Does it seem difficult to choose a platform for a mobile application development project? Here, the blog efforts to light on some points that every developer is supposed to keep in mind while choosing a platform. As per the views of experts, the major things to keep in mind for the development of the app include the type of app, competitor’s apps, monetization methods, app developing technology and allied complexities, requirement of customization, target market and the desire of brand creation. Today’s mobile game is being played among four major players: Android with about 85 percent market share, iPhone with about 11 percent market share, Windows Phone with 2.7 percent market share and BlackBerry with not more than 0.6 percent market share. Toughest competition is in fact between Android and iOS. An article of Tech Time offers a good and rather interesting evolution of both the platforms. By referring the data from IDC the article is trying to say that in quarter 4 of 2012, Android had captured 70.1 % market share of the total global smartphone shipments. In the same period, iPhone was holding 21% share. The rest shares were held by BlackBerry, Windows Phone and other players. The data from the article also refers that half out of the all app downloads, were for Android while for iOS, there were 40% downloads. These two were the only big players. But in spite of good adoption rate and more downloads, Android is far behind when it comes to monetization So if your app is purely a promotion app and has not been aimed at making money, nothing better than Android can be recommended but if you have monetization in your mind, the recommended platforms are iOS and then Android. The type of an application can also affect the decision of choosing a mobile platform. For example, today iOS is the best platform when it comes to build a business based mobile application development. There is data to prove that 62% users out of 100 are using their iPhone and iPad devices in various business operations. Only 35% business users are using Android device in various business operations. When it comes to popularity of a gaming app, the best choice is Android. If you want millions of users to download your game, the recommended platform is Android. Your free gaming app will quickly become popular on Android platform. If it is going to be a paid-only app, the recommended platform is iOS. iOS is generally owned by the group of those users who are ready to pay a few dollars for paid apps. But you cannot expect the same level of adoption from Android users.Reason is simple – because Android is also powering low-cost, low-end devices, it cannot be expected that all users of these devices are affording credit card. If you want to develop a customized application, the recommended platform is Android.It is just a wise decision to choose Android mobile OS over iOS for an app development that requires heavy customization as well as tweaks at OS level too. The market also shapes your decision. If the app is to be aimed at mass market, the recommended platform can be Android. Android’s 85% share in mobile market matters. More the users have same BlackBerry, however, its fashion has faded out, is still a choice if you want to target executive community. Windows Phone can be chosen as the platform if you want quick and easy publicity for an application. The app store for Windows Phone mobile OS powered devices still do not have enough app and thus an app published here is quickly adopted and becomes popular. You can choose iOS over Android if you fear of fragmentation.Due to fragmentation, it has become difficult for developers to make their apps work on all the devices running on Android.But this just does not happen when you choose iOS. iOS devices are universal and thus apps made for them are not fragmented. If you want safety for your data, Android is quite unpopular platform for this. It has not succeeded to make good reputation when it comes to security.We are aware of Android malware. The platform has been getting malware attacks since 2008. But as assured by Google, its new Android version, Kitkat has better security features. The requirement of brand creation can also shape your decision on choosing a platform. Android is popular because of its largest adoption rate whereas iOS has reputation in market because of its high-end technology. It doesn’t also mean that Android powered devices are not advanced enough. The fact is that few Android powered phones appear to be more advanced than iPhone. For More@Rapidsoft Technologies
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