Survey: Android to usurp iOS as top development platform with 12 months

Google's (NASDAQ:GOOG) Android is poised to eclipse Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL) iOS as the mobile operation system most important to the developer community according to independent technology analyst Ovum's second annual Developer Insights survey.

Android and iOS combined to power 88.7 percent of all smartphones sold to U.S. consumers during the fourth quarter of 2011, according to data published last week by Nielsen. Android made up 51.7 percent of sales during the fourth quarter period, followed by iOS at 37.0 percent. Ovum found that while Android is gaining in importance among developers, most respondents are building apps for both platforms.

Ovum also notes increasing developer interest in Microsoft's (NASDAQ:MSFT) Windows Phone and Research In Motion's (NASDAQ:RIMM) BlackBerry. "The growing momentum behind Windows Phone indicates that Microsoft has managed to convince developers that its platform is worthy of investment; its challenge now is to persuade consumers," said Ovum devices and platforms practice leader Adam Leach in a statement.

Developers have moved on from fading operating systems like Windows Mobile, Symbian and webOS as well as traditional cross-platform mobile application development approaches like Java and Flash, Ovum states. At the same time, developers are embracing emerging cross-platform opportunities, with an emphasis on web-based standards like HTML5. Most still favor deploying their apps via vendor-specific distribution channels like Apple's App Store and Google's Android Market, believing they represent the best opportunity for reaching the largest possible audience.

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