Smart-phones, iPhones. Blackberry, Droids, PALM. Our lives in 2010 has been truly been saturated by mobile technology. Think about it. Do you know anyone that does not have a cell phone? Can you watch your favorite TV program and not see blue and red maps or Luke Wilson or Charles Barkley? We can do almost anything on a mobile device that we can do on our personal computer. Mobile technology is a rapidly growing sector and the iphones and the new droid have changed the game, especially for developers. We are curious what these guys do, how they got started, and what opportunities are available to a mobile applications developer. So we decide to ask a few of them...

Anders Borg
Anders Borg is the co-founder and technical adviser for Trivendia Sweden as well as co-founder and chairman of Mobile Labs Sweden. He has extensive experience in the fields of start-up management, technology strategy, software and hardware design and development, product management, technical writing, and internet/cloud service design. His primary goal for the future is to participate in constructing a number of companies that have the potential of a good growth and ROI, with primary focus on mobile/wireless-related services and products. Follow his blog here.

 

Bronwyn Johnson
Bronwyn Johnson is a mobile champion at MIH. She is based in South Africa and has been in mobile and IT for many years. Bronwyn has an extensive background in sales, marketing and product development. As a true "geek" she is completely fascinated with technology, but is passionate about mobile. You will usually find her with at least two phones at any time. She loves nothing better than creating visions of where mobile can take business and individuals in the future - and then making them happen! Follow her Blog here.

 

Robert Stone
Robert Stone is enterprise architect at Teradata and CTO at Bostone Consulting. He believes in having fun while making a living is about the greatest achievement man can claim. His specialties include Android. Robert currently resides in San Diego and he enjoys playing the guitar and singing the blues. Find his blog.

 

 

Nazmul Idris

Nazmul Idris is founder and president at ScreamingToaster, LLC. He is a graduate of Virginia Tech.  He is fluent in Blackberry, Android, and web services. In his past he has been a senior software engineer and architect. Nazmul lives in the DC metro area. You can keep up with him here.

 

 

Raj Singh

Raj Singh is vice president of business development at Skyfire and principal of Raj Singh Mobile Computing. He has worked in mobile for over 11 years in a variety of areas & roles and he loves making disruptive and kick-butt mobile products. His specialties include wireless / mobile technical planning, strategy, definition, product management, and business development. Raj lives in the San Francisco area and his blog is available here .

 

 

Marc Solsona-Palomar
Marc Solsona-Palomar is currently the Technical Strategy Director at DiVitas Networks. He formerly worked as a lead software specialist at Nokia. During the day, he manages software development, with special focus on mobile real-time communications on last generation smartphone platforms such as Nokia, Windows Mobile, Apple iPhone, Google Android as well as desktop web browsers. He lives in San Francisco as well. Follow her at Linkedin. (Note: Marc's answers are his personal and they do not in any way reflect the opinion of DiVitas networks.)

1. How did you get started in the mobile apps world? How would you recommend others get involved in developing apps?

Anders: My own decision, after leaving my steady job to focus more on my own company, and after having determined that developing MIDlets might be a good idea. I focused on productivity applications, which in hindsight was a rather bad decision. The right answer was games. Not that I've totally given up MIDlets yet.

It's nowadays very easy to get started, and often without any substantial cost. I would though recommend others to focus on iPhone and/or Android, as the will to pay for applications is much higher there, and bottom line is all that matters. "Development is fun" wears off pretty quickly. You need to get food on the table.

Also, don't get language or platform religious. If you are good at e.g. Java you can quickly learn any other language and any platform.

Bronwyn: It helps if you have a fresh perspective and a clear idea in mind of what application you wish to create. Do not simply follow the herd because there are so many applications available. You need to stand out from the crowd. Your application must add value to the user and be so exciting that they will tell all their friends about it. If users suspect that your sole purpose for the application is to make money, they will reject it. However if they feel that the application was created to make their lives better (and that making money is just a side effect to doing something good), then they will promote it.

Robert: Back at 2008 I was consulting at Qualcomm and was asked to develop widget using Plusmo browser. It was so painful that I decided to look for the alternative and "stumbled" into Android and fell in love. Prior to that I did some occasional J2ME development, never really liked it.

