The iPad may face increase competitor from tablets running Android , but that ’s doing little to stoke the enthusiasm of roving developer , according to a fresh view from development software maker Appcelerator . The survey find that interest in developing for Android among Appcelerator ’s developers is plateauing , especially when it comes to creating apps for Android - based tablets .
Of the 2760 Appcelerator developers surveyed from April 11 to 13 , 85 percent report an interest in modernize apps for Android phones while 71 percent expressed interest group in relieve oneself apps for Android tablets . While those percentages are high , they ’re also down two and three percentage point respectively from the same view Appcelerator conducted in January . The dip - off add up after Android had logged steady gain in developer interest over the retiring year , according to Appcelerator .
In line , Apple ’s iOS platform continues to concern Appcelerator developers . Interest in developing apps for the iPhone clocked in at 91 pct in the most recent survey , while iPad app pastime was 86 percent . Those numbers are essentially unchanged from last quarter ’s survey , Appcelerator frailty president of marketing Scott Schwarzhoff toldMacworld .
Surveys of developer preference should always be charter with the customary grains of salt , but the latest Appcelerator numbers provide an interesting snap for a duo reason . First , the sight features developers who use Appcelerator Titanium , a cross - platform mobile growing tool — in other words , a crew with an interest group in building apps across multiple platforms . There ’s also the topic of timing — the survey come after some of the throng of tablets hyped at this year ’s Consumer Electronics Show have hit the grocery store , giving mobile developers their first hazard to see that ironware in action .
And that could be one of the chief driver behind developer ’ cooling enthusiasm toward make apps for Android tablets , according to Appcelerator ’s latest study . inquire which areas pose the big risks to Android ’s success , two - thirds of the developers surveyed cited fragmentation , with 30 percentage mention weak grip for tablet and 28 percent saying there were too many Android app store . ( Developers could refer more than one risk . )
Withdifferent versions of Android available for different devices , atomisation has been a growing concern in the Android marketplace . But Schwarzhoff argues that Android fragmentation is only part of the story : “ Fragmentation is fundamentally six layers deep , ” he said .
The most urgent concern for developers surveyed by Appcelerator is attainment atomization — that is , the power to build curriculum using different developing tools and languages . That ’s trace by fragmented atomic number 8 capabilities — different mobile operating systems support unlike feature — and then Android atomisation . developer are also touch by the demands of grow for different devices ( such as phones versus pad ) and construction and support more than one app .
Appcelerator also found a disparity between stake in Android in general and exuberance for specific ironware . While 71 percent of the developer surveyed expressed an interest group in building apps for an Android tablet , only 52 percent described themselves as very interested in the Galaxy Tab . That was the only Android pad to top the 50 per centum mark — just 44 percent say they were very concerned in theMotorola Xoom , while 31 percent expressed an involvement in the yet - to - be - release HTC Flyer .
“ You could for sure draw the conclusion that the computer hardware is a significant puff factor in the interest toward Android ontogenesis , ” say Schwarzhoff , tot up that the initial gamey toll of Android lozenge could be behind some of that atrophied enthusiasm . It will be interesting to see if that change asAndroid tablet monetary value tatter drop .
If the resultant role of the Appcelerator sight were a disappointment to Google , they ’re downright uncheerful to both Microsoft and Research in apparent motion . Interest in developing for the Windows Phone 7 weapons platform fell seven percentage points from last quarter ’s sight to 29 percent . That was still ripe enough to land Windows Phone 7 in third stead , as the Blackberry phone fell even further — interest dunk 11 percentage point to 27 percent .
The decline in pastime among those platform seems less about features and capableness , Schwarzhoff noted . “ Developers do n’t have the resourcefulness to devote to a third [ mobile ] OS , ” he bring .
Disclaimer : Appcelerator conducts its surveys together with with market research house IDC , which is owned by the same parent company as Macworld .
