" iOS continues to punch above its weight by being the platform developers tend to choose to launch apps on first" http://techcrunch.com/2013/08/27/forrester-ios-first/

Interesting! The key statement there, to me, is "continues to punch above its weight." That implies to me that the inevitable market correction will occur, and soon developers will use Android in their first to market efforts. This quote shows that in the process of occurring: "Despite iOS getting this first app mover advantage, more developers target Android phones overall than target iPhones (84% rank Android phones as a priority vs 77% for iPhones)." It's inevitable that developers will eventually go to where they can get the most views, and that's clearly Android. I still like the iOS platform much better, though the iOS 7 UI had me immediately thinking Android, so I take that as a step backwards. Another interesting tidbit: "Despite these, at times, wildly differing platform priorities, Forrester’s data indicates that developers are effectively splitting their time between native app development and HTML5." HTML has been around for so long, continues to show itself to be a core technology. There are so many things you can do inside a webView using HTML! Great article, Keith! Mark

I thought so and agree with your iOS 7 point. It has grown on me though. Interesting times ahead, while Apple are still ahead in the enterprise and with professionals like doctors and so on they will need - never thought I'd say this - a budget iPhone. Any Tom, Dick or Harry can buy an Android device but the cost of the iPhone does push a good few away. Expect and email from my lady or I tonight buddy .

Agreed. If Apple wants to have mass proliferation of their devices, they'll need to create something scaled down. I guess they need to decide which is more important to them...the OS, or the hardware. My bet is on the OS. Will keep an eye on the mailbox! Mark

I love some of the improvements in iOS, makes an old 4s tick along quite nicely. Beginning to like the look but that maybe because I like more of what's under the hood and the way it all switches around now. More later.

I develop for Apple first because I know if it gets through the review process, Android will be a cinch. Cheers! -- Smug

Cool conversation.... Reminds me of the famous browser wars. I remember the day when developers flocked to an "evil" browser (Internet Explorer) for obvious reasons. 95% market share. Big blue enjoyed this power position for about 10 years. Lots of attempts were made to disrupt this with only Netscape making a dent. 10 years later, with the promise of emerging HTML5 standards and all was different. Let the erosion begin for MS and IE.... This is the exact same fight at a must faster pace (everything moves faster these days). A dominate player (iOS) becomes the incumbent while others chip away. Android has made obvious progress but don't forget Palm, BB, MS, and all the others that did, or continue to battle on the front lines. Some will survive, most will not - IT DOES NOT MATTER. I like to think of it this way. If you asked a regular Joe about their browser, they would mention favorites, address bars, home buttons, back buttons, refresh buttons, etc. All browsers have these basic functions. Exactly like all mobile OS's have a core set of functions. Alerts panels, screens, swipes, taps, cameras, gyros, etc. The regular Joe has nearly no interest in "how" the gadget works - it just does. Very few people outside of our nerd-camps literally sits around and juggles "android or iOS..." Phones and devices are sold and consumed exactly like "browsers" were (and still are) when talking about the mainstream Joe. They are recommended, marketed, and displayed in stores. When one phone does the exact same thing as the other, very few people are going to jump to the "but this operating system is better." Of course this argument has holes in it but the influence is not the OS, it's the friends, ads, price, service, etc, etc. Not the OS. Why? Because the OS is the SAME ON NEARLY EVERY DEVICE. Android and iOS are moving closer together and not farther apart. Think about it...is there really that big of a difference between and Android Activity (nerd talk for a screen) and an iOS UIViewController (more nerd talk for a screen). There isn't - they both serve the same function. They both intercept user interactions and display stuff on the screen. That's it. Back buttons are back buttons. Address bars are address bars. And mobile OS's are becoming mobile OS's. The biggest different between the browser wars of old, and mobile is the SALES opportunity. Devs didn't "make websites to sell." They made websites to "sell things" or "for hire" or "for publicity" or "to share information." This is a fundamentally different idea. Developers today are going where the money is. Duh. But wait....there's more.... The days of the .99 app retail opportunity (for a developer) are numbered. Yup, I'm saying it. Don't expect to be able to retail your aps (in volume) for very long. Evenutally all paid app solutions will have an equally awesome free solution. This is already happening. Did you spend the same amount on apps this year as you did last year? I would argue that you didn't. I know I didn't. My "app budget" is not nearly what it once was. But...I have WAY MORE apps on my devices now and they do WAY MORE COOL STUFF...I just didn't pay for them. Neither did you - right? Developers that understand where the opportunity hides will fare well. It's my opinion that the opportunity is where a developer can efficiently create soltuions that will work on the largest numbers of devices. These solutions will sell things, solve problems, help employees, entertain folks, and do everything else we already like so much. But, they will not be paid. Developers will not be retailing apps on their own for long. This means that the only way to make money in this ecosystem will be... a) Develop for hire (for small or large clients, contracts, etc) b) Develop apps that sell products (your products or somebody elses and partner up) c) Develop with advertising in mind (think entertaining or useful expertise, info) d) Develop with an aim to "upsell" the user something magical (think in app purchases) In all of these cases the overarching emphisis will be on supporting the largest number of devices. Today this means iOS and Android. Tomorrow....another prediction...it will be EASIER to support more devices because standards will emerge (they already are) making deploying your software a no brainer. Again, think browsers...do you have mutliple websites for multiple browsers - why not? We used to, right? Anyone want to start writing the M.D.S.C.M. with me to get this ball rolling in the right direction? LOL MDSCM: Mobile Device Standards Compliance Manifesto Still on the road after Sunday's meetup in San Diego. Hiding high in the hills at a location only known by the NSA.... d.

Just don't write that "Manifesto" from a cabin in Montana..... I'm getting killed in the field with browser incompatibility issues. Some clients just don't want to upgrade, lots of clients want to keep using XP which won't let you upgrade past IE8. Since IE8 has issues with CSS3/HTML5 I can't redesign their sites to a Responsive Design because it doesn't look right in IE8 without some heavy modding. It's a nightmare trying to nail a design that wows the customer on multiple devices. I'm ready for some more standards to come out to deal with this!