when the Android SDK was released last november, there finally was a concrete SDK for an advanced mobile platform to play around with. the iPhone SDK has been vaporware so far, and the exact features as well as the model for application deployment remain unclear.
now that Google has announced an updated version of the SDK, promising significant updates to the SDK [ with ] UI and API enhancements
, there are now two vaporwares competing. both release dates are uncertain, but both should be in the next couple of weeks.
the Android SDK has the advantage that there already is a published version of it, and the iPhone SDK has the advantage of the couple of million devices that are already in use (Android hardware is expected to be available in the second half of the year). and of course, in theory Android could become much bigger, because it is open, but that may or may not happen.
not an easy choice to make, when you are trying to decide which platform to use for an advanced mobile application. my current bet is that the iPhone is the better choice, but the big show-stopper there could be an overly restrictive model of application deployment (for example, only through iTunes).
Comments