Appcelerator and International Data Corp Survey: Developers Still Love iOS & Android

And that isn’t all that Appcelerator and International Data Corporation found. Here are some other important research findings from the survey of 3000 mobile developers:

1. Amazon Kindle is struggling, with only 22% of developers interested in building mobile apps for the platform.

2. Google’s Nexus on the other hand is starting 2013 very strong, with 2/3 developers feeling positive about the internet search giant’s entry into mobile hardware and 53% interested in building apps for the device.

3. Microsoft Surface is not good enough yet, with developer interest in building apps at 36%. Furthermore, “45 percent are unimpressed by the hardware.”

4. Mobile Will Forever Change Retail, as 93% of developers anticipate that most companies will have enabled mobile commerce for their companies. The mobile developers throw in some predictions for 2013 as well:

Developers predict that 86 percent of shoppers will look up a retailer’s site on their device while shopping in a physical retail store in 2013. Nearly two-thirds of developers also believe that consumers will make more purchases via their mobile phone than their credit card in 2013, which is reinforced by the fact that 71 percent of developers predict the mobile wallet will permeate the consumer experience in 2013.

Kah-ching!

Back to iOS and Android, while developer interest in these environments will hold at the same levels as in Q3 2012, interest in cross-platform development is reaching new heights:

Nearly 88 percent of developers predict they will be developing for two or more operating systems over the next year, a significant increase from the 69 percent figure reported in Q3 2012. Developers specifically expect to be working on multiple operating systems as it relates to mobile applications, with 49 percent reporting they plan to build mobile apps for two operating systems and 39 percent reporting they plan to build mobile apps for three or more operating systems.

It’s probably a good time to mention that we at Solutions Review have a buyer’s guide for Mobile Application Development Platforms with cross platform development capability, which you can access here.

Also, be sure to check out the full survey report, which you can access here.