subject: The Pros And Cons Of Android Application Development [print this page] Ever since the advent of Android, the use of other OS platforms was gradually diminishing, and it has finally been declared that Android is now the most popular as well as the most used operating system in the world. The rise in the sale of smartphones has resulted in the rise of the use of the Android OS platform. A survey conducted this year declares 46 percent of mobile device users as Android customers. Here we take a look at the pros and cons of Googles operating system.
Pros of Android Application Development
1. Android is one of the easiest platforms for developers, both budding & experienced. This is because of the fact that the common programming language Java is used for app building on this platform. Since Java is simple to understand, any software professional can venture into app development for the Android platform.
2. Since Android is an open development platform, it offers app developers the opportunity to use several third party tools that can be used in the development process. As a result, a developer can enjoy access to several features and thus add more functionality to apps that are designed by him/her. Additional features & functionality in a mobile app means sure success of the app in the mobile market.
3. Android offers a good app testing environment for developers. The tools that have to be used by developers for testing an app before releasing it are clearly indexed. The source code model offered by the IDE is also of high quality. This ensures thorough debugging of an app before it is presented in the Android Market.
4. The total cost of app development using the Android platform is very low. Developers have to pay a registration fee of $25 only once; they also earn 7- percent of the total revenue generated from app sales in the Android Market. Moreover, an Android app can be featured outside the Android Market, which leads to earning of greater revenues.
5. The Android Market does not pose resistance to developers during the app approval process. As soon as the testing procedure is complete, an app is approved & released; hence users get the end product very quickly.
Cons of Android Application Development
1. A developer can multitask when working with the Android OS platform. This means that he/she can create a variety of apps using the features of Android. However, these features are often complex and difficult to master. This fragmented structure of Android poses many problems, especially for an amateur developer.
2. The development tools which are part of the Android platform operate very slowly, hence more time is required for building apps on Android than on other platforms. In fact, the updating procedure of new versions of the Android platform is also so slow that it leads to issues of incompatibility with mobile devices.
3. Though Android provides one of the most effective app testing environments, the vast number of mobile devices which are compatible with this platform makes testing on them all virtually impossible.
In spite of certain disadvantages, Googles operating system is widely accepted not only amongst app developers worldwide, but also by consumers who find the features & functionality of the Android OS platform easy to adapt to. The popularity figures mirror the widespread acceptance of Android as the best OS platform in the present mobile market.
