Looking for write once deploy across multiple platforms, is there such a thing? Also looking for an tools that would help speed up mobile development, OSX/Linux based preferred.
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A:
No, there really isn't such a thing. There are some tools that are out or upcoming (Unity3D, Flash CS5, MonoTouch, etc) that allow you to share substantial amounts of code between mobile platforms, but if you want to write once and deploy you will end up with a pretty poor app.
The big issue is the devices are wildly different. Some have accelerometers, some don't. Some have hard keyboard, some have soft keyboard, some are multitouch capable, some are not. They range for 64MB to 256MB of ram, their CPUs vary wildly, and their screen sizes and resolutions are highly variable. The interface you design for multitouch with a 480x320 screen is completely differen than what you design for a pressure sensitive (stylus) based device with a 320x240 screen.
Even if you are only looking at Android you really need to tune your interface for many different devices (on iPhone it is a bit simpler because there are only a few different devices and their capabilities/features are fairly similiar).
Louis Gerbarg
2009-11-18 17:50:18