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Are there any dedicated mobile programming machines? Basically what the nook is to reading. Do you guys think anyone would use it, and what would be the difficulties of using and creating it?

I am not sure exactly what you mean. Do you mean like a tablet that is designed specifically for mobile development?

If so, then a Windows 8 tablet, even the smaller, lower-cost ones like the Dell Venue 8 Pro can be used for Android and Windows Phone development. As portable as iOS development gets right now is the Mac Book Air. These aren't designed specifically for mobile development, but as with most x86 architecture machines, they are flexible and can be configured for any use you like.

Regardless, it would have to be an x86 machine and not an ARM, since the tools to create mobile apps aren't available on ARM.

Jackolantern wrote:I am not sure exactly what you mean. Do you mean like a tablet that is designed specifically for mobile development?

If so, then a Windows 8 tablet, even the smaller, lower-cost ones like the Dell Venue 8 Pro can be used for Android and Windows Phone development. As portable as iOS development gets right now is the Mac Book Air. These aren't designed specifically for mobile development, but as with most x86 architecture machines, they are flexible and can be configured for any use you like.

Regardless, it would have to be an x86 machine and not an ARM, since the tools to create mobile apps aren't available on ARM.

oh, no. I meant something along the lines of a tablet/phone specifically for development, with compilers and IDEs and SDKs and the like, maybe even with a physically keyboard.

I am not really sure a solid one could be made. There are so many tools for development, and those tools change so fast and so regularly, it would be hard to nail down a focused development machine. Devs are probably better off just getting an x86 tablet (again, like the Dell Venue 8 Pro I linked above) and a wireless keyboard for mobile development.

Jackolantern wrote:I am not really sure a solid one could be made. There are so many tools for development, and those tools change so fast and so regularly, it would be hard to nail down a focused development machine. Devs are probably better off just getting an x86 tablet (again, like the Dell Venue 8 Pro I linked above) and a wireless keyboard for mobile development.

Yeah, this makes sense. I can imagine someone spending 5 years making a mobile programmer and the difficulties it would be when released

It would pretty much have to be an open x86 tablet to begin with, since the tools used could be completely changed from the time you move from testing to distribution.