A new survey of mobile app developers by Appcelerator and IDC found that Amazon’s new Kindle Fire edged out Samsung Galaxy Tab as the leading Android Tablet in North America. Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 also moved ahead of RIM’s BlackBerry operating system for third place behind iOS and Android. RIM’s displacement follows the successful release of the Mango update for Windows Phone and the public announcement of the first wave of devices from the Microsoft/Nokia partnership.
A few highlights from the survey include:
- “iOS continues to reign at number one in developer interest levels with 91% of respondents saying they are ‘very interested’ in developing for the iPhone, followed by the iPad at 88%.
- “Android phones fell nearly 4 points to 83% while tablets fell nearly 6 points to 68%.”
- “Windows Phone 7 separated from the pack to become the clear number three mobile platform this quarter. The OS climbed 8 points to 38% of respondents saying they are ‘very interested’ in the platform, the highest ever for Microsoft.”
- “This quarter saw a sharp fall-off in developers reporting that they are ‘very interested’ in RIM offerings with BlackBerry OS phones dropping 7 points to 21% and PlayBook QNX-based tablets dropping 6 points to 13%.”
And it looks like Amazon’s Kindle Fire might be able to break away from a crowded field of Android tablets. According the survey, 49% of North American developers are “very interested” in the developing apps for the Kindle Fire, “just 4 points less than interest in the iPad (53%) prior to its launch in April 2010.”
Read more at ZDNet.
