Amazon's new Kindle Fire edged out the Samsung Galaxy Tab as the number one most popular Android tablet in North America, on par with interest for the iPad prior to its launch in April 2010, and was second only to the Galaxy Tab globally with developers, according to a survey by Appcelerator and IDC of 2,160 Appcelerator developers around the world. Microsoft's Windows Phone 7 also decisively moved ahead of RIM's BlackBerry OS to become the clear number three mobile OS behind iOS and Android. As the mobile industry advances, contenders are finding success by securing new footholds and partnerships to compete against Apple's dominance. Amazon announced the Kindle Fire, a smaller, cheaper Android-based tablet that leverages its large content library, while Microsoft's Windows Phone 7 is building strong European developer enthusiasm thanks to its Nokia partnership. Developers and businesses gave high marks to these moves, which contrast sharply against BlackBerry OS, BlackBerry's QNX-based PlayBook, and webOS, all of which collapsed in interest with developers this past quarter.
When surveyed among 15 Android tablets, the low-cost, content-rich eReader Kindle Fire was second only to the Samsung Galaxy Tab globally in developer interest. A regional breakdown shows Amazon edging Samsung in North America for the top slot. At 49 percent very interested in North America, the Kindle Fire is just 4 points less than where interest was in the iPad prior to its launch in April 2010.
Appcelerator and IDC found in January that, among developers, price was the single most important factor for Android tablets to compete successfully against the iPad. Fast forward to November and developers cite price again as the leading reason for interest in the Kindle Fire. Rounding out the top 5 tablets, respondents eye Amazon's rich content ecosystem, Appstore, target demographic, and eCommerce integration as the key reasons for interest in the new eReader.
When considering Kindle Fire's potential drawbacks, fragmentation and lack of features like camera and geo-location were the two top concerns cited by developers.
Windows Phone 7 separated from the pack to become the clear number 3 mobile OS this quarter. The OS climbed 8 points to 38 percent of respondents saying they are “very interested” in the platform - the highest ever for Microsoft. Microsoft is enjoying symbiotic success with Nokia. When asked why developers are more interested in Windows Phone 7 now than a year ago, a plurality (48 percent) are saying it is the Microsoft/Nokia partnership. Nokia also received high marks for its new Lumia Windows Phone 7 smartphone announcement last month. Twenty-eight percent of developers said they are "very interested" in developing for the device. This is more than double the interest in Nokia's own Symbian and MeeGo OSes since Appcelerator began reporting mobile platform interest in January 2010.
This quarter saw a sharp fall-off in developers reporting that they are "very interested" in RIM offerings with BlackBerry OS phones dropping 7 points to 21 percent and PlayBook QNX-based tablets dropping 6 points to 13 percent.
HTML5 continues to keep developer interest. Sixty-six percent of developers are very interested in building HTML5 mobile web sites, the same as last quarter.
Connected TV app development interest continues to slide. A year ago, 44 percent of developers were very interested in developing for Google TV. Even with a second version announced last month, only 20 percent expressed the same enthusiasm for Google TV this round. Apple TV, however, saw a smaller decline from 40 percent a year ago to 27 percent today.
iOS continues to reign at number 1 with 91 percent of respondents saying they are “very interested” in developing for the iPhone, followed by the iPad at 88 percent. Apple continued to hold onto its number 1 position in part due to iOS 5, which was cited as the most significant announcement this past quarter.
Android phones fell nearly 4 points to 83 percent, while tablets fell nearly 6 points to 68 percent. While the drop was likely due in part to renewed interest in iOS 5, developers nevertheless saw Samsung's rise to the number 1 smartphone manufacturer as the second most significant development of the past quarter after iOS 5.
