Hi everyone,

While I still have my post where I am looking for potential partners, I wanted to ask if anyone has experience using Xamarin already.

Xamari.iOS and Xamarin.Android ( $1,999 for both) aren't very cheap but I would like to speak to someone in Nigeria who had considered a cross platform development environment.

Yes I once did. But the thing didn't make me happy either
Hence I decided to wait and get an apple computer and then install xcode or better still install linux and use mono.

gimakon:
Yes I once did. But the thing didn't make me happy either
Hence I decided to wait and get an apple computer and then install xcode or better still install linux and use mono.

Well all this wouldn't have been an issue had you just stuck to Java and ditch all those fancy Microsoft languages.

If you know XAML; cross-platform app development with xamarin is so so cool, because its cross platform and native all in one; most cross-platform technologies are never native; that is they don't give you native look n feel; they force you to have same look n feel most achieve this using browser addins so you lay html on the platform xamarin on the other hand converts your Xaml to equivalent native code for all platforms you target. It is cool, but expensive and sometimes you are alone trouble shooting your issues and getting feedback from the xamarin team is sometimes slow as the back and forth loop takes time.
For Nigeria, I must confess i am an optimist but in Nigeria; innovation is not celebrated unless you have the right connections A friend who happens to be a very good developer + computer scientist turned down some job offers in the U.K came back to a top-Government I.T Agency with the hope + dreams to revolutionize Nigeria he was warned; cause they prefer to give these jobs + opportunities to Indian firms and expatriates, he tried to save the agency some millions by building in-house apps, he got transferred cause he was blocking their way of taking millions for nothing. If you can best route is to have international clients or if you have some people with the clout to talk to those in power then you're in business. Wish you all the best.

GateKeeper247:
If you know XAML; cross-platform app development with xamarin is so so cool, because its cross platform and native all in one; most cross-platform technologies are never native; that is they don't give you native look n feel; they force you to have same look n feel most achieve this using browser addins so you lay html on the platform xamarin on the other hand converts your Xaml to equivalent native code for all platforms you target. It is cool, but expensive and sometimes you are alone trouble shooting your issues and getting feedback from the xamarin team is sometimes slow as the back and forth loop takes time.
For Nigeria, I must confess i am an optimist but in Nigeria; innovation is not celebrated unless you have the right connections A friend who happens to be a very good developer + computer scientist turned down some job offers in the U.K came back to a top-Government I.T Agency with the hope + dreams to revolutionize Nigeria he was warned; cause they prefer to give these jobs + opportunities to Indian firms and expatriates, he tried to save the agency some millions by building in-house apps, he got transferred cause he was blocking their way of taking millions for nothing. If you can best route is to have international clients or if you have some people with the clout to talk to those in power then you're in business. Wish you all the best.

Thanks a lot for sharing your experience!
So funny how it works in Nigeria.

gimakon:
Yes I once did. But the thing didn't make me happy either
Hence I decided to wait and get an apple computer and then install xcode or better still install linux and use mono.

Yeah I think you need good C# and an understanding of the OSX or iOS API to make use of the advantages of Xamarin. I must say that Xamarin is not worth it on smaller projects, keep that in mind. Also the marketing of the platform isn't straight forward and leaves customers with high expectations which are not fulfilled in the end.

Borwe:


Well all this wouldn't have been an issue had you just stuck to Java and ditch all those fancy Microsoft languages.

Dude I am not sure you know what you are talking about

GateKeeper247:
If you know XAML; cross-platform app development with xamarin is so so cool, because its cross platform and native all in one; most cross-platform technologies are never native; that is they don't give you native look n feel; they force you to have same look n feel most achieve this using browser addins so you lay html on the platform xamarin on the other hand converts your Xaml to equivalent native code for all platforms you target. It is cool, but expensive and sometimes you are alone trouble shooting your issues and getting feedback from the xamarin team is sometimes slow as the back and forth loop takes time.
For Nigeria, I must confess i am an optimist but in Nigeria; innovation is not celebrated unless you have the right connections A friend who happens to be a very good developer + computer scientist turned down some job offers in the U.K came back to a top-Government I.T Agency with the hope + dreams to revolutionize Nigeria he was warned; cause they prefer to give these jobs + opportunities to Indian firms and expatriates, he tried to save the agency some millions by building in-house apps, he got transferred cause he was blocking their way of taking millions for nothing. If you can best route is to have international clients or if you have some people with the clout to talk to those in power then you're in business. Wish you all the best.

This man knows what am talking about.

Hi, I would advise you not to use Xamarin. I have developed ipad,iphone ,Android mobile and tablet apps with it. The only good side was coding with C# , using async , using xaml and all the necessary c# features. Xamarin is now free for students. But the downside is the xamarin framework itself. Its over-hyped. Xamarin is not ripe enough. Xamarin libraries sometimes break whenever there is a new feature from either apple or google. It was a sad experience because you do not have access to the source code to fix those bugs. You would have to wait weeks for their developers to fix them! In order to develop a good mobile application with xamarin you need a very good understanding of how IOS and Android works (since you need to learn ios and android why not code with them?). Apps developed with xamarin are slower than the true native apps. Xamarin apps are larger compared to the native apps. you might not get more jobs with it compared to and android or ios native developer. I have used the Business Edition. Although Xamarin Android and Xamarin IOS are slightly better than Xamarin Forms. But the native apps are the best ( Java ,Objective C, swift).

Best of luck. bro

It's working for some people especially when first mover's advantage is very much needed. But like all tools, you need someone that is very good with it. Knowledge of C#, Android & iOS API are a must. I don't know any of those, but I have been thinking of going the Xamarin route lately too.

cocoon:
Hi, I would advise you not to use Xamarin. I have developed ipad,iphone ,Android mobile and tablet apps with it. The only good side was coding with C# , using async , using xaml and all the necessary c# features. Xamarin is now free for students. But the downside is the xamarin framework itself. Its over-hyped. Xamarin is not ripe enough. Xamarin libraries sometimes break whenever there is a new feature from either apple or google. It was a sad experience because you do not have access to the source code to fix those bugs. You would have to wait weeks for their developers to fix them! In order to develop a good mobile application with xamarin you need a very good understanding of how IOS and Android works (since you need to learn ios and android why not code with them?). Apps developed with xamarin are slower than the true native apps. Xamarin apps are larger compared to the native apps. you might not get more jobs with it compared to and android or ios native developer. I have used the Business Edition. Although Xamarin Android and Xamarin IOS are slightly better than Xamarin Forms. But the native apps are the best ( Java ,Objective C, swift).

Best of luck. bro

You are very correct and I agree with you. Like on my previous post I think they are over hyped and their marketing is misleading.

Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences and contributing to the thread!