Another huge difference between the iPhone OS and Android is the development cycle. I don’t know Objective C but I can’t imagine that it is easier to write applications in than Java and if the truth be told when I was looking through the documentation for Objective C it gave me a headache. From a career standpoint, it doesn’t make any sense for me to learn a language that I see as proprietary… it’s the same reason I don’t code in Visual Basic or J++. I CAN learn to do it if I want… because almost all object oriented programming languages share the same basic principles… it’s only a matter of learning syntax (which can be helped by syntax hinting in most good IDE’s). This brings us to a possibly revealing announcement yesterday from Layar that has shocked alot of people.

Amsterdam, June 2nd 2010. Today Layar introduces a new way to browse with the latest Layar Reality Browser (version 3.5). The rapid growth of content within Layar increases the need for real time location based search. With the new version of the browser users can now easily discover and experience Augmented Reality without the need to enter a search query or open a specific layer. Users will immediately see the most interesting content nearby whenever they open the Layar Reality Browser, taking Augmented Reality from novelty to utility.

What’s interesting about this announcement is that if you visit their site and read the press release you find this:

Layar Reality Browser version 3.5 with Stream Technology is available now for download in the Android Market. The iPhone release will be available soon.

So basically, they have released the Android version but not an iPhone version yet… since the release is merely an update for an application that is already on the iPhone apps market they don’t have to wait for approval… so that leads to the speculation that seems logical. It’s easier to develop applications for Android and they released the application that was completed while they are continuing development on the iPhone version. What do you think happened?

Layar’s Reality Browser revolutionizes mobile content discovery, by simply presenting the most interesting mobile content based on a user’s location & preferences. When launching the Layar Reality Browser users will be presented with a dynamic list of the most interesting content at their location. The list is sorted by time, location, proximity, popularity and preferences. The benefit of a list is that discovery is now possible without the need to hold the device up. It lowers the threshold to find interesting content, encouraging daily use.

About Layar
Layar is the world’s leading Augmented Reality Platform and browser on mobile. The Layar Reality Browser has more than 2 million users and serves 2.4 million augmented objects every day. The browser comes pre-installed on tens of millions of phones from leading handset manufacturers and carriers by the end of the year.

Over 700 layers are published on the Layar Platform with over 2500 in development. These layers are developed by the global community of 3500 Layar publishers and producers, and by leading brands and agencies. Layar is located in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. The company is VC funded and has 32 employees.

The free Layar Reality Browser is available on Android devices and iPhone 3GS. The Layar Platform is available for anyone to create their own Augmented Reality experiences on.