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The Stead Of Iphone And Ipad Operating Systems In Summer 2011
Author : Anand Kumar
Submitted : 2011-07-19 05:20:32 Word Count : 892 Popularity: 34
Tags: Mobile Application Development, iPhone Application Development, Android Application Development, Blackberry Application Development, Symbian Application Development, Mobile Software Development, iPad Application Development.
The description, favorable and the unfavorable entities of the iphone and ipad OS is also briefed.
Current Version:
iOS 4.3 for iPhone and iPad.
Base Framework:
UNIX based kernel built on OS X. Runs on Apple’s A4 processors for iPhone and Apple’s A5 processor for iPad.
Future Visibility:
iPhone OS 5.0 release planned for summer 2010 with iCloud support and wireless sync features.
OS Efficiency:
Very stable OS. Optimum use of resources means battery lasts for around 10-12 hours.
Device Management:
iOS 4 and above supports Enterprise Device Management through MDM.
User Experience:
Apple leads this segment! Because iphone has a great state of art, it is ergonomic and user-friendly. Support for multi-touch gestures and accelerometer available.
Web Browser:
It is based on WebKit, supports HTML5, CSS3 web fonts. Quartz style smooth rendering and smart zoom features.
Storage:
No external storage. Has Flash memory that varies from model to model. SQLLite and Core data services along with flat files can be used for application data.
Hardware Support:
Comes with a 5MP back camera, A-GPS, 3G, WiFi, Bluetooth. Accelerometer and Multi-touch Retina display for iPhone and 9.7-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit glossy widescreen Multi-Touch display with IPS technology for iPad.
Multi Tasking:
iOS 4.0 and above version supports preemptive multitasking and select background services such as Audio, VOIP and significant location services.
Media Support:
Video - H.264, MPEG-4 in .mp4, .m4v, and .mov formats;
Audio - in AAC, MP3, M4a, Apple lossless and Audible.
Development environment:
Tools and Language:
xCode 3.x on Mac OS X 10.6, Objective C.
SDK:
Apple provides the iPhone SDK v4.3 for iPhone, iPod and iPad apps.
The SDKs are bundled with xCode IDE. Unlike other platforms, development is supported only on Mac OS X 10.6 and above. Core Graphics and core libraries offer developers variety of graphics functions. Open GL support is also available in the SDK.
Developer Support:
All developer applications work in a sandbox environment. The OS restricts access to the device except few routine tasks. Developers cannot utilize the device capabilities beyond what is offered by SDK APIs.
The Objective C programming is relatively difficult. Prior knowledge of MacOS X programming is great help.
Application support:
App Distribution:
The apps are available over the Air via App Store with over 150,000 apps.
Private distribution can be done through the enterprise program via iTunes. OTA distribution for Enterprise is available in OS 4.0.
Enterprise Support:
There is only limited support. It can entertain only one Exchange account, allows PUSH email and real time sync. It also supports VPN networks.
Consumer Support:
Huge number of applications available on App Store for consumers to download. 25% apps on the App Store are free.
Devices Available:
Current: Only one model with varied storage size – iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4G. Wi-Fi only iTouch and iPads are available with varied device storage options. iPad1 and iPad 2 comes with optional 3G support.
Future: Only one device option will be available each for iPhone, iPod and iPad as is currently available.
Pros /Cons:
Very powerful API library for variety of touch screen features capabilities of iPhone. These include Swiping, Accelerometer, and LBS – Use of GPS, Pinching, Split view and many more.
Lot of development help is available in terms of MAC tools.
People with prior Apple Development experience can pick up this platform very easily.
The OS is limited in terms of allowing developers to build background process, applications and increase the power of the capabilities. Apple has put in lot of restrictions on developers in terms of using the API in different ways than prescribed.
Mobile Device Management with enterprise profiles having option to remote wipe and remote lock gives next level security to enterprise users when compare to the previous iOS versions.
SSL VPN gives an option for security in enterprise data transfer.
Over the Air (OTA) method of downloading enterprise applications is available with iOS 4.0 and above and iOS 5.0 and above will have wireless device setup and sync with iTunes library. This was the feature lacking with MDM.
iMessage application gives an option to exchange messages between iOS user who will have iOS 5 and above OS running. It’s direct competition to BB messenger, which made a huge space in enterprise domain.
iCloud with iOS 5 gives a way to keep all the enterprise data in the cloud even though device is lost.
Multi-tasking – iPhone OS 4 and above supports multitasking but it is very limited.
In a way, this is a closed platform, as if you need to build applications to run on various mobile platforms, they have to be rewritten.
Enterprise Policy support should be more broadened. Currently many default applications cannot be really blocked or restricted.
It is not possible to lock the device for one Enterprise application all the time, which is a most wanted requirement from many of the enterprise development sponsors.
Air print is supported only for the group of printers.
Author's Resource Box
Endeavour provides strategic consulting and technology services with an aim to deliver end to end mobile solutions across different mobile platforms. Specializing in iphone application development, android application development, ipad application development, it can enable businesses in the manufacturing, media, print, healthcare, consumer solutions, Telecom and Business Intelligence verticals. Various other mobile application development activities are also carried out by our expert individual teams at Endeavour Software Technologies.
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