subject: Getting Into Mobile Application Development [print this page] I bet you are loving your handheld gadgetsI bet you are loving your handheld gadgets. The basics are no longer enough, like how mobile phones can now do more than receive and send messages and calls. The other features and other benefits of the phone, as well as the apps included, are also given a lot of thought. Now we want them to be capable of being added with apps later on, too. It is, however, a fact that we only care about the gadget that is already in our hands. We rarely give a thought about the manufacturing or development process. We rarely think about the mobile application development.
The iPhone's arrival in the market served as the catalyst for many advancements in the field of mobile technology. Soon enough the competition among developers and manufacturers of mobile devices became so stiff as they tried to outdo each other. This competition also works to the advantage of the gadget-using public. As per definition, mobile application development is the process of creating or building application software for small handheld devices. Personal digital assistants or PDAs and mobile phones are only a few examples of such devices.
These mobile apps are obtained by users in a number of ways. The apps could already be installed on the gadgets even while the manufacturing stage of the devices are under way. Upon purchase, the apps could also be installed by the distributor or the seller before handing the device to the end user. Or they could download the mobile apps from various distribution platforms straight to their phones. So many mobile application developers are now doing their sharing of these apps so it seems only natural that file-sharing could work as a method. Developing mobile applications would not be successful without the proper tools. They will be needed to get a start on the creation and also during the entire process. The platforms for mobile applications come equipped with an IDE, or an integrated development environment, which provides these tools.
J2ME (Java 2 Platform, Micro Edition), Android, Symbian, Windows Phone and Windows Mobile are only a few among the long list of commonly used platforms for mobile applications development. Using the tools in these platforms, developers can write the applications. While some developmental tools are vary, others come at varying costs.
What follows is testing the mobile applications within the development environment. Initial testing by emulators is performed, chosen for their cheap price and ease of use. After the initial testing comes field testing. In this stage, the field testing will be done directly in the target platform environment. That is also the place where the end users will finally connect with the mobile apps.
Without a doubt, mobile application development has grown into something amazing and quite daunting as the years have progressed. You will be amazed at the extensive and intensive array of mobile apps that will definitely serve every consumer or mobile user.
