Windows Mobile Viewed as the Best Hobbyist Mobile Development Platform

"This is something I have been thinking for a while so here it goes. This is a list of platforms I know of and my choice of what makes sense for a hobbyist programmer like me. Let me first list down all the possible platforms and then list down the pros and cons that I feel are associated with each platform. ... I never thought that Windows Mobile would take the pie, but for a hobbyist programmer they offer the best SDK's and you can make applications without worrying about certificates while testing and debugging. With a windows mobile one really feels in control, if you want to screw up your mobile device its really upto you. One rarely feels tied down the API's are clean and functional. Getting your first demo program onto the device takes a few seconds. It just makes sense to develop for windows mobile."

Vivek Jishtu took the time to look at almost all the mobile development platforms from the hobbyist perspective, and has arrived at the conclusion that Windows Mobile is the best. I agree with all the reasons Vivek has listed for liking Windows Mobile. But the one thing that bugs me and I think prevents the proliferation of the platform among hobbyist is - Visual Studio 2005 Standard edition or above is required to develop software for mobile devices, this developer tool is not free. Wish Microsoft would release an Express edition for Windows Mobile development. The only consolation is that Visual Studio is available as a Trial download.