It’s no surprise that when it comes to mobile app development, there’s more demand for iPhone projects than anything else. However, an analysis of freelance development projects suggests Android might take the crown in 2011.
Freelance work exchange Freelancer.com recently conducted an analysis of project types posted on its site for its Freelancer Fast 50 listing. While there’s a range of tech figures included in that calculation, I was particularly struck by the mobile app development figures.
The site listed 6,890 iPhone projects and 2,656 iPad projects, giving iOS a clear lead over Android (2,813), BlackBerry (1,702) and Nokia (880). Windows Phone 7 didn’t make the list, presumably in part due to its late appearance in the calendar year.
While the absolute numbers give it a clear advantage, the 182% growth rate in iPhone projects was slower than all of its rivals: Android was up 501%, BlackBerry was up 446%, and Nokia effectively reappeared from nowehere with a growth rate of 8700%. (As you’d expect from those percentage figures, the previous year had very lower numbers.) Based on current trends, Freelancer.com is predicting that Android will become a bigger category than iPhone, though not necessarily larger than iOS overall once iPad is taken into account.
One sleeper to note: while the number of Flash projects declined, at 13,748, it still outstrips every other mobile category (and is only around 1,000 less than the total of all those categories added together.)
Picture by The US Army
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