The mobile landscape today is the battleground for two giants and two underdogs, each fighting the battle with a different strategy. The endgame is clear – control of the largest component of the
The mobile landscape today is the battleground for two giants and two underdogs, each fighting the battle with a different strategy. The endgame is clear – control of the largest component of the market share. In case you have not guessed, we are talking about Apple and Google, and Microsoft and Blackberry respectively. While Apple and Google rule the market today, with Microsoft coming in strong and Blackberry trying to make a comeback, anything could happen. We have seen too many changes in the power equation in the last half - decade. Blackberry fell from its controlling position in the smartphone arena to see Apple rise to power. The advent and subsequent popularity of Android saw Google gain a stronghold in the market, and now we have MS and BB creeping up again.
There is one critical factor that decides the success or failure of a mobile operating platform- the application ecosystem. Mobile apps are the currency of the carnival that is mobility, and the one with the big bills has the biggest leverage. After all, without the apps to make it the do - it - all that it claims to be, your smartphone is just a very expensive feature phone. This is why the mobile developers carry significant weight in the mobile arena, with all the platform owners trying to woo them. It is actually a catch 22 situation. Mobile developers want to work with either the most popular platform, or the one that gets them the most money. However, the popularity of a platform depends on the application ecosystem it brings with it, which is in turn dependent on the developer community.
Let us look at the four competitors objectively, to see what each has to offer to the coders.
1. Apple iOS
Pros - A huge, loyal fan following of iOS means a large customer base. The app store is full of apps; no wonder the iPhone is the most popular phone on the planet. Also, the Apple enthusiasts are more willing to open their pockets to quality products. Therefore, the opportunity for making money is higher. Further, standardized versions, fewer device models and the SDKs and APIs offered by Apple are great support for the coders, who have been known to create their magic with the same. That’s why most popular products land come to iOS first.
Cons - Extremely high quality standards and checks can be detrimental to the newbie devs. The financial model gives only 70 % of the earnings to the coders.
2. Google Android
Pros - largest market share, relaxed quality standards, lower barrier to entry, and an open source code draw the peddlers of bits and bytes to the green humanoid robot like moths to flame. Also, the monetization models are open for creative designs.
Cons - The biggest challenge faced by dev and test teams for Android is the device fragmentation and the non-uniformity of the upgrades. There are just too many permutations to address them all. Another negative is that the development tools available are not as great as with iOS.
3. Windows mobile
Pros - single platform for phones, tablets, and desktops, and programming interface similar to web development.
Cons - cost of development is higher as the tools are expensive, and the volumes are still lagging.
4. Blackberry 10
Pros – The old faithful have not lost hope, and the Blackberry crowd can rapidly grow back. BB has also been offering some great rewards to the community to encourage coder traction. The portability of android apps using a simulator and otherwise also makes life easier.
Cons – Very poor app discoverability, older version apps incompatible with BB10.
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