Smart phone opportunities

Sam Hobbs

Of the two smartphone operating systems, Windows Mobile and Android, for which is there more opportunity? I like the idea of Windows Mobile since I already know the OS and the language and such. I also like the use of Linux as Android. I am not sure which one has more opportunity.

The main thing that makes this relevant is that my phone is ready for an upgrade. I am not sure whether to get a Windows Mobile phone or an Android phone or a less expensive phone. A smartphone would be a reasonable choice if I were to develop for it's operating system but otherwise I prefer to use a netbook or something such as that instead of a smartphone.

A related question is if there is limited opportunity in the sense that if I develop a successful application, isn't it likely that someone else will do the same?

3 Replies

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Mahesh Chand16y ago
Accepted answer
I think Windows Mobile has not done much in the mobile market. If you plan to build based on Windows, I will say go for Windows Phone. It's easy to use building Windows Phone 7 Silverlight applications. I am sure you know we have a Windows Phone 7 section.

If you plan for Android, Novell is working on MonoDroid but it will not be free and I am not sure how far they are in the development process.

I am planning to get some promotional Windows Phone 7 from Microsoft. I am not sure if I will get them. If I do, they will be given to the site members.

Yes this is tricky. When you buy iPhone, you will have no choice but to pay for data/Internet and which is costly.
Sam Hobbs16y ago
Thank you Mahesh. Unfortunately that does not help with the decision. I have never been interested in iPhone development but the choice of Windows or Android is not so clear. I hope there is adequate opportunity for Windows development. So now I need to learn the difference between Windows Mobile and Windows Phone 7, assuming they are different. My choices for what phone to get myself are limited to what Verizon offers.

Something else I am not sure of is if I can use wifi with a Smart phone without paying extra for the internet and if I use 3G then can I be sure my monthly cost is limited to what I expect it to be, but that is off-topic for this thread.
Mahesh Chand16y ago
I am getting lot of requests for iPhone development.

Now, I am seeing a good demand of Windows Phone 7 development. For us (C# Corner members), the best part is :), we use Silverlight to build Windows Phone 7 application. That means, not much to learn.

Also check out the last image in C# Corner Traffic. You will see iPhone + iPad + iPod developers are more than any other mobile for C# Corner users.

I see major development opportunities in Social Media (Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter etc) and iPhone development.

I also the fact, Novell has MonoTouch and developing MonoDroid for .NET/C# developers.

Windows Phone vs iPhone - Why Microsoft has an edge over Apple