A survey by senior analyst William Powers of Baird Research has brought interesting insights on app development on major platforms.

The survey reveals that even though Android is more popular than Apple’s iOS but developers face several challenges developing applications for Google’s operating system. The study is based on responses from 250 developers who were asked about their platform of choice and other issues related with app development. The survey also found that more developers are developing apps for Android than Apple.

Other key finding from the survey are-

• 56% of developers feel that device fragmentation in Android platform cause difficulties in app development.
• App developers prefer single store for apps of a particular platform like Apple App Store.
• Developers found iOS easier than Android and both easier than others like BlackBerry and Nokia.
• When asked about app visibility, iOS was the clear choice followed by BlackBerry.
• Developers preferred iOS followed by BlackBerry for payments.

The survey results prove that Apple’s App Store is still the most preferred choice among app developers. iPhone developers are surely gaining a lot from Apple’s strategies in the market.

If you are an iPhone developer who wants some help in making and marketing apps then: The Business of iPhone & iPad App Development: Making and Marketing Apps that Succeed would be a good resource for an iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch developer to build a successful iPhone app marketing plan and build the right buzz.  Apple app store with over 350,000 apps in various genres is a difficult place to be. And, if you want your app to stand out in the crowd then you have to market it aggressively so that mobile users get to know about your app. Successfully marketing your app is also important for an iPhone app developer to increase downloads and to make money out of your iPhone application.

The Business of iPhone & iPad App Development: Making and Marketing Apps that Succeed is written by Dave Wooldridge and Michael Schneider who are experienced iPhone app developers and is published by Apress Media LLC. This book will aid an iPhone app developer in a step-by-step process in iPhone app development and testing, transform their apps into a powerful marketing tool with the use of social media, how to implement a post-release marketing strategy, understand the business potential of the iPhone application, legal obligations, intellectual property issues and Apple app store submission process. The book will also guide you in monetizing your application through multiple revenue-generation models.

With a comprehensive guide like- The Business of iPhone & iPad App Development: Making and Marketing Apps that Succeed- iPhone app developers will not only be able to reach out to their intended audience in a successful way but will also be able to make their app a chartbuster in App Store.

Leading mobile ad exchange network Mobiclix has released the January inforgraphic that’s says that the iPhone app users lead over others app user value race. The study has attempted to see how the app success translate to revenue potential for app developers. And, it has found that iPhone users bring-in more to developer’s revenue. Other important finding of the study is that utility apps have higher value than entertainment and game application users.
The study analyzed mobile apps in the Utilities, Entertainment and Games category for iPhone and Android users and found a monthly value based on ARPU (average revenue per user).

Source- Mobclix

App development for smartphones and other devices have gone multiplatform with apps designed now is compatible to more than one operating system, at a time. iPhone and Android have emerged as app developer’s choice and they are enthusiastically targeting it, according to a report by leading research company Forrester. The recently released report advises iPhone app developers to adopt multi-device strategy for app development and testing to prevent them from multiplatform convolution.

In the report’s executive summary, analyst Jeffrey Hammond says “The year 2010 was when mobile application development began crossing the chasm from early adopters to mainstream application development shops,”. “But what started as ‘we need an iPhone app!’ has now progressed to a multiple device and operating system reality. Our data shows that mobile developers are already supporting native applications on multiple platforms and that it’s likely to get more complicated as tablets join mobile phones as new development targets.”

The report further says that mobile web technologies are fading faster and are no longer alluring to developers. In its study, Forester found that iPhone has retained its position as the first choice among developers followed by Android. The research report also finds that RIM is lagging back in attracting the attention of developers and therefore has to do more to appeal to them

Now you get a chance to sharpen your programming skills for iPhone or iPad application development. The Pragmatic Studio is going to offer their popular course “iPhone/iPad Programming,” twice in coming few months. First time it will be conducted in Santa Clara, CA on August 17-20 and the next session will be held in Chicago, IL on October 25-28, 2010. It’s a hands-on training course for 4 days, where you can learn how to develop iPhone and iPad apps under the guidance of Matt Drance and Daniel Steinberg. The entry is open both for the freshers and the experienced iPhone developers as well.

In this course you can expect to -

·      learn to use the basic tools & APIs in iPhone SDK 4 for the development of iPhone/iPad apps
·      have hands-on coding experience and clear your doubts
·      save time & energy by focusing professionally & exclusively on iPhone/iPad development for all the four days with special guidance from the experts.

The topics include, as mentioned in the course details:
·      Intro to Objective-C
·      Xcode and Interface Builder
·      Cocoa Touch APIs and Design Patterns
·      View Controllers
·      Navigation and Tab Bar Controllers
·      Table Views
·      Keyboard Input
·      Gesture Recognizers
·      Animation
·      Core Data
·      Custom Graphics
·      Performance and Debugging
·      Practical tips, tricks, and techniques used by the experts

The early attendees have reported saying that the course is really helpful as the experts can teach you the techniques required typically. They also point out the challenges related to iOS SDK 4 and the methods to overcome those.

Microsoft’s Chief Executive Officer, Steve Ballmer is rumored to be at Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference 2010 happening on 7th, June.

