If the competition between Google’s Android and Apple’s iOS mobile platforms was a horse race, this could be the point when Android begins to really make its move. A new survey by mobile software tools provider Appcelerator found that more developers prefer Android than iOS for “its OS capabilities, platform openness, and long-term outlook.”
The survey, taken last week from 2,733 respondents, said developers still favor Apple “for its App Store, market for consumer and business apps, devices and near-term outlook.” Overall, 90 percent and 84 percent of those surveyed were “very interested” in developing for Apple’s iPhone or iPad, respectively, while 81 percent and 62 percent were interested in Android phones and tablets.
‘Potential’ of Tablets
Other operating-system platforms were 30 percentage points or more behind Apple and Google in the level of interest by developers. The second tier consists of BlackBerry at 34 percent and Windows Phone 7 at 27 percent. Symbian, Palm Pre/Pixi, MeeGo and Kindle comprise the third tier, with each of those in either low double or single digits.
Aside from the interest in competing mobile platforms, the survey’s other key finding is the meteoric rise of developer interest in tablets, especially those based on the Apple and Google OSes. The interest in tablet application development, which has jumped since the iPad was launched in April, put the iPad in second place among favorite devices, behind the iPhone.
Developers are “rearranging their priorities to unlock the new potential that tablet computing holds,” Appcelerator CEO Jeff Haynie said. He added that the development community is “experimenting” with tablets as point-of-sale terminals, TV or other hardware control devices, and university training tools.
The findings also indicate that large enterprises are more attuned to mobile technology than smaller ones. It found that, for organizations with more than 1,000 employees, interest among developers…