The mobile industry is worth over $1.3 trillion annually with over 1.6 billion mobile phones sold in 2011. There is significant hardware fragmentation across the over 680,000 distinct Android devices. Developing apps across the top 4 mobile platforms (iOS, Android, Symbian, Blackberry) reaches only 20% of devices. Mobile platforms differ in their programming languages, development environments, and app stores. No single cross-platform development tool supports all mobile platforms, and mobile web apps face challenges of fragmentation, performance, and monetization.

1. FRAGMENTATION IN MOBILE DESIGN
FIC TIO N?
FACT OR
Puzzle perspective by jugbo http://www.flickr.com/photos/jugbo/366748612/

2. The mobile industry is now worth
1.3 trillion dollars
The State of the Union blog for Mobile Industry - all the stats and facts for 2012, T. Ahonen - http://goo.gl/M0oyV

3. Mobile phones sold in 2011
1.6 billion units
The State of the Union blog for Mobile Industry - all the stats and facts for 2012, T. Ahonen - http://goo.gl/M0oyV

5. HARDWARE
Hardware Store by John McNab - http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnmcnab/5758738799/

6. by mikek http://www.flickr.com/photos/mikek/6816067326/

7. by mikek http://www.flickr.com/photos/mikek/6810557770/

8. by mikek http://www.flickr.com/photos/mikek/6997113043/

9. by mikek http://www.flickr.com/photos/mikek/7043782841/

10. by mikek http://www.flickr.com/photos/mikek/7068344451/

11. by mikek http://www.flickr.com/photos/mikek/6875178758/

12. by mikek http://www.flickr.com/photos/mikek/6830525152

13. by mikek http://www.flickr.com/photos/mikek/7024324235/

14. http://www.mobiledia.com/phones/nokia/6810/photo-1.html

15. http://n-gageaplicationdownload.blogspot.co.uk/

16. http://www.mobiledia.com/phones/nokia/6810/photo-1.html

17. http://www.mobiledia.com/phones/nokia/6810/photo-1.html

18. It’s a box by tim caynes - http://www.flickr.com/photos/timcaynes/5408753242/

19. Screen resolutions of the 681,900 Android devices using opensignalmaps
http://opensignalmaps.com/reports/fragmentation.php

20. HARDWARE FRAGMENTATION?
FACT
Hardware Store by John McNab http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnmcnab/5758738799/

21. DEVELOPMENT
Development in Docklands by Destinys Agent http://www.flickr.com/photos/destinysagent/2664658912/

22. Fragmentation challenges have been a key
topic of discussion in mobile industry circles
since Java ME started proliferating in 2004-5.
Developer Economics 2011 by Vision Mobile
Development in Docklands by Destinys Agent http://www.flickr.com/photos/destinysagent/2664658912/

23. Developing across the top three or four mobile
platforms (iOS, Android, Symbian and Blackberry)
reaches just over 20% of the devices sold on
average.
Developer Economics 2011 by Vision Mobile
Development in Docklands by Destinys Agent http://www.flickr.com/photos/destinysagent/2664658912/

24. Brew Series40 Symbian iOS Android
many hundred 275 150 350
millions million million million
Blackberry WP Bada WebOS Meego
80 9 12 tons of small OSs
million million million
http://communities-dominate.blogs.com/brands/2012/05/mobile-services-beyond-messaging-excellent-tns-global-survey-reveals-tons.html

25. platforms differ.
LANGUAGES & ENVIRONMENTS
Platform Authoring language Dev Environment App store
Android Dalvik Android Development Tool Android Market
C and C++ (NDK) Plugin for Eclipse
WebViews Other IDEs, e.g., IntelliJ,
Netbeans. Visual Studio
Bada C++ (proprietary Bada IDE based on Eclipse Samsung Apps
extension) CDT and JSDT (JavaScript
HTML, CSS, JS Development Tools)
Blackberry C/C++ QNX Momentics IDE Blackberry App World
Tablet OS Java Eclipse plug-ins
Android Player Standard IDE & Webworks
HTML5, CSS, tools
JavaScript
Blackberry J2ME MIDP 2.0 Eclipse plug-in Blackberry App World
OS HTML WebWorks SDK
iOS Objective C Mac with Xcode App Store
WebViews
Symbian C++ Carbide C++ IDE Ovi Store
Qt
Windows C#, VB.NET Visual Studio and Microsoft Windows Phone Marketplace
Phone Silverlight framework tools such as Expression
XNA framework Blend
source: VisionMobile research
Cross-Platform Developer Tools 2012 by Vision Mobile

