Everyone uses different kinds of mobile devices built using different mobile operating systems.The two popular mobile Operating system are iOS and Android since these two contribute majority of market share.
Not just two,windows phone 7,blackberry OS are also popular in mobile space.So if you are a developer who want to build applications for mobile ? the very first obvious question that rise in your mind would be “which platform to choose ?”
Developers often choose a platform which reaches to more people or devices hence they develop applications in one common language and deploy them to all the popular platforms at once-This is called as cross platform mobile development.
See also:Develop android apps without writing code
The common language is HTML5,CSS and JavaScript.You can develop applications using HTML5 standard and deliver as native app to all mobile platforms using tools and frameworks.This is 1:N ratio which means develop for once platform deliver to all.
Here are the top cross platform development tools that are ranked based on the popularity among developers, functionality and ease of use for beginners.
Phonegap
Phonegap
Phonegap,opensource cross platform development tool that recently released version 1.0 supports six major mobile operating systems like iOS, Android, BlackBerry, webOS, Bada and Symbian.Has wide variety of device API’s that makes different kinds apps possible.Phonegap’s maker Nitobi is acquired by adobe and it is now a part of apache software foundation. Phonegap is now called as ‘Apache callback’.
Appcelerator
Appcelerator
Appcelerator,opensource platform not only supporting html5 and javascript it also supports PHP,ruby and python.Supports with 300+ api’s for Android,iOS devices.
Appmobi
appmobi
Appmobi a hybrid platform that can deliver apps for mobile and chrome web app store.Supports development on HTML5, JavaScript and css3.This platform itself delivered as web app on chrome browser,you can build apps straight from the browser.This platform provides sophistication until the app delivered to the app stores.This would be the best place for beginners.[Read our tutorial:Getting started with appmobi’s phonegap SDK]
Rho mobile
rhomobile
Rho mobile offers rhodes,opensource framework that supports iOS, Android, Windows Mobile, RIM and Symbian devices.Rhodes can be even used to build apps that needs to access device GPS and camera data.You can use rhodes to develop apps built on html and ruby.
Mosync
mosync
Mosync sdk 2.0 can be used to build mobile applications using C and C++.Yes !.Mosync provides IDE to develop native application for iOS,android, Symbian,meego and blackberry.Its free to download for Independent developers and others have spend some bucks.
Sencha
sencha
Sencha provides high quality User Interfaces for your mobile apps that can be easily created using HTML and CSS.You can create Native app like rich UI using sencha framework for iPhone, Android, and BlackBerry devices.
Corona
corona
Corona offers SDk to build game apps for iOS and Android devices seamlessly,with few lines of code you can make game apps up and running.The framework is supported by HTML and Lua programming language.
It depends on the situation & Time whether you need to go for native programming or cross platform framework.Decide wise!
Comments are always welcome.
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I’m a big fan of Appcelerator. It might be worth mentioning that the only way to create a native app with Sencha is to combine it with a framework like PhoneGap.
Tony
Nice full disclosure.
Are you also the same individual who blogged on July 29th that you are “Appcelerator’s latest acquisition”? That would be three weeks before you became a big fan here. So to be clear, are you blogging independently, or are you compensated by Appcelerator?
Lee Westerfield
CFO
appMobi
lee@appmobi.com
There is also cross-platform SDK for Android, iOS, Symbian, Samsung bada and Windows Mobile. It allows you to create native apps and games using JavaScript. See http://moscrif.com/ for details.
I would like to suggest that you add the Marmalade SDK to your list. The Marmalade SDK is a native C/C++ SDK that currently covers around 10 platforms and is expanding, including iOS, Android, Bada, Blackberry, Symbian, LG TV and others. Take a look at http://www.madewithmarmalade.com. I also wrote an introduction to the SDK at http://www.drmop.com/?p=99
Hey, you funk soul brothers! Check out Application Craft http://applicationcraft.com
Jquerymobile has announced AC as a jqm dev platform and here’s a case study that Phonegap did on them : http://phonegap.com/case_study/phonegap-application-craft-pain-free-mobile-app-development/
In summary, it is a cloud-based dev platform that does mobile (all important platforms) and desktop on an equal footing. It’s got an IDE that does drag-and-drop / wysiwyg UI building as well as code editing. I guess you could describe it as Visual Basic in the Cloud, but Javascript not Basic. Widget based like VB was, extensible. Open Source with free platform offering.
What about Moia SDK?
Can anybody tell me how to port our android app developed in phonegap be ported into symbian App…?
what is prerequisite to develop a symbian App without writing extra code in phonegap app?
Informative article, but Moscrif is missing. This popular SDK uses JavaScript and unlike Corona, is free.
Great. In my opinion, Sencha is the best HTML5 SDK out there in the market. If someone things differently, I would like to see any comments with other HTML5 SDKs.
You should also have a look at NeoMAD. This tool builds native apps from a single Java source code.
See http://neomades.com for more details.
Nowadays,There is also cross-platform SDK for Android, iOS, Symbian, Samsung & Windows Mobile. developing an mobile app can cost a lot of money and take a lot of time. So Cross-platform mobile development makes things simpler and better.
This popular SDK uses JavaScript and unlike Corona, is free. Thank you tips are very usefull.