A mobile software development primer

The key point to remember when developing software for any mobile platform, such as a cell phone or tablet, is that every resource is at a premium. The device is smaller, meaning:

• Your user will pay less attention to your application and use it for shorter periods of time
• The screen is smaller, so you can display less information on the display (don't be fooled by the high dot pitch of today's displays; reading a six-point font on a four-inch display is no fun, high pixel densities or not.)
• The processor and graphics processing unit are slower
• There's less RAM and less graphics memory
• There's less persistent storage for your application's data
• The network is slower, by as much as three orders of magnitude

Let's take a look at each of these in more detail.

User attention is at a premium

Can you walk and chew gum at the same time? I can't, but many people walk, chew gum, and use their mobile devices at the same time (worse, some...