Originally Posted by twigleaf1976
(Post 629593)
Apple promotes the phones and the app is a major selling point to their marketing strategy, therefore it is in their interest to make it hassle free, to make it smooth. To fill it with, and here is the secret. Quality apps, people want. There is a series of people at Apple that act as gate keepers, making sure there is nothing dodgy, nothing bad and making sure there are apps to sell. (Some would say these people are too powerful but it is jobs rules)
Android via google is the same, using the app store to shift phones and so they make an easy to use language, a well supported and backed app store, a nice place to navigate and work with for both customers and developers and the languages are not that bad. And overall one platform.
Rules for apple say use the one language so all phones and the ipad can use the phone, android has had some changes but they develop in one language and when a benchmark is reached there is details of how to get round it so developers can work to make things smooth again.
Nokia has just been horrible in handling all of this, bad decisions at the top have not pushed symbian properly, or backed it and then changed their mind, like making it open source then not, differing the s60 releases to not be compatible. Or not seeing the future, Nokia perhaps thought people will just be happy with differing versions. All of the above most likely?
When they decided to up their game and compete with android and pushed maemo, which is pants because just as soon as they try and push it, they release an appalling phone as the flagship, and then change their minds again by merging with meego and introducing the whole QT thing which has mixed reviews. Look at the Ovi store, filter different phones and you can see people programme in differing numbers for each OS.
Not good for a developer who would look at the politics. Two nice and shiny, polished and smooth finished products with a good pedigree. Or a political mess of programming languages that have just had another one added and the one flagship phone is riddled with issues of basic functionality and forums filled with grief.
Easy to see why most of the developers go where the money is. The only selling point to Maemo is so called 'freedom', because there is no walled garden. (though I find it funny because the freedom is gained by downloading and installing a jail break piece of code to gain access ot freedom, just like the iphone) That 'freedom' does bring some developers into the world, whether they stick around with QT, ANOTHER language to learn and the whole Meego farce, where no one knows the future of hte current platform (Including Nokia)? Who knows?
That is development however, you also need to look at the hardware. Google, Apple and HTC (who are the only really consistant smart phone makers I think) all ensure what they release is the best they can. Yes there is probably one bug on each, but all the hardware is supported and it works to a basic level (SMS, MMS, phone calls, blue tooth, network, qwerty keys exist. etc), getting the people on board and getting the customers interested. Nokia however released the N97 without a full stop on the keyboard, then the N900 who hasn't got software to support it's own hardware out the box (the face camera). If they can't do basics, why would a developer jump on board?
Just my tuppence as to why people go the way of the 'creepware' giant google and the 'jobsian nightmare' that is apple.
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