Survey: Evans Reveals Mobile Dev Concerns

A recent Evans Data study of mobile devs looks at the pros, cons and common practices for wireless development. The survey comes as JavaOne planners have lined up a wide array of wireless event programs. Among the tidbits: (1) devs are building apps for both intermittent connections as well as always-on apps; and (2) devs care less about the number of handsets deployed than about features. Get a glimpse of mobile dev concerns and trends in Evans 2005 mobile dev survey.

by Vance McCarthy

Tags: Wireless, Connectivity, Handset, Mobile, Target, Apps, Mobile Devs,



A recent Evans Data Corp. study of mobile devs looks at the pros, cons and common practices for wireless development.



Evans' Wireless Development Survey -- Spring 2005 comes as JavaOne planners have lined up a wide array of wireless event programs. Among some of the tidbits are (1) devs are building apps for both intermittent connections as well as always-on apps; and (2) care less about the number of handsets deployed than they do about the features offered by target handsets.



Integration Developer News looks at three of the top Evans' finding, including client connectivity, mobile task difficulty, and target handset selection.



Connectivity Options

Some 50% of all mobile devs surveyed are targeting devices that support occasional wireless connectivity, and almost 40% are targeting applications that run in an always-on mode utilizing standards such as 3G or GRPS. Fifteen percent of developers are targeting devices that are never connected, a strong indication that connectivity of some sort is a requirement, not a nice-to-have.



Q: Which types of client connectivity are you developing for?



  • Occasionally wirelessly connected (802.11, BlueTooth, Wireless USB, Infrared/IRDA) -- 47.7%
  • Always-on using mobile wireless (2.5G, 3G, GRPS, etc.) -- 38.3%
  • Always-on wirelessly connected (802.11, BlueTooth, Wireless USB) 34.3%
  • Infrequently connected (USB, FireWire, cabled LAN, etc.) - 30.4%
  • Never Connected - 18%

    Most Difficult Aspects of

    Wireless Development

    Based on Evans 2005 data, devs say the "most difficult" aspect of wireless development is securing data (41%). However, this category only leads the pack by a slight margin; developers struggle equally with device management (38%) and integration with back-end applications (37%). Coming in fourth is mobile application development (27%), a sign that vendors still have ground to make up in the effort to make developers' lives easier when it comes to wireless application creation.



    Q: Which of the following aspects of wireless development is the most difficult for you and your team(s)?



  • Securing Data -- 40.5%
  • Managing the Device - 38%
  • Integrating Mobile Apps with Back-end Enterprise Apps -- 37.3%
  • Mobile Apps Development - 27.2%
  • Other -- 18.4%



    • Target Handset Decision

    Almost 50% of developers state that the number of deployed handset units is not important to their decision regarding target platform, while 25% of developers indicate that the minimum level of handset penetration is fewer than one million units deployed. These responses are a strong indicator that handset penetration alone is simply not a factor in driving developers' decisions. This makes sense, especially given the rapid pace of new handset development and the crowded space of vendors producing new units.



    Q: When choosing a target platform, what is the minimum level of handsets (penetration) a technology must have in order for you/your company to develop for it?



  • Over 10 million -- 4.7%
  • From 5-10 million -- 5.0%
  • From 2 - 5 million -- 8.0%
  • From 1 - 2 million - 12.7%
  • Number of deployed units is not important - 47.5%



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