Top-6 Cross-Platform Mobile App Development Tools

This article will provide you with the information on six the most useful tools for multi-platform mobile development that can make developers’ lives easier and save their precious time.

1. Xamarin 2.0

Xamarin 2.0 is a commercial product that allows using .Net framework as well as multi-paradigm programming language C#. It offers a unique opportunity for developers to write cross-platform applications in C # with support for popular desktop and mobile platforms.

Primary qualities of the Xamarin 2.0 are:

• C# for writing the apps for Android and iOs
• Visual Studio and all its plugins including ReSharper, NUnit testing…
• Graphic editor for Android
• Xamarin Studio that is similar to Visual Studio but is accessible for Mac as well.

Ubertesters SDK for Xamarin is available. See the documentation.

2. PhoneGap (also famous as Apache Cordova)

PhoneGap is an OpenSourse platform that allows developing the application for mobile devices using HTML, JavaScript and CSS.

This tool has the following specific features:

• Gives free access to a whole library of plugins that can be used by developers.
• Gives the opportunity to work with various HTML5 storages
• Don’t require any special development skills as for writing apps for a specific platform. You write your application in JavaScript, using HTML and CSS for layout. Mobile application is written as a regular website or a web service.
• Free applications builder for all devices in one click.
• Enables developers to write mobile applications without knowing native languages, just using HTML5 or JavaScript.

Ubertesters SDK for Cordova is available. See the documentation.

3. Appcelerator Titanium

Appcelerator Titanium is a special framework and development system.

It has the following specialties:

• It is based on the standard web technologies such as HTML5, CSS and JavaScript.
• All functionality can be developed on familiar dynamic languages: Ruby, PHP and JavaScript
• All necessary files: graphic, styles, HTML-pages and other recourses are included in this project.
• API with the possibility of linking all languages together. This enables the developer to write on the language he or she knows best and then to link them together.

Ubertesters SDK for Appcelerator is available. See the documentation.

4. RhoMobile suite

RhoMobile suite is a multifunctional cross-forming platform framework with initial open code. It was developed by Motorola in October 2008. This is one of the best products for writing broad-ranging applications that vary from home production that uses only access to the hardware component of the device to serious multifunctional enterprise products.

It is widely used for writing native applications for numerous mobile devices and possesses the following qualities:

• Usage of Ruby language that allows applications to be compatible with multiple platforms.
• An open code that can be edited or changed when it is necessary
• The possibility of cooperation with such devices as camera and GPS with the help of JavaScript
• Creating applications is based on a browser with the help of RhoHub.

5. Unity

Unity is a tool for the development of 2D and 3D applications and games. This tool is widely used by the developers of indie-games due to its free version, intuitive friendly interface and simplicity of the work with engine.

Let’s name some of its basic features:

• The engine supports three scripting languages: C#, JavaScript (modification) and Boo that is dialect of Python language)
• Has simple Drag&Drop interface, consisting of various windows. It enables the developer to debug it in the editor
• Supports DirectX 11 and HDR
• Unity editor has components for the animation creation but it is possible to create image in the 3D editor and then to import it with the model and then to split it into several files.

Ubertesters SDK for Unity is available. See the documentation.

6. Sencha touch

Sencha touch is the first HTML5 framework for the development of mobile applications. Is written on JavaScript and can be run on Android, Blackberry and iOS devices.

A few words about sencha touch features:

• Works for almost all webkit browsers such as Safari, Opera and Chrome
• Allows the developers to create applications that are based on HTML5 for Android, iOS and Windows
• Can be used by web-designers for creation of user interface.

There are a lot of mobile app development tools nowadays. They all have their own special features and specialties but the main purpose of the developers is to find those ones that work perfectly for them, that save a great amount of their time and help to create a quality product.