Mobile development
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This page summarizes the known relative differences between the most popular mobile platform development options for handheld devices such as a PDA or mobile phones. 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 on Information appliances.
Contents |
[edit] Mobile development comparison
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Symbian | Very powerful for general purpose development. The Symbian based S60 platform is strongly supported by Nokia with some support from other device manufacturers. In Japan NTT DoCoMo's Symbian based MOAP platform is also well supported by a number of manufacturers (Fujitsu, Nokia, Mitsubishi and Sharp amongst others). It should be noted, however, that MOAP is not an open development platform. Another Symbian based platform, UIQ, is less well supported (principally by Sony Ericsson). Currently large device deployments in Europe and Japan, with little penetration in the US market. |
| Java ME | Ideal for an all-around solution, if the Java ME platform provides the needed functionality. |
| Python | Ideal for initial prototyping and concept testing when functionality falls outside Java ME. |
| Flash Lite | Ideal for Graphics-heavy options with a market that can support the Flash Lite player. |
| .NET Compact Framework | Ideal for deployment on homogeneous Pocket-PC devices. |
| Microbrowser Based | Ideal for lightweight functionality, a web-interface for an existing application with no latency concerns, or a widely varying platform base |
| BREW | Ideal for deploying applications for deployment on CDMA-based networks with a deployed Brew Content Platform especially if OTA app deployment is desired. Little penetration in Europe. |
| Pocket PC and Microsoft Smartphone | Ideal for enterprise applications with an existing PC infrastructure and options for significant development investment. |
| Palm OS | Significant player with strong enterprise following in the important US market. PalmOS makes up the lions share of revenues for most consumer focused developers. |
[edit] Application development
| Foundation | Learning Curve | Debuggers available | Emulator available | Integrated Development Environment available | Cross-Platform Deployment | Installer Packaging Options | Development Tool Cost | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Symbian | C++ | Difficult (unusual C++ APIs, poor debugger support, and Symbian 9 breaks binary compatibility) | Good on latest version. | Free Emulator | Many choices | Compile per target | SIS deployment | Varies (free tools available) |
| Java ME | Java | Average | Excellent | Free Emulator, Sun Java Wireless Toolkit, mpowerplayer | Eclipse, NetBeans Mobility Pack | Average (many VM implementations have device specific bugs necessitating separate builds) | Jad/Jar packaging | Free |
| Python | Python | Excellent | Average | Add-on to Nokia Emulator | Several, including plugins for Eclipse | Interpreted language available natively only on Nokia Series60 (and desktops) though there are ports to other mobile platforms, including PalmOS | Sis deployment with py2sis or can use Python Runtime | Free |
| Flash Lite | ActionScript | Average | Good | Bundled with IDE | Macromedia Flash MX2004/8 / Eclipse | Excellent (Bundled - Top 5 mobile manufacturers, limited handset model support as of 3/06, best web compatibility) | SIS / CAB deployment or OTA/IR/Bluetooth SWF files | Varies (Free but limited with MTASC) |
| .NET Compact Framework | C#, VB.NET | Average | Excellent | Bundled with IDE | Visual Studio 2005, 2003 | Windows Mobile | CAB files | Free for basic tools |
| Microbrowser Based | XHTML (WAP 2.0), WML (WAP 1.2) | Varies by Server-side scripting language | Good | Many | Many | Excellent | N/A | Free |
| BREW | C the APIs are provided in C with a C++ style interface | Difficult (but easier, and less featureful, than Symbian) | Debugger support for the native ARM target code now available via ARM RVDS 3.0. ($6k) Can use Visual Studio to debug the x86 testing code. | No Emulator for the target ARM code, has a simulator for the x86 testing code. | Visual Studio 6.0, Visual Studio 2003 .net, Visual Studio 2005 | CDMA handsets only - Compile for the specific BREW version available on the handset. | OTA | Related Dev Fees Typically Required for Brew App Certification - Verisign annual fee for becoming a certified developer. Realview ARM compiler for BREW (The free GNU C/C++ is also available, but with limited function and support). TRUE BREW testing fee for distributing the application. |
| Pocket PC | C, C++ | Average (excellent for Win32 developers) | Excellent | Bundled with IDE | Visual Studio 2005 | Windows Mobile | CAB files | Requires Visual Studio Professional or better |
