So, you finally decided to join the bandwagon and you want to create a mobile application for business.  The question now is, do you know which platform to use? 

When you think of the money that you will invest developing a mobile app for business, you will have to consider your returns on investment.  Indeed, it doesn’t make sense if you cannot recover your investment or the apps will not generate the results you want to be realized such as number of downloads or ad revenue.

To give you an idea how much will it cost to develop one mobile application for business, here are some facts and figures to ponder:

Programmers in the U.S. and in Australia have an on-going rate of $50 to 150 per hour, while Western Europe counterparts charges around 60 to 70 Euros.

You have to take note that we are just talking here of talent fees, not included are software, infrastructures, and other mobile application related expenses.  From these figures alone, no need for you to think twice to conclude that creating mobile apps is indeed expensive.  Thus, you need to carefully select which platform will deliver the best ROI for your business mobile application.

Different Mobile Application Platforms

Mobile apps are software that are uploaded on advance mobile gadgets and are built on different mobile operating systems like Android, Windows, and iOS.  The question of which platform to use depends largely on many different things.

Android Platform – You might be familiar with it if you have encountered the following terms related to it; Jellybean, Kitkat, Donut, and among other nicknames given to different versions of Android OS versions.  This is the mobile application developed by Google and was designed for mobile devices and other gadgets with touch screen mode.  This operating system exploits real motions like tapping, pinching, and swiping.

iOS Platform – Operating system developed, operated, and distributed exclusively by Apple.  It powers many Apple devices like iPad, iPhone, and the iPod Touch.  It is the second most used platform just behind Android apps.  Its interface involves multi-touch control system that includes sliders, buttons, and switches.  Like the Android, it also exploits human motions like the swipe, pinch, and tap.

Windows Platform – This is a group of mobile operating system intended for specific smartphones and developed by Microsoft in order to replace Windows mobile.  It includes a new version of user interface extracted from Metro design language.  This operating system is geared towards consumer market instead of enterprise market.

Pros and Cons of Different Platform

As mentioned early, there are a lot of things to consider on which platform you should invest.  To know different ideas on the individual platform is to dissect its pros and cons separately.

iOS Pros and Cons – This is considered as the most advanced operating system. There are indications in several studies which prove that this platform is preferred by most mobile apps developers as it is simple to configure and has a wide range of capabilities in terms of graphics.

Pros – This platform is perfect when you want to create stunning visuals and animation in your mobile application.  Sharing of data to various devices is very easy as the iOS platform features are very user friendly.  Because it is a close system, this is probably the most secured system to develop mobile applications with.

Cons – Its major drawback of course is that this platform will only run on iOS gadgets; thus, you cannot maximize your apps on gadgets using other platforms.  In addition, iOS users and its growth are not so large compared with other the overall market growth for smartphones.  It is also difficult to manuever iOS as it has very rigid guidelines and approval. Developers need to review the guidelines before developing a mobile application using this platform.

Android Pros and Cons – One of the greatest advantages of this platform is that it has a larger user base as it can easily run on many affordable phones, tablets, and other smart gadgets.  In terms of rules and approval, there are only minimal guidelines to consider when publishing apps on Google Play and you do not need to seek approval if you want to create and publish apps on other Android territories. It is available on many mobile brands such as Samsung, Nexus, and Motorola.

Cons – Android configuration is not really simple and takes time to learn. Because it is an open system, Android platform is not known to be totally reliable. It does not help create positive impression that Google can auto grab other information as users are automatically logged on to their Google Account and this turns off some users. The Android platform is more attractive to those who are knowledgeable in terms of technical aspects of mobile applications.

Windows Phone Platform – While some may consider it as too late a hero in the mobile application business, it cannot be denied that there are users who will definitely prefer a Windows Phone. Being a new entrant, it is always possible that one can create a mobile application that is quite akin to an existing and successful application running on Android and iOS but not yet created for this kind of platform.

Cons – Since there are only few users in this platform, it is quite doubtful if you will achieve high ROI with Windows based mobile application.

Which One is a Better Investment?

One needs to perform a lot of work like determining which mobile devices your customers and target customers are using – Apple or Android? You also need to determine how fast and quick you need the application.

Take note about the close and open system between iOS and Android platform respectively. It also depends on the product you are selling; thus, you need the right features and tools installed in your mobile applications.  Take note also that there is a quite huge difference in terms of tools that you can access between iOS and Android platform for that matter.

So what is the best platform to invest now?  Do not yet take out the Windows Phone platform as in time they might catch up. However, at present it is a choice between Android and iOS.