Mobile app development

This page summarizes the known differences between the most popular mobile platform development options. It is not intended to be an absolute guide to the various mobile development platforms, instead it is to help guide developers in choosing a mobile platform for development. Wherever possible, the comparisons are relative, supporting a more neutral point of view

Mobile Development Comparison

	Symbian	J2ME	Python	Flash Lite	.Net Compact	Web Browser Based
Summary
	Ideal for speed-critical applications with a long timeline and options for significant development investment.	Ideal for an all-around solution, if the J2ME platform provides the needed functionality	Ideal for initial prototyping and concept testing when functionaluty falls outside J2ME, and easier to get started with than Symbian	Ideal for Graphics-heavy options with a market that can support the FlashLite player	Ideal for deployment on homogeneous Pocket-PC devices	Ideal for lightweight functionality, a web-interface for an existing application with no latency concerns, or a widely varying platform base
Application Development
Foundation	C++	Java	Python	ActionScript	C#, VB.NET, Managed C++	XHTML (WAP 2.0), WML (WAP 1.2)
Learning Curve	Relatively more Challenging	Excellent	Excellent	Average	Excellent	Varies by Server-side scripting language
Debugging	Unknown	Excellent	Average	Unknown	Excellent	Good
Emulator	Free Emulator	Free Emulator	Add-on to Nokia Emulator	Unknown	Windows Mobile 5 can be integrated with IDE	Many
Integrated Development Environment	Many choices	Eclipse, NetBeans Mobility Pack	Several	Macromedia Flash MX	Visual Studio 2005	Many
Cross-Platform Deployment	Compile per target	Excellent	Limited to Nokia Series60	FlashLite 2: Nokia Only	Windows Pocket PC	Excellent
Development Tool Cost	Varies	Free	Free	Requires Application	Requires Application	Free
Capabilities
Graphical Interface	Unknown	2D, 3D graphics, Many widgets, Visual Form-Based GUI Builder	2D Graphics access, some simple widgets	2D graphics, Many widgets	2D graphics, Many widgets, Visual Form-Based GUI Builder	Unknown
Functionality	No restrictions	No high-resolution pictures, No Cell ID, limited file access	Partial through API: High resolution pictures, Cell ID	Unknown	Limited audio access	Isolated to browser
Phone Data Access	Full	Unknown	Partial through API: Calendar, Contact List	Unknown	Full	None
Runtime Speed	Best (Native)	Average	Below Average	Unknown	Below Average	Average
Crippled Providers	Unknown	Yes - (Unknown)	Unknown	Unknown	None known	Dependent on data access plan
Market Range
Developer Community and Support	Extensive	Extensive	Recent	Unknown	MSDN	Extensive
Market Penetration	Extensive	Extensive (also the basis of the Danger Sidekick Platform)	None (Recently Launched)	Average	Average	Extensive
Installer Packaging Options	SIS deployment	Jad/Jar packaging	Requires Python Runtime installed	Unknown	CAB Files	N/A

Evaluation Criteria

1. Learning Curve is based on interviews and discussions with developers, and is both an indication of "time before Hello world on the mobile platform" as well as ease of accessing advanced mobile features. By nature, this will be the most difficult to keep a neutral point of view on, and is not intended to be a debate on the relative quality of C# vs. Java.
2. Mobile Integrated Development Environment is based on the availability of
   • Code Completion
   • Invalid Syntax Highlighting
   • Syntax Highlighting
   • Syntax Analysis
   • Refactoring
   • Debugging
3. Emulator is based on availability and integration with development emulation options
4. Low-Level Access includes the capability of accessing various forms of mobile device functionality
5. Crippled Providers includes mobile device carriers that reduce functionality provided by the device hardware

Resources

Please see the linked pages for resources for the specific development platforms