26. deployment format (web vs. native).
MAJOR CROSS-PLATFORM TOOLS & APPROACHES
Vendor (Tool) Technology approach Authoring language Deploym. format
Adobe (AIR) Runtime Actionscript Native, Hybrid
Adobe (Flex) SDK addition to AIR MXML Native, Hybrid
Ansca Mobile
Runtime Lua Native
(Corona)
Antenna Software HTML5, CSS and
Runtime Hybrid web apps
(Mobility Studio) JavaScript
Antix Labs (Antix
Runtime C/C++ Native
Games)
Appcelerator HTML5, CSS and
Runtime Native apps
(Titanium) JavaScript
Web-to-native wrapper WYSIWYG, HTML,
Application Craft Web apps, Hybrid
(PhoneGap) Javascript, CSS, jQuery
Runtime (Mobius) Web-to-
HTML5, CSS and
AppMobi native app wrapper Web apps, Hybrid
JavaScript
(PhoneGap)
Web-to-native app wrapper HTML5, CSS and
Backelite (BKrender) Web apps, Hybrid
(PhoneGap) JavaScript
DHTMLX Touch JavaScript framework HTML5, CSS, JavaScript Web apps
Didmo (Magmito) App Factory WYSIWYG Web apps, Hybrid

27. JavaScript framework, Web-
The M Project HTML5, CSS, JavaScript Web apps, Hybrid
to-native app wrapper
Unity Technologies C# .NET, JavaScript and
Runtime Native
(Unity) Boo
Unreal (Unreal
Runtime UnrealScript Native
Engine)
Uxebu (Aparrat.io, Frameworks, Web-to-native
HTML5, CSS, JavaScript Hybrid
Storage.js ) app wrapper
UXplus (Aqua WYSIWYG, JavaScript,
Runtime Native
Platform) C++
JavaScript Framework, Web-
Wink to-native wrapper HTML5, CSS, JavaScript Web app
(PhoneGap)
Wix Mobile App factory WYSIWYG Web app
Xamarin (Mono
Source code translator,
Touch, Mono for C# .NET Native
Runtime
Android)
Java Bytecode, .NET
.Net, Java or Ruby
XMLVM Source code translator CIL, JavaScript,
Bytecode
Python, Obj. C C++
Zipline Games App factory, Runtime (for
Lua Native
(Moai) Lua script)
source: VisionMobile research
Cross-Platform Developer Tools 2012tools that Mobile tracked as part of our research appears below.
The full list of 100 cross-platform
by Vision we have

28. Spiderweb by jk079 - http://www.flickr.com/photos/jk079/5236562439/

29. Mobile web moving from hype to reality.
Developers stumbling on three challenges:
fragmentation, performance limitations and
lack of distribution and monetisation channels.
Developer Economics 2012 by Vision Mobile
Spiderweb by jk079 - http://www.flickr.com/photos/jk079/5236562439/

30. OpenSignalMaps, a popular Android
application, has tracked over 600 thousand
devices (...) and reported nearly 600 device
models and 4,000 device variants.
Developer Economics 2012 by Vision Mobile

32. Digital madness by ric_k - http://www.flickr.com/photos/ric_k/2545124107/

33. DEVELOPMENT FRAGMENTATION?
FACT
Development in Docklands by Destinys Agent http://www.flickr.com/photos/destinysagent/2664658912/

34. DESIGN

36. APPLICATIONS

37. content
What the user has in a digital experience:
1) information and 2) the potential of doing
something with this information APPLICATIONS
Arturo Toledo, User Experience Designer (WP Design Studio) - http://ux.artu.tv/?p=240
actions

38. content
What the user has in a digital experience:
1) information and 2) the potential of doing
something with this information APPLICATIONS
Arturo Toledo, User Experience Designer (WP Design Studio) - http://ux.artu.tv/?p=240

40. CONTENT SCREENS

43. SIBLING NAVIGATION

46. TOP-DOWN NAVIGATION

49. BACK NAVIGATION

51. What the user has in a digital experience:
1) information and 2) the potential of doing
something with this information APPLICATIONS
Arturo Toledo, User Experience Designer (WP Design Studio) - http://ux.artu.tv/?p=240
actions

52. A
A
A
A A A

55. GLOBAL ACTIONS

57. SCREEN ACTIONS

59. OBJECT ACTIONS

60. A
A
A
A A A

61. A
A
INPUT SCREENS
A
A A A

63. A
A
A
A A
A A A A

64. A
A
A
A A
A A

65. A A A A
A
A
A
A
A A

66. A A
A A
A A
A
A A A

68. Applications

69. Applications
Content Content Content
screen screen screen
Content
screen
Content
screen

70. Applications
Content Content Content
screen screen screen
Content
screen
Content
screen

71. Applications
Content Content Content
screen screen screen
Content
screen
Content
screen

72. Applications
A A A
Content Content Content
screen screen screen
A
Content
screen
A
Content
screen

73. Applications
A
Input screen
A A A
Content Content Content
screen screen screen
A A
Content
screen Input screen
A A
Content
screen Input screen

74. Applications
A
Input screen
A A A
Content Content Content
screen screen screen
A A
Content
screen Input screen
A A
Content
screen Input screen

82. Applications
A
Input screen
A A A
Content Content Content
screen screen screen
A A
Content
screen Input screen
A A
Content
screen Input screen

83. Applications
A
Input screen
A A A
Content Content Content
screen screen screen
A A
Content
screen Input screen
A A
Content
screen Input screen

