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I work in a small start-up company with 2 other developers. We have an upcoming mobile application project intended for both iPhone and Android platforms. Features :

  1. There will be a back-end web server for handling the data model.
  2. The mobile application(s) should connect to the web server and provide the users with a front end for a few simple tasks (Registering with a user name and a password, log in, searching for records matching some criteria, etc).
  3. We will be storing location information in the web server and want to expose this information to the mobile apps. The mobile apps need to have the ability to integrate with any existing navigating systems in the mobile device and supply a location/locations to it.
  4. There will be about 10 different interfaces in the application.

none of us have much experience in developing mobile apps (We have only done toy projects with Android) and have zero mobile UI development experience. I want to know a couple of things:

  1. Should we go about developing two different applications for the two mobile platforms? If we do it like that, can both of those applications connect to the same back-end or will we have to have two back-ends as well?
  2. Are there any mobile app frameworks which can enable us to write a single application and target it to both those platforms?
  3. Which is the easier platform out of these two to develop apps for? (In case we have to develop two separate applications.)
  4. Or should we just make a web application that can be accessed from mobile devices? If so, can we integrate with any other applications in the mobile (Navigation app, etc)?

Please let me know if you need more information/clarifications.

nakiya
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3 Answers3

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Yes, you need 2 applications for two platforms, but the single back-end is sufficient for any client platforms (including others you may consider to support later on).

You should possibly look at PhoneGap framework or Appcelerator if any of them allows you to develop all features you required. If it meets you needs you'll be able to develop one application and build it to both platforms.

Both platforms are similar for mobile development - I think no-one is easier than another provided that developers are familiar with corresponding platform. To me, Android development is easier because it uses a well-known language Java, may support different IDEs, including public ones such as Eclipse, and I have a background in Android ;-)

If a web-application can provide all required functionality I'd suggest to start with developing a web-app.

Stan
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  • What would be easiest - going with PhoneGap or some framework like that or developing for Android only? – nakiya Dec 16 '12 at 14:41
  • @nakiya, if you decide to support Android only, native development for Android is preferred. Otherwise, a multiplatform framework will be easier in a long-term perspective. But IMHO, a native app will always have a more finegrained access to the platform's tools than a multiplatform framework. If you can afford developement for every platform it may give better results, though it's not so easy of course. If you start a new app, I'd suggest to create a prototype using your most favourite tools, and then expand as appropriate. – Stan Dec 16 '12 at 18:08
  • @nakiya Although your post is almost old, but just wanted to let you know that [MoSync](www.mosync.com) is another powerful cross-platform framework which offers wide range of features and tools for developers. Working with MoSync during last seven months resulted to the high level of satisfaction for cross-platform mobile development. – utvecklare Mar 13 '13 at 14:42
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Yes .. this is very simple. there are few of the Best framework available in web . but i would suggest you to go for PHONE GAP and and Up Coming Web Framework VMOSS.

PHONE GAP is easy to deploy and very easy to develop because all you need to do is to write your code in HTML 5 and JavaScript. VMOSS is another promising framework coming in market . you can check the feature of VMOSS and rest of the similar platform are listed below. develop once and deploy any platform.

http://phonegap.com/

http://vmoss.valentiatech.com

http://kony.com/

http://www.appcelerator.com

also search for RHO mobile platform. Select any from above and start you work.

Riz
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Hi as per my research i have found this

Ionic (AngularJS) is currently the most used hybrid mobile framework. Is it the best? Far from it. It's not very fast (though it's faster than the most currently available competition). Page transitions/animations are abysmal, you literally need to use certain Cordova plugin just to make them look any good. And this is not everything but I'm not gonna bother you anymore. refer this

refer ratings ionic vs xamarin

Community
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Lakshmaji
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