AppForge Adds Device Support

[Andy Sjostrom]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.appforge.com/corp/press/2003/092303-mobilevb4.html' target='_blank'>http://www.appforge.com/corp/press/...-mobilevb4.html</a><br /><br /></div>AppForge's MobileVB version 4.0 was recently announced adding support for Palm OS 5 and Nokia Series 60 devices. Pocket PC and earlier Palm OS devices have been supported since a long time. Companies and developers looking for cross platform development tools and languages might find what they are looking for with this package. Personally, I am hesitant to all cross platform development approaches in general and in the mobile device industry in particular. Look and feel, correct use of user interface elements and efficient design are critical aspects in mobile application development. Cross platform tools have a tendency to take a least common denominator approach hurting richer device platforms. That said, I am impressed with AppForge's success and the fact that so many use it is a testimony in and by itself. It would be nice to hear from anyone out there with personal experience from AppForge MobileVB!<br /><br />"Introducing free runtime licenses will significantly increase the uptake of the Booster, making it an even more attractive solution for applications developers as well as increasing the availability of compelling applications for consumers,” says Ulf Wretling, Director Sony Ericsson Developer Program. The device additions and licensing changes we are making to MobileVB product line will enable in-house system developers and system integrators to target more mobile devices,” said Gary Warren, CEO of AppForge. “Enterprise organizations can confidently standardize on any leading mobile device. Similarly, software developers can maximize their profits by deploying applications on multiple devices."

[Dom]

I've been testing the Beta for AppForge and to be totally conservative, it is absolutely awesome ! To write an app for Sony P800 after writing a Pocket PC one you just change the form size then use "Deploy to P800". Compare that with a 3 month rewrite if you are using Microsoft .NET ! Same for Nokia 3650, 6600, NGage, Siemens SX1, 9210,9110,Palm 4, Palm 5 etc etc. So say 20 * 3 Months can be done in a week :0) Now, even better, my Nokia 3650 ( a cheap and chearful phone) is TONS FASTER running AppForge stuff than identical Microsoft .NET stuff. Then there are the smaller runtimes. It's a cheaper dev kit too and eVB to AppForge is a breeze as AppForge is a VB6 plugin.
If you haven't looked at AppForge you're mad ! These guys made me so much money since January I bought an Italian supercar and a house with 15 bedrooms etc and got so lazy I almost quit coding ! Unmissable ! Of course if you always want to work for somebody else stick with .NET :wink:

Dom

[kdross]

I have been developing with AppForge MobileVB since the beta for version 1. While it's early days were rocky, MobileVB is now a very mature compiler (has been since 3.0).

While it is a common belief that cross-platform development takes the lowest common demoninator as far as capabilities and UI, if done correctly (ie: separate your UI and business logic), you can develop the same application for different devices using different UI designs for each, but still maintain the exact same core logic.

You also have the ability to actually take the lowest common denominator, which allows developers to rapidly expand their potential customers. For example, my commercial application Distributor Go http://www.distributorgo.com was originally written solely for Palm OS (it was originally developed with the AppForge 1 beta, which was Palm OS-only).

When AppForge MobileVB started supporting Pocket PC, all I had to do was write code to resize and scale the screens automatically (I did create two new forms to take advantage of the bigger PPC screen), wrote a sync application to synchronize the PDBs (yes... I use Palm-style PDBs on both the Palm and PPC versions), and instantly... I had expanded my potential sales.

AppForge used to charge $10 per runtime... which was a HUGE problem for commercial app developers like myself. They have now stopped that practice (with the exception of the Symbol brands of Palm and PPC barcode scanner-equipped handhelds... they still charge for those).

I am a firm beleiver in AppForge MobileVB. For rapid development across multiple platforms, nothing else beats it.

[Scott R]

I'd love to play with this, but the $900 price is prohibitive, especially considering you would have already paid quite a bit for the VB6 package (though someone told me that all you really need is the VB6 learning edition). It's good to see that they've dropped the runtime charge for the PPC. They never charged for the Palm OS runtime, and it always seemed insane to me that they would charge for the PPC version.

Dom, how big are each of the runtimes? I would think that the Nokia 3650 could be a problem since it doesn't have a lot of runtime memory and the Appforge runtime (Booster) was always considered to be kind of fat.

Scott

[Dom]

Runtime is smaller than .NET one but it's still takes a lot out of my 3650. Thing is you get soundtracks, sprites and stuff with AppForge which are missing in .NET. You also get built in database bits n bobs which have to be installed separately when using .NET. Then there is the user friendly aspect (this is the most important to me personally ) - one click install packages are created and I have never ever had one fail.
Hmm ... I don't know why I am saying so many good things about it as the less competition from all you coders the better :0)
Dom
PS eVB to .NET upgrade is $1000 or more isn't it ? AppForge upgrades are about $200 and they always have heaps of goodies. Anybody care to guess how many units the 3650/6600/NGage/SX1 will sell between them - a big market for sure.
PPS I have 9 apps I wrote on my 3650 just now and they all run great. I thought the lack of a stylus would be a problem but I now realise just how much you can do with just a pad and two buttons !