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Tablet pc age is coming: How will it affect developers?

Everyone is telling that tablet pc age is coming. We began to hear these voices two years ago. Once upon a time, when people were saying that i never leave off my desktop pc, they changed their old friends with notebooks, which matched desktop pc's as technology evolve. Such that, desktop pc's remains with overclock lovers or in offices. Desktop pc manufacturers are moving their factories because of falling demands.¹ Mobility became one of the factors which affects people's choices or it's just emerged now that it's one. New motto of the economic man: Choose cheaper though more quality and more mobile one.

In April 2010, with Apple's first launch of iPad², a tablet pc trend started to conquer everywhere. Other big players like Dell understood that they can't win anything against Apple's successful device as just launching imitations of it and began to fasten their production to create a difference. Meanwhile in the China, dozens of imitations was created and started to sold such as prices $90-$100. Sales of these Chinese and other large and small players was 25 percent of total tablet pc sales. Remaining 75% was belong to Apple.³

These 25 percent has a property. Most of the devices in that percent are using Android operating system developed by Google for mobile devices. Maybe the most important feature of the Android OS is that the tools available by Google which encourage developers to produce for this platform and android application market which makes possible these products delivered to all android users paid or free.

If we look over what we wrote until now, we emphasize two things about our main subject. With their little touchscreens, the tablet pc’s and android market. Let's add smart phones which has smaller screens, near to tablets (It's beneficial to mention that Apple's iPhone leading these). Near Android Market, let's put Apple's application distribution channel App Store and chrome web store which created by Google for applications running in browsers. And somewhere in there, the Chrome OS.

Tablet PCs
Smartphones
Android Market
Apple App Store
Chrome Web Store
Chrome OS

All of these are signs of a new age is also coming for web developers. As these devices are becoming to widespread, the mass can be reached with these devices and the channels connected to them also growing. So, you're already developing your web sites, applications, projects for large screens. What happen if you don't mind the little screens? You would not just fall behind the age and missed a train once more, also lack the interest of one third of the online users in 2015.⁴ Plus, you wouldn't benefit from smart web site and company owners when they want to optimize their web sites for these masses.

Items in list;

a. Tablet pc’s and smartphones: This devices that don't have usual input interfaces and viewport means the web sites will be developed for small screen and touch-operated interaction. The tools we're going to use here is not changing, they are still web's language html, web's style css and web's behavior javascript. But using patterns of these are changing.

b. Android Market and App Store: It means that mobile versions of the software we're using on normal pc's (desktops and notebooks), which’s one foot is on the servers(¿) will developed and applications that appeared with mobile platforms become more widespread. The tools that used here are way different than the tools used by a classic web developer. Both Apple and Google seems working on to increase the amount of language choices can be used. The most popular programming language for Apple's mobile operating system is Objective C. For Android, it's Java. Heading into this area for a classic html/css/javascript + server side language oriented web developer means a course change.

c. Chrome Web Store: It means web applications begin to be free from the restrictions of browsers, which are one of the most hostile developing platforms. Browsers were improved very well and everyone has started to add something to their web site's behavior layer as javascript libraries become mature. Now you can run these web sites and applications in a browser like a desktop software. And you can do this editing a few lines of code with the system designed by Google. There is no change the tools are used here. This is something what encourages developers to make their web sites richer and interactive. The data produced online is continuing to double; the similar sites are coming upon us like tsunami waves. I think that we've to work for make our sites as richer as projects allow, to catch attraction like a surfer on these tsunami waves. This is a changing progress. And Chrome Web Store platform is a step in something internet becoming a fully graphical interface with maximum interactivity like we saw in movies in old times.

d. Chrome OS: It's Google's internet based operating system. Aside it will be successful or not, it shortly means mobility and future's "desktop" programmers will be web developers.

25 March 2011 Friday