Software Developers,

I've been building Java Enterprise Apps for a while now and am kinda bored. Am thinking of moving into mobile apps as a job and/or extracurricular activity. I know a few people selling mobile apps but no one working as a contractor or FTE in this field. Anyone here have experiences to share? Is it a good field to get into? Lucrative? Any tips for getting up to speed on mobile development? Online resources/tutorials? I know next to nothing about mobile dev; all I've done so far is install Android SDK in Eclipse IDE and do an Android hello world. I don't have a Mac :-)

By the way have any of you checked out Corona, it looks pretty sweet as a cross-platform mobile dev platform:

http://www.anscamobile.com/corona/

Jimmy

The iPhone market generally has better money for developers; Android market is fragmented and more squirrley. It can be a tough market. Everyone is trying to do the next Angry Birds. The standard mobile game startup model seems to be $2.5M for 18 months to run the team, after which you're either a success or you get shut down. There's a lot of competition from free apps, and success if you get it can be transient. It's an intensely competitive market.

Enterprise IOS/Android could be big eventually. Dunno if the enterprise will just do web-based applications running on mobile devices instead of custom apps, though.

The barriers to entry are near zero. If you want to get started, do an app and put it up on the app store. You'll learn something and see what it's all about, and maybe start developing a name for yourself.

The money right now is concentrated in three areas: games, in-house enterprise dev, and boutique job shops that will build apps for others for a fee.   It will be harder to make money with Android - certainly doable, just harder.    iOS devices generate more revenue, but are a bit more expensive to get started with (i.e.  gotta buy the Mac).  

If you're really interested in doing this full time, check with corps like MutualMobile, Modis, MentorMate, etc. and look at their job postings.   They all seem to be hiring.