I started developing mobile applications about 8 years ago - on an Orange SPV Classic (made by HTC, an unknown company back then). The operating system was called Smartphone 2002 (based on Pocket PC 2002). It was a big thrill and challenge for me, coming from the desktop environment. The first application I made was Caller2Picture, where you could assign a picture to a contact (I know, this is basic stuff right now - every phone has it). It was a Pocket PC Magazine finalist :)

Year after year, I developed software (as a contractor) for major companies, such as O2, Vodafone, Dangaard Telecom and so on. The Windows Mobile platform allows great fine tuning and corporate lock-down applications... I soon discovered the OS behind Windows Mobile, Windows CE (or Windows Embedded CE or Windows Embedded Compact). I also did some work at the OS level, for example vehicle tracking systems. I still have an eBox 2600 Embedded PC running my own customized version of Windows Embedded CE 6, which I use as a file server :)

But it's time to move on. Microsoft's lack of vision and commitment on the mobile segment has let me down. Their Mobile Marketplace is expensive, a few countries are supported and Windows Mobile has less interest than ever. They announced Windows Phone 7, we'll see how that goes.

A few months ago I decided to give Android a shot. I didn't work in Java until then, but I did work in C#. Switching was a breeze. Eclipse is at least as powerful as Visual Studio, so I had a short learning curve. The OS is great (it still needs some polishing here and there), but compared to Windows Mobile, where you could do basically everything if you had the proper permissions, it's really limited. As a developer, you're not allowed to switch GPS off and on, for example. The user has to do it manually. I find this a bit limiting in regards to the type of apps you can develop, for example corporate lock-down applications and so on. But I guess the OS is primarily aimed at end-users.

Anyhow, long story short, monocube.com will now focus on Android apps for a while. I won't forget about Windows Phone - I'll have another look when it's final. And Microsoft finds out that other countries also have developers (actually, the same story is for Google :)).

See you soon with my first Android app.