acm-header
Sign In

Communications of the ACM

ACM TechNews

Survey: Android Programmers Shifting Toward Web Apps


View as: Print Mobile App Share:
Android phone

Ramona Rosales for Newsweek

Android is gradually slipping down mobile programmers' priority list, with Web apps stepping in as an answer to development difficulties, according to a recent Appcelerator survey.

The survey found that the number of respondents who said they were very interested in programming for Android phones declined for the second straight quarter, falling to 78.6 percent. "What we've seen in last year is falloff in interest in Android," says Appcelerator's Mike King.

The developers could be unhappy with the fragmentation of the Android platform and the fragmentation of the monetization platform, according to Appcelerator analysts. Web applications, such as those built with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, solve some of these fragmentation challenges. Many respondents plan a hybrid approach that wraps native interface elements around an app that relies on a browser engine behind the scenes, such as Google Maps. "A hybrid has some native code on device, but content will be delivered via HTML," King says.

The survey also asked respondents whether Facebook or Google+ would have more of an impact on the company's social strategy, with 61 preferring Facebook and 39 percent favoring Google+.

From CNet 
View Full Article

Abstracts Copyright © 2012 Information Inc. External Link, Bethesda, Maryland, USA 


 

No entries found

Sign In for Full Access
» Forgot Password? » Create an ACM Web Account