Cross-Platform Developer Tools 2012 is the seminal report on the landscape of 100+ cross-platform developer tools with an analysis of key vendors and the metrics of developer experience.
Cross-Platform Tools 2012 is the first major report that analyses the complex cross-platform tools landscape, presents the key tools vendors and maps out the trends in one of the hottest markets in mobile. This report presents developer perceptions about a wide range of key issues, from incentives and deterrents to cross-platform tool use to the most-wanted tool features. Our research profiles 15 well-known cross-platform vendors and tools with regard to their technology, positioning and market traction.

Sponsored by Marmalade, Runrev LiveCode, Verizon Dev Community, Xamarin, AT&T, Appcelerator, Intel, MoSync, Orange Partner, WIP

Supported by Webinos

Features in-depth profiles on Adobe (PhoneGap), Adobe (Air / Flex), Ansca Mobile (Corona), Appcelerator (Titanium), Seregon (DragonRad), IBM (Worklight), Ideaworks 3D Ltd (Marmalade), MoSync, Motorola Solutions (RhoMobile), Netbiscuits, RunRev (LiveCode), Qt (Nokia), Sencha, Unity, Xamarin (MonoTouch and Mono for Android)

This report includes:

• Mindshare of cross-platform tools – which are being adopted or abandoned?
• Breakdown of cross-platform technologies, languages and target platforms
• Market trends - how do cross-platform tools affect the industry?
• Developer perceptions - incentives and deterrents to tool use
• Competitive scoring - how do the top tools rank in terms of developer experience?
• Analysis of 15 major cross-platform tool vendors, with in-depth profiles

Also see the Cross-Platform Tools analysis in our blog.

Drop us a line if you're interested in customised analysis of the report data.

The Clash of Ecosystems is a 60+ page report on everything you need to know about mobile platforms. The report offers a critical analysis of mobile platforms, comparing Android, Bada, BlackBerry OS, BREW, iOS, Symbian, Windows Phone and webOS across ecosystems, positioning and business strategies.

Authored and published by VisionMobile
Part funded by webinos under the EU FP7 ICT program

This research covers a wide range of topics:

• Key smartphone platform metrics
• Key trends driving the smartphone market
• The economic models behind app stores & platforms
• Development experience for each of the platforms
• The effect of HTML5 on the mobile industry

Developer Economics 2011 is the quintessential mobile developer research report. In this second annual report, we explore both what drives developer mindshare, and how brands are fast-forwarding into the world of mobile.

Developer Economics 2011 takes the reader across the entire developer journey, from the shift of mindshare and why "users can buy you love," to how money is made in mobile. It covers the hottest issues in development, from app design and promotion to monetisation and user support.

The report provides an unprecedented range of insights across all the touch-points of mobile app development, from selecting a platform and designing an app to receiving the profits. The full, 60-page report comes complete with more than 14 actual developer testimonials and more than 30 illustrative charts.

Designed and produced by VisionMobile
Sponsored by BlueVia

This research covers a wide range of topics:

• Which mobile platforms are being adopted or abandoned?
• Best & worst of 10+ major mobile platforms
• What are the commercial drivers for each platform?
• Which go-to-market channels are the fastest and quickest to pay?
• How much revenue do apps generate?
• What are the key pain points in the application lifecycle?
• How are brands' digital strategies moving into mobile apps?

Also see the Developer Economics analysis in our blog.

This research report introduces a new way of measuring the openness of open source projects.

The Open Governance Index measures the true openness of eight open source projects - Android, Qt, Symbian, MeeGo, Mozilla, WebKit, Linux and Eclipse - and analyses how governance, and not licenses, tell the full story of a project's openness, across transparency, influence and control.

Authored and published by VisionMobile
Part funded by webinos under the EU FP7 ICT program

The full, 45-page report examines:

• Open source cultural roots and working upstream vs downstream
• Open source licenses vs governance models
• Analysis and classification of governance models
• In-depth reviews of Android, Qt, Symbian, MeeGo, Mozilla, WebKit, Linux and Eclipse
• Best practices in creating an open source project

This research report delves into the impact of HTML5 on the mobile industry – and how operators can compete in the Web 3.0 era.

The paper examines the history and evolution of the web, from its humble 1.0 origin to the connected future of Web 3.0. This report identifies the key differences between web pages and apps and discusses the repercussions of a Web 3.0 model to the mobile ecosystem and how mobile operators can leverage on this new paradigm.

Authored and published by VisionMobile

Some of the issues covered in this report:

• From web 1.0 to the mobile web
• HTML5 as a technology change
• The web is dead. Long live web 3.0
• What the new web means for the mobile industry
• How to lead in the web 3.0 era

Smart’s Netphone is a case study, showcasing the Netphone - a bold attempt by Smart Communications (one of the top-20 MNOs globally) to bring telco services to the mass market. This publication offers unprecedented access behind the scenes of the Netphone project - by taking an insider look at the devices, partners, service plans and roadmap of the project.

