Windows Phone 7 to rival iPad for developer attention in 2011

Chart A represents mobile platforms developers chose in 2010 while Chart B shows new app platforms they plan to support in 2011.

http://www.millennialmedia.com/

Developers say they are most interested in Android, Windows Phone 7, and the iPad as platforms for their mobile apps in 2011, according to a report titled "State of the Apps Industry Snapshot" released today by Millennial Media. The firm, known for its mobile ad network, worked together with technology analysis siteDigiday and Wall Street analyst Jordan Rohan from Stifel Nicolaus to procure the data. The team surveyed app developers, publishers, and advertisers in the most recent quarter to learn their plans for next year.

Both publishers and developers have grown their cross-platform application development this year and plan to further diversify in 2011. Android, the iPad, Windows Mobile, and Symbian saw the most significant increases from 2009. In the image above, Chart A represents mobile platforms the participants are developing for in 2010 while Chart B shows new app platforms they plan to support in 2011.

As you can see, the iPhone has been the number one platform of choice in 2010, followed by Android, the iPad, RIM, and Windows Mobile. Meanwhile, Android, Windows Phone 7, and the iPad are projected to get the most attention for new apps next year.

Given its rapidly growing market share, it's not very surprising that Android might see the biggest growth next year. Mountain View's platform could very well overtake Cupertino's in 2011 if these numbers hold, especially given that Millennial noted Apple (as well as RIM) saw a year-over-year decrease in developer support. Apple is currently dominating the tablet space, so the attention given the iPad is no surprise. Windows Phone excitement, however, is a little more eyebrow-raising since it's not yet a tested platform. Could it be that Microsoft is still the best at rallying developers, developers, developers, even in the mobile space?

On the other side of the spectrum, we have Palm, with the weakest developer interest, at 4 percent. The ailing Symbian platform was not much higher at 6 percent. Nokia is switching to MeeGo so the latter isn't a shocker, but the former implies that HP is not inspiring much confidence with its webOS decisions.

http://feeds.arstechnica.com/~r/arstechnica/index/~3/LNw9QS8XYD4/windows-phone-7-to-rival-ipad-for-developer-attention-in-2011.ars

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