| Palm OS | C, C++ | Excellent | Average | Free Emulator provided by PalmSource (Access). | Eclipse, CodeWarrior | Palm OS handsets, or Windows Mobile with StyleTap emulator | PRC Files | Free (POSE or GCC for Palm OS), or commercial (CodeWarrior), or various commercial rapid-development frameworks |
[edit] Capabilities
| Symbian | Java ME | Python | Flash Lite | .Net Compact | Microbrowser Based | BREW | Pocket PC | Palm OS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Graphical Interface | 2D, 3D Graphics (newer phones), Many Widgets, Visual Form-Based GUI Builder | 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 | Basic XHTML-forms (applies to XHTML-MP, CHTML browsers). Basic forms for WML 1.1 (WAP 1.1). | 2D graphics, 3D graphics (not available on all phones), limited widgets, no visual form-based GUI builder. uiOne (not available on most phones in the market) | 2D, 3D Graphics, Many Widgets, limited visual GUI builder (dialogs only) | 2D, 3D Graphics, Many Widgets, Visual GUI builder |
| Functionality | No restrictions | Varies by handset - dependent on available included JSR's. No high-resolution pictures, No Cell ID, limited file access | Partial through API: High resolution pictures, Cell ID | Partial through API | Limited audio access | Isolated to browser | Powerful API access; specifics may vary slightly due to Operator application certification restrictions | No restrictions | No restrictions |
| Phone Data Access | Full | Varies by handset - dependent on available JSR 75, the PDA Optional Packages. | Partial through API: Calendar, Contact List | None | Full | None | Full | Full | Full |
| Runtime Speed | Average largely due to limited functionality of handsets where Symbian is available | Average due to Java bytecode | Below Average due to Interpreted language | Below Average due to Interpreted language | Average | Average | Best (Compiled language) | Best (Compiled language) | Best (Compiled language) |
| Crippled Providers | Unknown | Yes - (Unknown) | Unknown | Not usually - Dependent on operator | None known | Dependent on data access plan | Need a handset & application specific signature to run any application on a retail phone. Test signatures only work on phones with BREW debug mode enabled. | None known | None known |
[edit] Breadth
| Symbian | Java ME | Python | Flash Lite | .Net Compact | Microbrowser Based | BREW | Pocket PC | Palm OS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Developer Community and Support | Extensive | Extensive | Recent, growing | Extensive | MSDN | Extensive | Limited at http://brewforums.qualcomm.com | MSDN | Extensive, largest developer network |
| Market penetration | Deployed on a large number of high end devices, including handsets by Nokia, Fujitsu, Mitsubishi and Sony Ericsson amongst others. | Extensive (also the basis of the Danger Sidekick Platform) | Average | Average | Average | Extensive | High in Japan (KDDI). Was deployed via KTF in Korea, though Korea is now promoting its own hybrid BREW/JAVA-like technology "WIPI". Average in the U.S. (Verizon) and low in other countries, though there is growing presence in South America and China. | Extensive within Europe and a growing market within the US. | Shares the US smartphone market with Blackberry |
[edit] Evaluation criteria
- Any undetermined cells are marked "undetermined" to indicate a request for help from someone with the appropriate knowledge.
- Learning Curve is an approximation of how difficult is would be for a developer with reasonable proficiency in the Foundation language to both construct a Hello world on the mobile platform, as well as relative 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.
- Debuggers must be capable of
- Settable Breakpoints
- Step-through execution
- Mobile Integrated Development Environment evaluation is based on the availability of
- Emulator is based on availability and integration with development emulation options
- Low-Level Access includes the capability of accessing various forms of mobile device functionality
- Full-resolution digital photos
- Video capture
- Cell Tower ID
- File access
- Crippled Providers is when mobile device carriers restrict hardware functionality
- Restricting loading of new applications
- Disabling or limiting Bluetooth access
[edit] Resources
Wikimedia Commons has media related to:
Please see the linked pages for resources for the specific development platforms
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
Categories: Articles which may contain original research | Operating systems | Computing platforms | Smartphones | Java platform | Java device platform | Dynamically-typed programming languages | Object-oriented programming languages | Python programming language | Scripting languages | Embedded systems | Mobile phones | Consumer electronics | Mobile telephony
