Xamarin has announced that Mono for Android, its open-source version of Microsoft’s .Net framework for programming in Microsoft’s C# language, is now available for Android 4.0. It will also allow developers to code for apps that will run natively on Ice Cream Sandwich devices, as well as other Android tablets including the Amazon Kindle and the Samsung Galaxy Tab.
The iPad is limited because it doesn't use an 'open' developer environment, Microsoft platform project manager Brandon Watson has said in an interview. He believes that iPhone, iPod and now iPad developers aren't making money because they can only write to a single platform and can't necessarily build what they want with the available toolkit. To him, .NET is superior to the iPhone's Objective C since it's more often used and can be used to write across both computers and Windows Mobile.
Windows Mobile 7, possibly known as Windows Phone 7, could represent a complete break from version 6 if a scoop this evening bears fruit. A developer claims that the new OS is a complete break and mimics that of the Zune HD with phone elements put in. Microsoft's services would run deep and would include not only Xbox Live gaming and social services but even an app store with an "easy" approval process would be onboard.
Through its open-source Mono Project, Novell has released MonoTouch 1.0, a software development kit for the iPhone and iPod touch. The SDK allows programming apps within Microsoft's .NET framework, which incorporates languages such as C#. Most iPhone development is handled using C and Objective-C, which Novell notes will necessarily exclude many people working with .NET.