94. Applications
A
Input screen
A A A
Content Content Content
screen screen screen
A A
Content
screen Input screen
A A
Content
screen Input screen

95. Applications
A
Input screen
A A A
Content Content Content
screen screen screen
A A
Content
screen Input screen
A A
Content
screen Input screen

96. GLOBAL & SCREEN ACTIONS

111. OBJECT ACTIONS

117. Applications
A
Input screen
A A A
Content Content Content
screen screen screen
A A
Content
screen Input screen
A A
Content
screen Input screen

118. Applications
A
Input screen
A A A
Content Content Content
screen screen screen
A A
Content
screen Input screen
A A
Content
screen Input screen

121. The switcher test
Step 1 - Go to one app
Step 2 - Open the apps switcher
Step 3 - Go to a different app
Step 4 - Press the back button
Where are you now?

127. APPLICATION STRUCTURE
(navigates) within an app based on the
hierarchical relationships between screens
http://developer.android.com/design/patterns/navigation.html

143. ACTIVITY HISTORY
(navigates) in reverse chronological order,
through the history of screens the user has
recently worked with
http://developer.android.com/design/patterns/navigation.html

152. app
structure
activity

153. app
structure
Android 2.3 and earlier relied upon the system
Back button for supporting navigation within an
app. With the introduction of action bars in Android
3.0, a second navigation mechanism appeared: the
Up button, consisting of the app icon and a left-
point caret
http://developer.android.com/design/patterns/navigation.html
activity

154. app
structure
When the previously viewed screen is also the
hierarchical parent of the current screen, pressing
the Back button has the same result as pressing the
Up button - this is a common occurrence
http://developer.android.com/design/patterns/navigation.html
activity

159. 1

160. 1

161. 2

162. 2

163. 3

164. 3

165. 4

166. 4

167. 5

168. 5

169. 6

170. 6

171. 7 8

172. DESIGN FRAGMENTATION?
F IC TI ON

173. DESIGN FRAGMENTATION?
ON
DOES THIS MATTER?
F IC TI

174. http://orainteractive.com/2012/06/understanding-mobile-ui-patterns/

175. Commonplace means familiar, and for your
audience, familiarity leads to efficiency and
ease (...) Novices in particular benefit from
interfaces that use icons and controls they’ve
seen elsewhere.
Tapworthy - Designing Great iPhone apps, J. Clark

176. There is a confusing and frustrating array of
hardware, software, apps, websites, etc (...)
using them is burdensome (...) the diversity of
them (...) is already problematic (...) So I see
whatever will simplify and unify our activities
as being popular.
The Future of Apps and Web, Pew Internet
http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2012/Future-of-Apps-and-Web/Overview.aspx

177. We are only three decades into one of the
most important revolutions the world has
ever seen. In design development terms, that
is a mere blink.
The Mobile Frontier, R. Hinman

178. the history of mobile has been a long, painful
process of copying desktop computers and
then sheepishly realizing that is just doesn’t
quite work right.
S. Jenson - http://designmind.frogdesign.com/blog/mobile-apps-must.die.html

179. In light of all the statistical data and anecdotal
evidence, it may be difficult to believe that
anything is limiting the potential of mobile
technology. But there is one limiting factor: it’s
our fixation with the desktop paradigm and
its graphical user interface.
The Mobile Frontier, R. Hinman

180. WHY IS IT HAPPENING?

181. lockdown was the direction a visionary Steve
Jobs (...) first took with the iPhone. (...) These
technologies can let geeky outsiders build
upon them just as they could with PCs, but in
a highly controlled and contingent way (...)
software written by outsiders that must be
approved by and funneled through Apple.
The Future of the Internet, J. Zittrain

182. When your task is designing an operating
system, you are not focusing on interaction
innovation: all your energies are going into
other things ....
... mainly creating a coherent interaction
framework, protecting your users, and giving
third-party developers the tools they need.

183. Companies build phones that the carriers ask
for instead of taking risks and testing new
concepts (...) The result is a collection of
handsets that are fairly homogenous from a
small number of brands.
http://theverge.com/2012/7/5/3138711/five-years-after-the-iphone-carriers-are-the-biggest-
threat-to-innovation-editorial

184. There’s a lull in the industry right now (...) If
anything, Apple has an interest in maintaining
the status quo. So does everyone else.
http://www.mobileindustryreview.com/2012/05/the-facebook-phone-why-its-good-news-for-the-industry.html

185. with every new smartphone subscription we
take another tiny but discrete step towards a
networked world dominated by powerful
corporations that can (...) control the speed
of technological innovation to a pace that is
convenient for them rather than determined
by the creativity of hackers and engineers.
http://guardian.co.uk/technology/2012/jun/03/john-naughton-smartphone-revolution-cost

186. disruption in mobile design
will not come from the
companies designing the OS

187. disruption in mobile design
must come from third party
services

188. disruption in mobile design
must come from third party
services or might not come
at all.

189. 4 billion
unique mobile phone users
The State of the Union blog for Mobile Industry - all the stats and facts for 2012, T. Ahonen http://goo.gl/M0oyV