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Developing For Smartphones: Setting Up Your Environment

06.29.2009

Previously, we examined the business and technology concerns around building applications for each smartphone platform. Here we investigate the options for application development on each platform and what tools are are necessary to build them. 

Unfortunately there is no universal tool for app development.  For example, BlackBerry and Windows Mobile Development require a Windows Environment, where iPhone requires OSX.  The closest thing to a consistent application model supported on all the smartphones is a Webapp but these take completely different forms on a BlackBerry than on a Palm Pre.  Java developers with Eclipse experience have a bit of an edge because this covers BlackBerry, Android, Symbian, and JavaME.  Similarly, if the iPhone is not the target device then Windows is the operating system of choice because it allows some form of development on every other platform.

Below is a chart contrasting all the programming languages, recommended IDEs, supported desktop environments, and limitations for each smartphone platform: