Gif showing answers to the question, 'What kinds of mobile devices do you have?'
Gif showing answers to the question, 'What kind of operating system does your primary mobile device use?'
Gif showing answers to the question, 'Have you developed a mobile application before?'

MODE 4201
Mobile Development

  • What is Mobile Development?
  • Mobile devices
  • Mobile operating systems
  • Common mobile functionality
  • Types of mobile development

What is mobile development?

“Mobile application development is a term used to denote the act or process by which application software is developed for handheld devices, such as personal digital assistants, enterprise digital assistants or mobile phones.”

-https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_application_development

 

More simply, like any computer, a phone or tablet does not actually do anything without software.

Mobile Devices

The term “mobile device” can refer to:

  • Personal Digital Assistants
  • Cell phones / smart phones
  • Tablets
  • Smart watches
  • eBook readers
  • Some game consoles

 

It’s easier to identify mobile devices based on their operating system.

A very old-looking Palm device, probably classified as a PDA, but evidently running a Linux distribution

Mobile OS Market Share

Shows Android as 62.86%, iOS at 29.32%, and others below. This changes frequently enough that you may consider looking it up yourself.

Retrieved from https ://www.netmarketshare.com/operating-system-market-share.aspx

Representing January 2016 through May 2016

Major Mobile Operating Systems

Some data from https://www.netmarketshare.com/operating-system-market-share.aspx

and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_mobile_operating_systems

Android vs. iOS

Android is open-source, free and development is easy on a number of platforms using a variety of technologies.

 

iOS is closed, more restrictive in terms of development, and much more restrictive in terms of deploying software via the App Store.

Common Mobile Functionality

  • Microphone
  • Camera
  • Touch screen / multitouch
  • Barcode and QR code scanning
  • Access to contacts
  • Phone functionality
  • Push/media notifications
  • Pedometer
  • Accelerometer
  • Gyroscope / orientation sensing
  • GPS / location sensing
A smartphone with a variety of barcodes and QR codes for scanning
A phone spinning - so I guess it's orientation sensing is doing things.

Types of Mobile Development

  • Native Mobile Applications
    • More difficult to develop, typically in IDE
    • Tend to look and perform best
    • Found in a mobile store
    • Example: Angry Birds
  • Mobile Web Applications
    • Web content designed for variant screens
    • Easily searchable, no need for a store
    • Can’t use most native mobile functionality
    • Example: Imgur.com on Mobile
  • Hybrid Mobile Applications
    • Example: Wikipedia (Official App)

Mobile Development Scenarios

  • In groups of 2 or 3, review the scenarios provided via DC Connect (*cough* or on paper).
  • Summarize your scenario and answer the questions (with explanations where possible).
  • Post your summary with your answers and justifications to the Week 1 Mobile Development Scenarios discussion board.
  • Be prepared to discuss these answers in class.

Scenario Discussion

  • Should you focus on one platform, or learn a little bit about many platforms?
  • Is it always clear whether to develop as a mobile web application, a hybrid application, or a native application?

Break

 

  • Take a break, then we’ll get into the next part: the past and future of mobile devices.
  • Post any questions to the Live Question Tool: http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/questions/MODE4201
  • If you have some extra time, check out the class Twitter feed!

 

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