Recent Chrome OS hype had me researching Android, WebOS, etc.
Does Palm have a good app strategy with webOS and WebKit? Write an app and have it work on the web, and on a Pre too?
Even more attractive: write one app and have it work everywhere. On the web, on an iPhone, Pre, Blackberry, etc.
There is PhoneGap which is “an open source development tool for building fast, easy mobile apps with JavaScript.” The PhoneGap emulator requires Adobe Air. Scratch that for me–I dislike Adobe, Adobe Air, and I doubt Adobe Air will install on Fedora.
Then there is Appcelerator formerly known only as “Titanium” from what I can remember. Appcelerator’s iPhone emulator (at least in the demo video) looks realistic. So many UI hooks, doesn’t look like much fun. Reminds me of Windows development.
How do you choose? Personally, I don’t think mobile app development is for me, even if it’s an easy way to make money right now. I’m more attracted to data and backend development. I more prefer the web where you have more pixels to work with. In the long run, screens get bigger, the web remains backward compatible and “mobile” loses meaning. Hypertext is not glamorous, but here to stay–much older than the web itself and still extremely useful.