App makers – do you create apps for iOS before Android? And how much of your resources would be devoted to Windows Phone?  When you’re making a business of mobile app development, these are just two very important questions you must ask yourself and your team, even before development begins.

To gain a better understanding of the goals and factors app makers must consider when developing a mobile service, VisionMobile commissioned the largest global developer survey, with more than 6,000 respondents coming from 115 countries, to track the state of mobile ecosystems, developer mindshare, monetization trends, revenue models and developer tools.

The survey discovered that though developing apps for iOS and Android are both profitable, pulling monthly app revenue of $5,200 and $4,700, respectively, some developers are considering to start developing for Windows Phone.

The survey revealed that Android, iOS and HTML5 are the top three platforms chosen by developers across all the regions where the survey was conducted.  In North America, 67 percent of developers use Android, 62 percent on iOS, and 55 percent on HTML5.

But what affects a developer’s decision when choosing which platform they want to develop apps for?

The survey revealed that three main things affect developer choice, and that is Speed and cost of development, revenue potential, and the ability to reach target consumer.

Developers choose Android because it is faster and cheaper to develop apps for this platform, but if they want bigger revenue, they’d opt for iOS.

“One thing that this report highlighted was that … Android is an easier base-level platform for developers to learn and introduce themselves to, especially if they’re new to mobile development,” Kristen Nicole, SiliconANGLE Senior Managing Editor, explains.

She added that Mozilla’s Firefox OS may have an edge over other platforms as it is able to extend accessibility for mobile web development to developers that are not mobile-centric or have yet to fully shift into this market.

“Experience and education seems to have an impact on which platform a developer may approach.  First, iOS takes a little bit more training, something similar could be said for Windows Phone.  There are certainly still several factors that could impact a developer’s choice,” Kristen concluded.

For more of Kristen’s Breaking Analysis, check out the NewsDesk video below:

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