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I want to use my current application done in Asp.net MVC 3 on mobile devices. What is easier to do, knowing that I have a SOA base on WCF 4.0? Which is the one recommended and why?

Links to ASP.net support for mobile devices:

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  2. link2

Link to WP7

  1. link3

Integration between Android and WCF

  1. link4
Community
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radu florescu
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If its feasible for you - one thing you can do is migrate now to mvc4 (not released or finalized yet but available for download) - there are a whole new host of mobile features

http://www.asp.net/mvc/tutorials/mvc-4/aspnet-mvc-4-mobile-features

Adam Tuliper
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A mobile site and a native app are two distinct things and which one you choose depends on your user interface and platform requirements. Go with a native app is you want to take advantage of the built-in OS controls; utilize mobile features such as GPS, camera, or other abilities; and can possibly be sold as a product. If none of these are a concern, go with ASP.NET, HTML5, and something like jQuery Mobile.

Since you have a SOA layer, the application development shouldn't be too difficult, but you will need to code to multiple OSes. Or you can look at a cross-platform development tool such as PhoneGap or Appcelerator's Titanium.

Garrett Vlieger
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If you require the UI candy or security that only a native app can provide, convert to SilverLight (WP7) and Java (Andriod). If you want to build a single, cross-platform app that can run on any mobile browser, go MVC with necessary customization for each individual mobile browser. An advantage of MVC 3/Razor for mobile apps is that it tends to produce much lighter weight and cleaner HTML, CSS and JavaScript than web forms which is an advantage given the limited bandwidth and screen size for the mobile web.

wayne.blackmon
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After developing in Phonegap and Appcelerator i've decided that there is nothing better than native languages like ObjC, and Java for android. But then i have found MonoTouch and MonoDroid and that was it i'm a C# programmer and i love it.
You write all business logic and every thing in C# so the use of SOA and WCF is very common in Mobile Apps, so you can easily integrate it into the application.

hackp0int
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For a good review on cross platform/device mobile development/compatibility using MVC4 technology, take a look at Phil Haack's session at //build/, Progressively enable the mobile web with ASP.NET MVC 4, HTML5, and jQuery Mobile.

This is a very informative session on new MVC4 changes are making mobile development easier leveraging new jQuery Mobile and HTML5 technologies.

First and foremost is the use of the viewport tag which is the first step in giving your app that mobile look and feel. Also take a look at Adap

You can also target specific display modes which include a general/overall mobile view, or display modes targeting Android, iPhone, etc. by adding brief custom display mode code to your Global.asax.cs to target those UI's.

Global.asax.cs ie. ...useragent.Contains(“iPhone”)

Now create views with the iPhone mode: Index.iPhone.cshtml.

Also really look at what the new jQuery Mobile features are - theming, etc. and data view structures that are really nice. Once installed into your IDE, it includes a partial _ViewSwitcher, that allows clients to switch from the generated mobile view to the desktop view - really nice.

He also discusses using the cache manifest and concepts of working in offline mode

There is also a discussion about using the JSON.AllData technique which loads all data required for the app (similar to a Silverlight MVVM approach) that works well for SOA-based apps.

Lastly, there's a free online book available on HTML5.

ElHaix
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