<p>[quote user="Lythande"]I would love a real mail application for my web-capable phone.  And no, it isn't an iPhone.  That's one thing that ticks me off about this new-age tech:  Everyone is trying to develop apps for the iPhone, but seem to forget that Apple isn't the only one putting out phones with access to more than just communication.[/quote]</p><p> </p><p>Developers don't forget what's available to them.  It's merely a question of what's most feasible and most lucrative to work with.  Look at some of the data for use:</p><p>http://metrics.admob.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/AdMob-Mobile-Metrics-Oct-09.pdf</p><p>Or see here --  "<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 20px; ">Apple iPhone takes up 50% of the Total Global Data Traffic":</span></p><p>http://www.stockwatch.in/apple-iphone-takes-50-total-global-data-traffic-24129 </p><p>The device (or device[I]s[/I], rather since the iPod Touch is also important) are paradigms of good design and hence highly attractive to users.  Thus there's a large pool of users -- a big market.  But it's not just that: Objective-C, the Cocoa Touch APIs, and XCode are very nice for developers to work with:</p><p>http://developer.apple.com/technology/cocoa.html</p><p>Most other phones out there are using Java (as opposed to Objective-C).  The APIs are doubtless in some cases good (though probably not as good as Cocoa Touch).  And there are plenty of Java developers around.  Also, Java is theoretically a write-once-run-anywhere thing.  However, in practice, a developer might need to tweak his application to get it to look right and run well on different models -- even those from the same manufacturer.</p><p>The developers targeting the iPhone have it easier, because they don't have to write to a range of devices with different hardware components, different screen resolutions, and so on.  Many makers are bringing out anything up to 10 phones a year.  Apple is working on a small range of devices and a slow release of new hardware.  Users' operating-system software is also going to show little variation, because updating of that -- not done at all by many users of other devices -- is easily done [I]via[/I] the iTunes software, and most users do do it.</p><p>So if a developer writes something that runs on the iPhone/iPod Touch, then it'll run on every (or virtually every) one out there.</p><p>That's just not the case elsewhere.  There are forums where people exchange notes of which applications will and which won't run on their particular Android phone!  Some of these phones run version 1.5 of the Android OS; some version 2.  The hardware varies.  Some makers have added or disabled functionality.  Some come with the Google apps; some don't.  There's nothing consistent for developers to write to.</p><p>Add to that that the iTunes Store gives developers easy access to a way to get their applications in front of users' eyes.</p><p>It's not that developers have forgotten anything.  It's that they know their business.</p><p>[quote]I have an LG600G, but no email app.  Web-mail is possible, but doesn't allow me to attach files (like pics) from my phone storage (which is weird, I know).  I know David is busy enough with the full-version Pegasus Mail, not to mention Mercury, but I also know there are lots of programmers in this group.[/quote]</p><p>I don't know the phone, but applications for it are probably written in Java.  That's true for most phones.  The iPhone is an exception; so is the Palm Pre, whose apps are like little web widgets.  (And I think there are some phones that can use a cut-down version of Gtk.)  With everything else it's Java.</p><p>Now Pegasus Mail is written in C.   David would have to re-write the program in Java -- and in a special version suitable for the size of the storage available for programs on the phone and appropriate to the interface of the device.  I should imagine that would be a horrendous amount of work for anyone.  But the program wouldn't necessarily run on the next phone LG brings out, let alone on anything from another maker ...</p><p>I just don't think it would happen.</p>

I would love a real mail application for my web-capable phone.  And no, it isn't an iPhone.  That's one thing that ticks me off about this new-age tech:  Everyone is trying to develop apps for the iPhone, but seem to forget that Apple isn't the only one putting out phones with access to more than just communication.  I have an LG600G, but no email app.  Web-mail is possible, but doesn't allow me to attach files (like pics) from my phone storage (which is weird, I know).  I know David is busy enough with the full-version Pegasus Mail, not to mention Mercury, but I also know there are lots of programmers in this group.