3 way Race in the Mobile Development World

Apple, Google, and Microsoft are the three main mobile operating systems and it seems like every few weeks a dramatic change promises to be ‘the game changer’.  As of July 16th 2012 Apple is in first place with its iOS platform, Google is in second place with its Android platform, and Microsoft is in third place with its Windows Mobile platform.  Of course there are other mobile platforms available but for developers that must ensure their work puts food on their family’s table, the three main mobile platforms are what really matter at the end of the day.  All three players also manufacture devices specifically for their own mobile platforms with patents and custom device designs. 

The three main players are reaching out to developers with hopes of drawing in more consumers to buy their custom mobile devices.  All three have held conferences for software developers in the past few weeks to introduce new software, new strategies, and new devices with hopes of building or maintaining their market share. 

Apple iOS 6 is expected to be on new iPhones this fall and the upgrade will have 200 new features including small upgrades such as a new dialer layout.  Another upgrade includes a reply-later option for phone calls you can’t answer immediately, Facetime over cell-phone networks, a Passbook app that turns the iPhone into a credit card, Facebook integration, and an impressive new maps application.  Apple wants to blur and erase the line between laptops, tablets, and smartphones.  So far no one has surpassed the iPhone’s ability to provide a compelling user experience.  This 3 way mobile race outcome will depend on how alluring the upcoming iPhone 5 appears against Google’s and Microsoft’s latest offers this fall season.  So far iPhone customers are still waiting for a version that works on high-speed LTE networks and Apple is losing that particular race.

Google announced its latest platform update in the past few weeks with Android version 4.1, also known as Jelly Bean.  The upgrade was made available to developers after the announcement and you can get details at the Android developers website listed at the end of this article.  Jelly Bean offers improved voice-dictation, voice recognition, and Google Now.  Google Now considers time, location, and personal history to offer alternative commuting routes or nearby restaurants that may be the most interesting to the mobile device owner.  Nexus 7 was announced and it sells for $199 with the goal of offering a better experience than Amazon’s Kindle Fire tablet.  A sphere shaped Nexus Q is another new device that provides multimedia streaming and integration with Google Play.  Google Glass was the biggest announcement though and every developer (including myself) wants in on that exciting game changer as soon as possible.  Android does power more mobile devices than iOS but it has fragmentation issues.  Less than 12% of Android phone users actually use the most current version of Android, so most won’t even benefit from Jelly Bean for a long time.  As a developer, I also want to see a more stable business model that actually helps developers to earn a fair income from their work and investments.  If I choose to invest my time, resources, and money into developing Android software I should be able to earn a fair income from my efforts.  Right now, statistics show that Android developers are not earning nearly as much as iOS developers.  With the most recent announcement from Google, I am more willing to take some calculated risks and continue developing my mobile apps for both iOS and Android, but I do choose to focus my Android development on the most recent version rather than paying a ton to support old Android versions. 

Microsoft surprised everyone when they announced they are designing and manufacturing their own devices and unveiled the Surface tablet.  Microsoft is obviously following the Apple business model with this latest move.  The keyboard is built into the Surface tablet cover to enhance the usability of the operating software.  The hands on tests were too limited to be really useful, but those that did test it gave it very good reviews.  The software inside the Surface tablet promises to compete with Android and iOS and offer a Passbook type wallet and native map technology.  As a developer I have to say that I see very little incentive to develop mobile apps for the Windows Mobile OS so far.  Who knows how this 3-way race will look next year?  I don’t know the answer to that, but I’m certainly enjoying the adventures as a mobile developer.

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References retrieved July 17th 2012:

Apple Worldwide Developers Conference:  https://developer.apple.com/wwdc/

Google I/O Developers Conference: https://developers.google.com/events/io/

Microsoft   http://www.wpdevcon.com/