AppForge Crossfire version 5.5 adds support for Microsoft’s C Sharp language for the first time. This will enable developers familiar with the language to use their skills to create applications that can be deployed to the majority of PDAs and smart phones, when equipped with the correct runtime environment.
The move is expected to appeal to development teams looking to exploit the growth in training and skills around C Sharp. The company has already helped attract Visual Basic developers to mobile devices in earlier versions of CrossFire, which represent a viable alternative to other cross-platform mobile environments such as Sun’s mobile Java.
CrossFire 5.5 also adds built-in support for RFID for bar-code-enabled applications plus new features in the second edition of Microsoft’s Windows Mobile Pocket PC 2003 platform.
AppForge runtimes, known as device definitions or boosters, are available for most candidate mobile devices, covering the range of Windows Mobile, Symbian OS, and Palm OS machines.
Atlanta, Georgia-based AppForge has worked extensively to overcome the development, deployment and support challenges associated with the plethora of today’s device platforms and manufacturers and has extensive support from hardware vendors such as Nokia, PalmOne, Sony Ericsson, Hewlett-Packard, Symbol, and others.
CrossFire 5.5 will be available from November 1 priced at $1,000.