Nazmul: I got started developing mobile application servers about 12 years ago, and have been working on web-mobile-desktop-cloud ever since.

Raj: I always had a passion for mobile and so my career started in college when I tried developing little apps for my Palm III. If you wanted to get involved today, I would suggest attending the many local meetups that are available in your city. In the Bay Area, we have the month Android, iPhone, Symbian etc meetups which are all great avenues for meeting other developers and trading ideas/notes.

Marc: I started developing on Windows Mobile because it was the easiest entry point for a more advance application. In my case VoIP. I would highly recomend picking a platform that you personally enjoy, no matter what the economic outlook shows. Nowadays the cost of entry for development is very low to 0, so the cost of development is no longer an issue.

2. In your opinion, what is the best way to enhance your mobile apps development skills?

Anders: Developing real applications from day one. See to that you build re-usable classes and iterate them from application to application, so you don't spend a lot of time on plumbing (which will bore you), but instead focus on the higher-level functionality, usability and design.

Bronwyn: Download APIs from different handset manufacturers and start playing with them. Talk to other developers. Find out what programming languages are most common then practice those.

Robert: Code, review, optimize. Then code some more.

Nazmul: The best way to enhance your mobile dev skills is to take training courses from here.

Raj: I joke that the modern day resume is no longer a Word document but rather a list of apps that you have built and can show in the App Store. The best way to enhance your dev skills is to start building - in that process, you will need help and use online resources to speak to others which will enhance your dev skills.

Marc: Work on it. That simple. There are some basic online curses for java or javascript, Objective-C. But at the end of the day it is how your way of thinking adapts to the platforms.

3. What are the best online resources for mobile applications?

Anders: Apple Developer, Android Developer, J2ME Forum, manufacturer developer sites.

Bronwyn: Most handset manufacturers offer forums where developers can communicate, share knowledge and transfer skills. These are the best resources. They also offer access to their own laboratory environments where you can "look under the hood" to see what they are planning next (for example Nokia labs). A simple Google search will bring up abundant online resources for any interested developer.

Robert: I don't really go past Android official dev sites and Stackoverflow.com. Search helps too. Subscription to Commonsware.com was a good starting point.

Nazmul: The best online resources for Android and BlackBerry are here. Great free tutorials. Great training.

Raj: There are numerous from a development perspective. I would start by joining the developer programs for each of the platforms you wish to develop for. They often provide broad tools, even loaning you devices which can save a few bucks.

Marc: For basic data apps, the SDK iteself. Both Android and iPhone SDK have tons of information an examples. For a more deep advance information, I personally like XDA forums, unless you are into Nokia.

4. Which device do you prefer iphone, droid, or another? Why?

Anders: iPhone and Android for commercial reasons. I still mostly develop MIDlets due to inertia. For the near term (coming months) it will probably be Android.

Bronwyn: Thats a difficult question because it depends on the purpose for which I intend to use the phone (see my blog post about BlackBerry or iPhone). At present I'm using a BlackBerry for business and iPhone for media. I'm in the process of procuring an Android device so that I can test the platform. Mobile phones are an extension of YOU and what YOU want to do with it. I believe they are simply enablers that allow us to do what we want to do - only more efficiently. So preference is exactly that - a personal choice. I am a total gadget geek and love most devices. I tend to have a preference for Sony Ericsson (Symbian platform) because they give you great feature packed devices at excellent value for money. I'm not crazy about Motorola at all but wouldn't mind trying the Droid. I put off using BlackBerry for many years but have to admit that I've grown very fond of my Curve. The email client is awesome and I love the form factor. I also love the fact that I am constantly available on Skype, MSN and BlackBerry messanger even while I'm using the phone for other things. Nothing beats my iPhone for podcasts, music and video but I don't like the fact that I can't run my instant messaging services in the background because iPhone only lets you use one application at a time. I'm hoping their next major OS upgrade fixes this problem.

Robert: Android, device really doesn't matter. It's geek heaven.

Nazmul: I like all mobile devices - WinMo, BlackBerry, Android, and iPhone. They each have different strengths and weaknesses, and serve a different market.

