It’s hard to believe that we’re in the final weeks of 2009, and even harder to believe that mobile development has only just recently started to go mainstream. If you would have asked me ten years ago when I thought the mobile development scene was going to take off, I would have said 1999. If you had asked me the same question during any of the ten years that have passed, I would have said whatever year we happened to be in. I was absolutely convinced that between PalmOS (before they jumped the shark), PocketPC / Windows Mobile, and Blackberry, the mobile space was going to catch fire and programmers who would work with such limited devices would be in huge demand. Heck, I was connecting these very devices to corporate databases as early as 1999. Couldn’t the corporate IT managers see the same thing that I was seeing?
Of course not. I was wrong back then, and I’ve been wrong every time I’ve been asked when everyone would be walking around with an incredibly useful PDA crammed full of functionality.
Despite having potent mobile platforms, powerful development tools, and the backing of several of the largest hardware and software companies in the world, companies remained conservative and avoided the growing pangs associated with being an early adopter of technology. I can’t say I blame them, either. Being the first to use PDAs or SmartPhones isn’t necessarily an advantage; I was just a decade too early.
Better Late Than Never…
That said, Apple was late to the party. Really late. The iPhone was so late that it skipped years of struggling sales with the introduction of a slick UI, a better included browser, iTunes integration, and cool games. The amount of hype surrounding the product had started at fever pitch the moment the first rumors were uttered, and it only went up from there. Seemingly overnight, Apple’s iPhone went from a “hush-hush” product to an indispensable necessity for everyone from the fashion chic, the tech savvy, and the regular person.
I had written software for Palm, Windows Mobile, and Blackberry, three platforms that pioneered the mobile space, but it was Apple’s introduction that truly changed the game. Again, seemingly overnight, countless developers made use of Apple’s SDKs, Objective C, and the ubiquitous AppStore to make the little piece of technology infinitely more versatile than before … no different than I had done for Palm and Windows Mobile the years before.
To say that I was dumbfounded would have been a gross understatement. Did people hate Windows Mobile that much? Despite Palm’s lack of vision, were their devices really so bad? Perhaps my greater tolerance to pain has blinded me of the reality surrounding all of the popular technologies that have come and gone in the last decade.
Then again, maybe there’s no “perhaps” about it. Comical Anti-Apple ranting aside, I’ve clearly been asleep at the wheel when it comes to developing useful tools for the mobile space.
The Rising Tide Raises All Boats
But, luckily, all is not lost. Windows Mobile is starting to catch on a bit more in various markets around the world, and a new Version 7 of the Operating System is just around the corner. On top of this, Android is starting to make inroads around the world on everything from mobile phones to netbooks, which should open up even more avenues for developers. While the iPhone will remain a key player for years to come, all is not lost for the developers who have invested so much time to learn the careful craft of writing software for other resource-limited devices. It seems that after over a decade of waiting, the time for mobile software engineers is upon us. And I, for one, can’t wait to see what amazing things are created in the next decade.
I think Microsoft views Windows Mobile as merely a layer in the software stack whereas Apple takes a more holistic approach where they control the entire user experience from the hardware to the software and the UI. The fact that I have to purchase and install the Opera mobile browser to bypass the deficiencies of the Mobile Explorer browser is indicative of where Microsoft’s priorities lie. The Mobile experience disjointed as each hardware maker seems to have their own flavor of UI.
As always, it’s always the applications that drive success. RIM with its email push engine. And now Android Google apps, the killer app being Google Maps and Navigator. A problem with the Androids is that each cell carrier has its own tailored flavor of the OS and upgrades are dependent on the good favor of the carrier. In Canada, early adopters of the Rogers Android offerings are disgruntled at the apparent lack of an Android 1.6 & 2.0 upgrade path from Rogers. But it seems like Google is now going to sell unlocked phones directly to the public giving the promise of a standardized platform.
So despite the iPhone not necessarily being the best phone in terms of call quality and reliability and some shortcomings in the OS, the overall user experience is so slick and seemingly seamless that consumers flock to it. As yet I am not sufficiently convinced to buy an iPhone for myself and my smartphones are Windows Mobile devices despite all the warts.