The Netphone marks the latest telco attempt at innovating in the era of software, by building on both the telco (WAC) and software (Android) worlds.

Authored and published by VisionMobile
Sponsored by Red Bend Software, a business partner of Smart

Read how Smart’s Netphone offers important lessons for the operator community. First, by focusing on core services (messaging, address book, and mobile money), leaving all other applications to business partners. Second, by using an ‘agile’ development process with three-month develop-learn-fix cycles. Third, by using over-the- air software updates to reach operators' entire base of deployed handsets.

The 100 Million Club is a watchlist tracking the shipments of the largest handset manufacturers and mobile platforms. The current edition of the watchlist tracks shipments up to the end of June 2011.

Researched, authored and published by VisionMobile

The 100 Million Club tracks platform shipments across both the smart and feature phone ecosystems, showcasing eight mobile platforms and 10 handset manufacturers. The H1 2011 edition showcases Android, bada, BlackBerry OS, BREW, iOS, Series 40, Symbian OS, Windows Phone as well as Apple, HTC, Huawei, LG, Motorola, Nokia, RIM, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, ZTE.

Since H1 2011, the 100 Million Club has been reformatted to include only mobile platforms. To get a copy of past editions, showcasing the most pervasive mobile software products, send an email to matos@visionmobile.com

Now in it's 5th edition, our annual Mobile Megatrends report identifies and dissects major trends in mobile - explaining how the software world is impacting the mobile industry.

The report is available as a free download (43MB PDF). You can also view the presentation on SlideShare.

Mobile Megatrends 2012 is a 96-page research report that analyses and interprets the nine most important trends of 2012:

• Handset DELL-ification and the emerging pyramid of handset OEM
• Web as the new walled garden, and why it’s returning to the AOL era
• Cross-platform tools as the next challenge to the Apple/Google duopoly
• The Kindelization of tablets - Kindle is setting the rules of the tablet market
• Ecosystems battle across 4 screens and how experience roaming drives user lock-in, cross-sales and engagement
• Accessories as the next frontier for platform differentiation
• Tools for gold seekers and how the developer gold-rush has led to a gold rush for developer tools
• Reinventing the telco - how unbundling the telco is needed to compete in the software era
• The future of voice, from telephony to diversity of use cases

For a 1-day on-site strategy workshop – with more in-depth insights into these trends - contact matos@visionmobile.com.

The active idle screen (aka home screen or phone top) is the synonym of zero-click distance. It is the most premium real-estate on the handset for service delivery and promotion. In this report we review the solutions which offer zero-click access to services, information and promotion on the handset idle screen.
The market of idle screen solutions has grown considerably; in 2002-2006 it was kick-started by active idle screen (AIS) vendors and tier-1 operators; in 2007-2009 it has been capitalised by Apple, HTC, Samsung, LG, Samsung and increasingly Nokia, Android and Windows Mobile; In 2010-2011 it will be elevated into precious real-estate divided between the handset OEM, operator and service providers.

Published by VisionMobile
as part of the Mobile Industry Atlas

The ownership of the idle screen will become as elementary as customer ownership; as ubiquitous as handset branding; and as important a monetisation tool as handset accessories. In this report we examine the market trends and opportunities that will determine the billion-unit question: who will own the screen?

As of 2007, open source software is being used by almost 200,000 software projects, including rapidly growing use in consumer electronics and mobile phones. The vast majority of open source projects are licensed under the GPLv2, a highly influential license whose interpretation has been intensely debated.

Independent research paper
Authored and published by VisionMobile

This paper analyses the underpinnings of open source culture that are embodied in GPLv2, dissects the terms and examines the basis of debates. The paper further examines the new terms and differences introduced by the new GPLv3 license and assesses the probable impact of GPLv3 on the software market in general and the mobile industry in particular.

This report presents the advancements in the Mobile Software Management (MSM) market and the opportunities emerging for mobile operators, handset manufacturers and service providers in delivering services at any and every stage in the handset lifetime. The report unveils significant cost savings and revenue streams available to operators and handset manufacturers by using Mobile Software Management (MSM) to overcome many of the commercial challenges in handset software development and service delivery today.

Based on interviews with 20+ companies in the mobile space, the report reviews 8 vendor solutions, 11 software management technologies, and 3 operator cases, and concludes with highlighting the winners and losers in the market. Reviews include Gemalto, HP (Bitfone), InnoPath, Mformation, Nokia S60, Open-Plug, Qualcomm BREW and Red Bend Software.

Independent research paper sponsored by Red Bend
Authored and published by VisionMobile

This independently researched and authored report has been sponsored by Red Bend Software to raise market awareness of the mobile software management market.