Raj: Like I do with my PC, I choose the best tools for what I want to build. If I was focused on generating revenue via micro-transactions, then iPhone would certainly be my first target (today). If I was focused on building a free app that needs to run in the background, then Android would be my first target. If I was focused on an enterprise messaging app, then maybe Windows Mobile or Blackberry. It really depends on what you are building and what the business model is.

Marc: I currently own 1 iPhone 3G and 1 Nexus One. I love the attention to detail on the iPhone and I love the brute force approach of the Nexus. I hate the limited customization capability of the iphone and the obvious clunkiness of the Nexus.

5. What are the most popular mobile apps in 2010?

Anders: Social networking, single-user and multi-player gaming. Multi-player I'm sure will soar.

Bronwyn: That's also debatable but I'd have to say it will be applications that allow users to receive and add value - such as Foursquare where you can engage in social networking, comment on services and see what other people are doing in your area. Mobile commerce applications that allow you to buy and sell products using only your mobile phone should become a big part of mobile web usage in 2010.

Robert: Almost anything Android-Google such as Map, Navigation, Sky, etc.

Nazmul: In 2010, simple apps are popular. Apps that do not do too much... More like widgets. As time passes, consumer apps will have to deliver a LOT more than what they do now in order to stay relevant. These are still very early days for mobile apps.

Raj: Apps are very transient. We have seen a lot of apps get huge early up-ticks but then quickly fall in terms of daily active users. I don't know what the hot apps will be but definitely apps that can leverage your social graph, use clever business models maybe with micro-transactions and create daily value for the user will certainly lead.

Marc: Facebook in my mind is #1. No doubt there. I expect things like Orbit will start to raise fairly quickly as they enable better use of information.

6. What do you think of the iPad?

Anders: Not a mass market product like the iPhone, but will find its niche for e-book reading and casual browsing etc. Due to its form factor and without cell radio (by default) it's cumbersome as a portable tool, so it will be used at home, in the office, in the school etc, but not really on the go.

Bronwyn: I think it is just a big iPod touch but that doesn't mean I don't want one. It would have been great if it could run multiple applications simultaneously, if it had phone and camera for video calling or video over IP (such as Skype). I think it will be a great device for reading books and newspapers or magazines. To be honest, I had hoped for something spectacular with the iPad but I have a suspicion that by the time they launch, Steve Jobs may still surprise us.

Robert: I like to get one (as a present).

Nazmul: iPad is silly.

Raj: It's still to early to tell; I'm not sure if this is to replace my netbook or my laptop etc.

Marc: Unfinished. Has potential, needs at least multitasking. But I see the app store model in a controlled/secured environment to be the future of computing period.

7. What do you like most about mobile apps development and what do you like least?

Anders: The initial idea creation (I have tons of those, that I haven't done anything with) and the end result are my real drivers. It's fun to see that people actually use my stuff.

The least favored is the continuous fragmentation, and it continues also on smartphones with MacOS, WebOS, Android, LiMo, Bada, Symbian, Java, Blackberry etc, so you have to focus on a few and my bet is iPhone and Android. Still, if you can develop MIDlets and you want minimal impact you can develop for Blackberry too.

Bronwyn: What I like most is that the sky is the limit! You are only limited by your imagination. What I like least is that too many people have released terrible applications and due to the abundance of these, users have become frustrated. This means that they will be hesitant to try your application - so you need to put in a little extra effort to encourage them to do so. But back to what I like - if you succeed, you can really do well and make quite a lot of money.

Robert: I don't think about it in terms of liking or not liking. It's here, it's the future, that's where money's flowing so follow the current.

Nazmul: Mobile app development is difficult. Each platform and vendor has their own hoops you have to jump through. You need a guide to help you. This is why http://developerlife.com is awesome.

Raj: Mobile apps can be built very quickly and thus it's quite rewarding. You can usually start and be done within 3 months as compared to larger enterprise or desktop apps. Most painful though is the realization that devices are different and there is much porting required to support different devices - it is a fragmented world.

Marc: Probably the answer to both is, the fast pace of evolution. It is great and exciting, but so hard to keep up.

Carl from OdinJobs: My thanks to Anders, Bronwyn, Robert, Nazmul, Raj and Marc for their time and contribution. I feel that we are in the beginning of, if not, in the midst of a mobile app revolution. Mobile apps are already changing the way we interact and connect and this is just the start.

Invite Your Comments