ReadWriteWeb

Today Adobe released an update to its Flash Builder 4.5 and Flex 4.5 software which now allows developers to build cross-platform applications for Android, iOS and the QNX-based BlackBerry PlayBook. This extends the functionality of the Adobe framework, released back in April. At launch, the software only supported Android, with support for the additional platforms planned for this month.

App monetization and distribution service provider Tapjoy has just announced the launch of a $5 million fund to help iOS developers port their existing applications to Android. The news comes on the heels of Apple's policy change, which affected all apps that used Tapjoy's pay-per-install advertisements. Apple's decision, said Tapjoy at the time, "is destroying the user experience and threatening the entire freemium model."

Now, the company has a workaround: move to Android.

For mobile developers, one of the greatest challenges is keeping up with the ever-changing nature of hardware platforms. Devices, seemingly overnight, become thinner, lighter, faster, and more powerful. Google has typically offered developers unlocked Android devices, for a fee and has been known to hand out its "Nexus" phones for free at times. But there's always excitement when rumors of the next Nexus phone hits the Web, as these serve as the gold standard for delivering the pure Google experience.

Now, there are hints that a "Nexus 3" is on the horizon, possibly coming from HTC.

Lightbox, a beautifully designed photo sharing and camera replacement app originally launched into beta at this year's SXSW. Between then and today's public launch, the app has been overhauled, and has added support for Honeycomb tablets. But what's most interesting about Lightbox is its business model: "Android First."

What that means is that developers behind Lightbox, lead by founders Thai Tran and Nilesh Patel, are building Android applications first, before building the iOS counterparts. And that hasn't always been an easy task, they say.

Today, cloud platform provider Appcelerator is expanding beyond mobile and Web with a new offering designed for developers looking to build cross-platform applications. Now, in addition to building for smartphones, tablets and the mobile Web, developers can use the new Titanium Studio to build, test and deploy to desktop platforms including Windows, Mac and Linux as well as build HTML5 Web applications, all in one single development environment.

From the makers of mobile app discovery service Zwapp, there comes OneMillionAppSchemes.com, a new initiative which aims to open source the unpublished custom URL schemes for iOS applications. For those unaware, a custom URL scheme is a way for apps to communicate with each other and do other smart things. For example, custom URL schemes allow other apps or Web pages to call the app, trigger it and send data to it, or even transfer data between lite and paid app versions.

Apple's built-in apps like Safari, the Phone app, the Messaging app, Email and others have URL schemes included by default. Developers using the iOS SDK can built their own, too. Unfortunately, though, there isn't a well-maintained master list of these custom URLs anywhere on the Web.

As promised back in April, Microsoft has today released an Android to Windows Phone API mapping tool for developers which will help developers port existing Android applications to the Windows Phone platform. Like its iPhone counterpart, the tool doesn't actually port your code for you automatically. Instead, what it provides is a list of API mappings that acts like a translation dictionary from one platform to the next.

A new report from Forrester focuses on the topic of building secure applications for the iPhone and iPad. Given iOS's popularity among enterprise and consumers alike, it's important for developers to understand the best practices for ensuring that mobile apps handle sensitive data appropriately. This is especially true when building apps for the financial sector.

But the finance and payments industry aren't the only ones who can benefit from a better understanding of security management - anyone building an app that handles customers' private data should be aware of iOS's data protection features and guidelines.

Of all the new features announced yesterday at WWDC as a part of iOS 5, one of the more interesting options now available to developers is access to iCloud. Much more than just a MobileMe replacement service, the new iCloud will store and sync music, photos, apps, calendars and documents to all your devices, including your iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch and even Mac and PC.

But the service isn't being limited to Apple's own products, as it turns out - developers can use iCloud with their own mobile applications, too.

A few days ago, HP announced it was opening its doors to developers who want to submit applications for its forthcoming TouchPad tablet. The TouchPad, a 10-inch tablet built using the webOS mobile operating system, is set to debut later this summer. While many developers are already over-committed in terms of platforms they must build for - iOS, Android, BlackBerry, the Web, and others - HP promises that its development process is one of the easiest there is. Most of the apps are written in JavaScript, with HTML and CSS used as the presentation layer. And once you're in dev mode, says HP, it's just Linux and WebKit.