Posted on: 10/11/2010

Tags: Mobile Devices

When a client comes to you with an idea for an iPad app, what about the other devices?

Very soon Android is likely to have a 50% share of the tablet market which is an important factor to consider when a client asks you to price up an iPad app. I’ve looked at other devices and some alternative development strategies.

First off, lets take a look at the market as at November 2010.

Available devices and their development systems

Apple iPad: Apps are developed in objective-c using Apples SDK, which only runs on OSX.

Android: Apps are developed in Java and developers can utilise Google’s SDK which is available for all common platforms.

Blackberry Playbook: Apps developed in Java and Blackberry has released an SDK which runs on all common platforms.

Microsoft: Currently, their tablets are running Windows 7. However, this is not really a credible alternative to the other devices on the market. Their new SmartPhone (a tablet running the their mobile operating system) will be released in the near future.

The Market Place

In the UK the sole major competitor to the iPad is the Samsung Galaxy Tab which runs Android. It is difficult to ascertain how many devices have been sold and their market share so it’s worth taking care when advising clients which platform(s) to build for right now.

Should the tablet market take off in 2011, it is highly likely that the Android market will command at least a 50% share as it will be the standard platform for most manufacturers in much the same way as Android is fast becoming the standard platform for SmartPhones.

Don’t forget Flash, Air and HTML5

Apple mobile devices famously don’t support Flash. However, Android and Blackberry have excellent support for Flash and Air which offer alternative development methods for agencies to build apps for clients and in many cases internal skill sets may be utilised.

HTML5 is well supported on all devices and offers another alternative to building a device specific app whilst still providing a pleasing experience for the user. It also means that all the work can be kept in house. Developing in this way offers a number of advantages, not least that it is unnecessary to go through the lengthy and sometimes expensive process of submitting anything to an app store. However, it will not be possible to leverage many of the ‘smart’ features of the phone yet but this will change over time.

Pricing

Should it prove necessary to ascertain the development costs for an Android or Blackberry app to replicate the function of an iPad app, I would recommend the minimum charge of 50% of the original cost and take note not to overlook the requirement to go through a further submission process.

It is also important to ensure that any special functions you are providing such as voice or GPS integration are well researched on each device before committing to any pricing as the time it will take to get these working will vary a lot.

Replicating an Android app on to the Blackberry platform (although they both use Java) will still require significant work to function satisfactorily. I would recommend a charge of at least 25% of the original cost to build for Blackberry.

The Future

When considering apps for clients, it is imperative to set aside time to consider what the future for apps may be. The two most important factors for consideration are the rapidly changing face of HTML and the emergence of the operation system of the future, Google Chrome.

Over time HTML will allow us to build web pages which can do everything an app can do. HTML5 has already made great strides, in particular with video integration. As a result almost no software will be run from a local machine, everything will be totally web based requiring only a web browser. Google Docs offer impressive web apps especially the spreadsheet which is a brilliant alternative to Excel and well worth investigating.

More and more web-enabled devices are coming on to the market and the biggest of these are TV’s and vehicles. Some will run Android but the majority will have a browser so if your app is HTML it will be possible to leverage this medium immediately and I have no doubt that this will be the next big thing.

Image credit, nice work