Recommended Platform for Mobile Dev?

Hey Now,
I've been writing code for 12 years now and can write code just as easily in C# as in Java. I have some apps for mobile phones I want to write, but I'm not sure what platform to use. Should I use Android? Java ME? .Net? Which is the most widely supported? Java ME will work on windows mobile, correct? Are there other platforms I should consider?

Most of the apps I want to write are fairly simple and consists of simple UI stuff and reading/storing some program defined data in any format. One needs access to the sound input.
Thanks in advance,
todji

The PRIMARY controlling factor is the device or devices you want to target.

The first step is to select SPECIFIC MODELS of Mobile Devices that you want to support, including what VERSIONS of software.

Only after this is done can you even begin to look at what programming languages may apply.

Thanks for the reply. The point is that I don't really care which specific devices my app works on. I want to maximize my base by picking the platform with the largest distribution. Just like if I was writing an App for the PC market, I'd target windows first then move to MAC and Linux.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by todji

Thanks for the reply. The point is that I don't really care which specific devices my app works on. I want to maximize my base by picking the platform with the largest distribution. Just like if I was writing an App for the PC market, I'd target windows first then move to MAC and Linux.

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If Market #! uses 90% platform A and Market #2 uses 90% platform B, then there is STILL insufficient information to even make a start.

If the mobile phone in your hand is one of Nokia / Sony Ericsson / samsung / Benq............ then probably the target would be Symbian OS.

If your target is WinCE, this doesn't apply.

To write native code for Symbian OS, language of choice would be C++.
Java is allowed also for Symbian. Obviously it will run in a higher layer.

So before you code for Symbian, please go through the formalities in Platform security. Applications needing critical capabilities (privileges)must be signed by symbian before you install in phone hardware (even for testing!)

Best Wishes :)

if you are going to make use of ANDROID then i hope it will be fine because,
it is google compatible, google has developed it.
so search engine google will be fully compatible on that mobile.
so your application will be fully compatible with google.

CPUWizard: I know nothing about the market penetration of any of these technologies, which is why I asked the question in the first place. Are the technologies evenly distributed as you suggest?

thomus07: Thanks for the info. I'm hoping to avoid C# and think I can do everything I need in Java. Its good to know I have that option though.

I've done some research on my own and have come to some of the following conclusions:

the iphone SDK only runs on the MAC OS and would mean shelling out cash for a mac. It also means learning a new programming language- Objective C. If anyone knows differently, please let me know, but its not possible to code for the iphone on either Linux or Windows machines.

As for Android Java, its a reasonable place for me to begin, as there is an Android app store similiar to the iphone store. This means I can write my code and get it out on the market place without investing the time in setting up my own website/credit card processing.

If my apps do well enough that I get some cash coming in, I can then port them to other platforms and set up the website. In the meantime, I'm hoping that Apple will come around and create a JDK for the iphone- doubtful at this point, but you never know.

Well I did some more research and thought I'd post it in case someone else comes across this thread and wants the same info.

Wikipedia has an entry on smartphones and breaks down the market share by OS:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smartphone

As of now, the Symbian OS is by far the most common [Nokia]. Android is a new technology and so makes the list but has no numbers available. The iPhone comes in second. My guess is that iPhone numbers will continue to rise and that Android will do well. There's some talk about about merging Symbian with Android, but its just hypothetical at this time.