on: 1st Jan 1970: 1:33am

Fifty-three percent of developers quizzed by iGR build applications for the Apple iPhone OS, followed by RIM BlackBerry OS, Android and Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.5. This is a shift from iGR's 2009 developer study in which Windows Mobile was by far the most popular OS. Developers generally develop for multiple platforms and are increasingly developing for more. Respondents currently developed for 2.4 separate platforms, a number that is expected to increase to 3.4 over the next 12 months.

Apple's iPhone OS also led in developers planning to develop in future, with more than half of those not currently developing for the platform planning to in the next 12 months. Google's Android and BlackBerry OS were the next most popular platforms that programmers were planning to start supporting.

When asked to indicate the five most important factors when choosing a mobile platform, more than half of developers consider multi-touch to be important or essential to application development, making a whole wealth of devices inadequate by this standard.

"With each new feature and capability added to smartphone OSes, competition in the space continues to heat up," said Matthew Vartabedian, research vice president of iGR. "Providing a solid developer experience and the ability for developers to generate revenue and profits off of the platforms is a key aspect of that competition."

 

Tags: [apple iphone]  [android]  [blackberry]  [windows mobile]  [os]  [planning]