A review and comparison of the top tools for true cross platform app development
If you are involved with mobile apps, you will know there is a constant debate between app developers, building “native” apps, and mobile web developers, championing “web apps”. The native app developers get better performance and integration, while the web app developers get broader reach and better standardisation
In the middle of this debate are a growing team of developers championing a hybrid of these two positions. Developing code once (like “native”) but deploying across Apple / Android / Blackberry (like “web apps”). This is a rapidly emerging area, with a flurry of very exciting toolkits available. To keep you up to date, we are very happy to share our recent report:
Cross-platform mobile development
A review of the top cross platform mobile app development frameworks, libraries and platforms.
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[PDF 238kb]
In it we look at these 22 solutions, drilling down into more detail with Rhodes, Appcelerator Titanium, and Phonegap.
| Framework | URL | License | Type |
| Rhodes | http://rhomobile.com/products/rhodes/ | Open Source | Platform |
| Phonegap | http://www.phonegap.com | Open Source | Framework |
| FeedHenry | http://developer.feedhenry.com/ | Commercial | Platform |
| Appcelerator | http://www.appcelerator.com/ | Open Source | Platform |
| Grapple | http://www.grapplemobile.com/ | Commercial | Framework |
| MotherApp | http://www.motherapp.com/ | Commercial | Framework |
| Corona | http://www.anscamobile.com/corona/ | Commercial | Product |
| Sencha Touch | http://www.sencha.com/products/touch/ | OS/Commercial | Library |
| MoSync | http://www.mosync.com/ | Open Source | Platform |
| Resco | http://www.resco.net/ | Commercial | Platform |
| CouchOne | http://www.couchone.com/products | Commercial | Platform |
| MobileIron | http://mobileiron.com/ | Commercial | Platform |
| WidgetPad | http://widgetpad.com | Open Source | Platform |
| AML | http://www.amlcode.com | Open Source | Framework |
| Jo | http://joapp.com | Open Source | Library |
| xui | http://xuijs.com | Open Source | Library |
| JQuery Mobile | http://jquerymobile.com | Open Source | Library |
| JQTouch | http://jqtouch.com | Open Source | Library |
| QT | http://qt.nokia.com/products/qt-formobile-platforms/ | Open Source | Framework |
| QuickConnectFamily | http://www.quickconnectfamily.org/ | Open Source | Framework |
| Bedrock | http://www.metismo.com | Commercial | Platform |
| WebApp.net | http://webapp-net.com/ | Open Source | Framework |
Our mobile development team focuses primarily on educational apps, and we did this report for our own, internal benefit (sponsored by the Mole Project). We have hope you find it useful – but as our requirements may not match your own please make your own decisions on which tools work best for you!
Please feel free to add any suggestions or feedback in the comments.