The iPad App Wave

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A week prior to Apple’s launch, Appcelerator, the leading platform for rapidly developing native mobile and desktop – and now Tablet applications – using web technologies, conducted a survey of 554 of its 18,000 developers to determine their interest and plans in developing applications for Apple’s “newest creation”. Below are the findings, analysis, and conclusions of this survey. Download the full report to see what these findings mean for end users, individual developers, businesses, ISVs, brands, and interactive agencies.

Overwhelming Interest from Developers

Why this is significant: Appcelerator developers come from a uniquely broad background. There is balanced representation from iPhone and Android developers on the mobile side and PC, Mac, and Linux developers on the desktop side. Appcelerator has a global audience that splits 52 percent in North America, 33 percent in Europe, and 15 percent in other countries. As well, individual developers represent 46% of respondents, while 54% work in businesses. 90% interest in developing applications for a new platform indicates overwhelming support across a broad spectrum of developer backgrounds and interests.

Significant Mindshare vs. Other, More Established Platforms

Apple iPad Vaults to Third Most Popular Platform

Why this is significant: The Apple / Google race continues, while everyone else struggles to catch up. Google will introduce netbooks later this year, indicating that 2010 will be a race for cross-platform supremacy.

Beyond Gaming Applications

Why this is significant: Games have held the top spot since the launch of the iPhone. While no one doubts they’ll continue to be a hot seller, it is notable that new categories rank so highly. Some respondents wrote that with a rumored built-in camera, the Apple iPad could spur new growth in video conferencing and video social networking. Many developers see the classroom as a huge opportunity, while the larger screen interested others in business scenarios, especially in the areas of finance and medical applications.

Top 5 Features Developers Are Interested In

Why this is significant: Tablet skeptics frequently mention that the form factor (lack of keyboard, redundancy with a laptop, etc) represents a limiting factor for the device. What this indicates is that we may see developers putting the combination of new features together to create novel new applications. With multitasking and wireless networking will come an explosion in messaging apps that break free of the iPhone’s prior limitations of a single application only being able to run in the foreground. Multi-touch gestures and a new native Tablet interface will give rise to new ways to share and interact with media or learning applications. Expect immediate and massive experimentation with these new capabilities to create more engaging, tactile, and connected experiences that sit between the extended use case of desktop/laptop applications and the immediate gratification use case of mobile.