It’s said a total of 7 minutes of Steve Jobs’ June 7 keynote have been reserved for presentation from Microsoft. The Redmond, Wash., software giant will reportedly be showing off Visual Studio 2010, the company’s suite of development tools. As reported by Barron’s analyst Trip Choudhry with Global Equities research.

Choudhry reportedly believes that the presentation could be given by Ballmer, Microsoft’s CEO. If not, a possible second option for allegedly planned presentation would be Bob Muglia, head of Microsoft’s server and tools business.

According to Chowdhry, the new version of Visual Studio will allow developers to write native applications for Apple’s iPhone OS, which includes the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad. Developers will also allegedly be able to write software for the Mac OS X operating system with Visual Studio 2010.

What you think if Visual Studio 2010 came up with the support of Objective-C? Do you think this gonna make changes in iPhone Development ecosystem?

Update: Tweet from Microsoft’s Official Account: Steve Ballmer not speaking at Apple Dev Conf. Nor appearing on Dancing with the Stars. Nor riding in the Belmont. Just FYI.

Well, that tweet just talked about Steve Ballmer, not Microsoft. So, there’re still a pretty chances that anybody from Microsoft might be speaking at WWDC or this rumor is just a rumor and nothing else. Let’s see..

WoW! iPhone OS 3.2 Gold Master Seed is now available for paying members of iPhone Developer’s Program (which now services iPad development too). This is pretty big news for the developers who are gearing up for iPad development. This OS version is the first operating system for iPad.

The email from Apple states this:

• All iPad apps submitted must be built using this release.
• All members of the iPhone Developer Program can submit their iPad apps to iTunes Connect for review and approval. If you did not submit your app during the initial review period, but upload it by March 31, it will reviewed but may not make the grand opening of the iPad App Store.
• Make sure you read the iPhone SDK GM Seed Release Notes before installing and developing with this release.

Here is a direct snap of the Apple mailer..

Apple Now Accepting iPad Apps for the grand opening of the iPad App Store., the email sent to iPhone App Developers by Apple states this:

• Submit Your App by March 27.
• Build and test your iPad app using iPhone SDK 3.2 beta 5 available on the iPhone Dev Center. Only iPad apps built with iPhone SDK 3.2 beta 5 will be accepted for this initial review.
• Upload your distribution signed app through iTunes Connect by Saturday, March 27, 5pm PDT.
• The App Review Team will review your app on iPad and email you details about the readiness of your app.
• You will also receive additional information about submitting your app for final review before iPad ships.
• Only apps submitted for the initial review will be considered for the grand opening of the iPad App Store.

You can find the apple email below:

Multitasking has been one of the most requested features for the iPhone and it looks like it’s finally coming to the device. Apple is working to reveal the next Firmware Upgrade iPhone OS 4.0 which would include this feature, reports AppleInsider from trusted sources. The inability to multi-task has always topped the list of complaints on iPhone and now Apple is finally going to tackle the issue of running third party apps in background. This means iPhone user’s will now be able to do the “full on multi-tasking” .

Today’s iPhone’s 3.x.x software is a fully preemptive multitasking operating system but it artificially restricts apps (other than specific ones bundled with the system by Apple) from running in the background. Apple has always cribbed on poor battery life as the reason to not enable this feature. With the iPhone barely running for 6 hours under heavy use, according to Apple, running apps in the background would bring the battery life down even more.

Since Apple first introduced the ability to run third party applications on the Apple iPhone 2.0 controversies have been brewing with the multi-tasking issue, often reported as a technical flaw. The phone can run SMS, email, iPod, voice recorder and certain other bundled applications in background while another application is being used, but in case of a third party app, it is designed such that the app is shut down when the user tries to go to the home screen or accept an incoming call .

Jailbreaking your iphone was a common way to launch and run multiple apps at the same time, however by jail breaking the iPhone Security Model is compromised. This also opens doors to malware and piracy, which were handled previously by the default security system. With this multi tasking feature being a part of iPhone OS 4.0, it would no longer be required to jailbreak your iPhone for multi tasking.

Recently Apples has significantly lowered the price of their Mac Developer Program to $99 compared to their previous sold membership of ADC ( Apple Developer Connection) Select or Premier marked at $499 and $3499 respectively.

Apple has mentioned that this is in response to the success of their iPhone Developer Program , also priced at $99 and this would create potential for iPhone developers to port over their applications to the Mac platform.

While the newly named Mac Developer Program covers most of the essential elements required for developing an app for Mac, it is definitely a much slimmer package than its predecessors. The $99 Mac Developer Program would offer access to Mac OS X pre-releases, technical documentation, Xcode 3 and other tools, development videos, member-only developer forums, and two technical code-level support incidents. Additional support incidents can be purchased in bundles of two for $99 or five for $249.

This program no longer includes significant hardware discounts, 10 support incidents and WWDC material and ticket worth $1200.

Apple has made it further easy for students and indie Mac developers by offering a free version of the Mac Developer Program that gives access to Xcode 3 and other tools, online resources, and bug reporting. For first timers and amateurs who just want to explore the Mac development platform, this is an ideal option.

With this new change in place, it would not be surprising to see a new wave of Mac application development and more so when there are tons of iPhone apps that are already available and can be ported over easily to the Mac platform.