Mobile apps should be developed with platform independence

By Leo Modica, Clarity Communication Systems Inc.
Mar 2 2006 (15:39 PM), Mobile Handset DesignLine

Collectively, manufacturers market hundreds of models of mobile devices, presenting today's consumer with innumerable choices. While this may be great for the consumer, it presents a seemingly insurmountable problem for mobile application developers.

Because of the disparities among platform operating systems (OSs)and application run-time environments, and the variety of form factors, companies must determine which platform to support. Making the right selection is the key to minimizing risks when the application goes to market. Unfortunately, predicting mainstream technologies six to nine months in advance is difficult as the industry undergoes dramatic technological changes each year.

Developing applications for a single platform often doesn't leverage a company's capital investment. Aligning with a single carrier or channel partner adds to the overall risk. If the partnership fails, companies have to quickly port their applications to a new platform and begin the difficult process of developing new partnerships. Should a company decide to develop an application for multiple platforms, the cost of implementing the application for each platform can be excessive. Most would agree that obtaining expertise in platforms is a painstaking endeavor. The only reasonable way to mitigate these risks is to develop an approach that enables developers to implement mobile applications in a platform agnostic manner.

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