Application development priorities are changing in a tablet world that’s seeing more Android devices targeting Apple’s iPad dominance. So says a new survey of 2,200-plus app developers from Appcelerator and IDC.
The survey also reveals that app developers large and small are accelerating their efforts to build a mobile-application strategy to deal with an explosion in apps, mobile devices, operating systems, and capabilities. This year, developers and businesses expect to triple app development, and the average developer is building for four different devices.
The beneficiary is Google. According to the survey, Google’s Android operating system has almost caught up with Apple in smartphone popularity and is closing the gap in tablets. Meanwhile, Microsoft and Research In Motion made solid gains through product line updates, while interest in Google TV and Apple TV dropped off.
The Android World
With 85 new, primarily Android, tablets announced at the Consumer Electronics Show, developers are pushing these devices to the top of their priority lists. Android tablet interest jumped 12 points in three months, with 74 percent of respondents saying they are “very interested” in developing for these devices.
With the Android tablet market set to explode this year, 57 percent of developers say price will be the most important factor for success, followed by minimized fragmentation (49 percent) and then Android Honeycomb capabilities (33 percent). Android phone interest (87 percent “very interested”) rose five points to tie the iPad and close to within five points of iPhone (92 percent).
“Ever since Apple backed down and started allowing cross-platform development again, why not develop for Android?” asked Michael Disabato, managing vice president for network and telecom at Gartner.
“How much harder is it going to be once you get the tools in place to develop the application once, put it though a gizmo, and have an Android app,…