Speedflirt for Android, a study of porting a mobile application and its effects on user experience

Smartphones have become increasingly popular and sales numbers from the third quarter of2010 report that an estimated 80.5 million smartphones were sold worldwide. With this, theaftermarket for smartphone applications has grown explosively and the applications havebecome a part of the user's everyday life. As companies want their mobile applications toreach a broader audience the demand for cross-platform applications is increasing.This master thesis was conducted at The Mobile Life in Gamla Stan, Stockholm, withthe objective of porting an iPhone application called Speed irt to the Android platform.Speed irt is a location based mobile dating application developed by Speed irt Pte Ltd andpromoted by Metro Sweden.This thesis investigates the techniques and frameworks that are currently available fordevelopment of cross-platform mobile applications, identifying the most suitable techniquefor porting Speed irt; furthermore, the eects of porting Speed irt between the platformswas investigated with respect to how the user experience was aected.The result of this thesis is a ported version of Speed irt available on the Android Market;furthermore a set of guidelines aimed at the preservation of user experience during portingis presented in this thesis report.