---
title: 'Xamarin For Android The Conclusion: (Part 4 of 4)'
tags:

  - xamarin
  - development
  - review
  - csharp
  - xamarin for android
permalink: /xamarin-the-conclusion-part-4-of-4/
id: 9
updated: '2014-02-20 21:30:02'
date: 2014-02-18T21:33:54.000Z
---

* [Part One](/xamarin-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly/)
* [Part Two](/xamarin-for-android-the-bad-part-2-of-4/)
* [Part Three](/xamarin-for-android-the-ugly-part-3-of-4/)
* Part Four

Well verdict is in boys, and girls. Personally, I thought the platform needs to mature more. For those people who can pay for the business edition ($1000 USD/developer), and really prefer c#; then go for it. For most of us that can either do c# or Java; you may want to stick with Java.

## C# vs. Java for Android

Essentially [Xamarin](http://Xamarin.com)  is a competing product with using Java. I felt that the hefty price tag, and the lack of free support means the ROI for [Xamarin](http://Xamarin.com)  will be low.

>If [Xamarin](http://Xamarin.com)  provided more in the way of automation tools, and documentation; it would be the clear winner

The fact is going straight to Java for most people is probably a must. Even if you are more comfortable with c#, finding help on the internet is much easier. As the platform matures, and more features are added hopefully things will change.

## License cost deterrent

One of my biggest gripes with [Xamarin](http://Xamarin.com)  is the very inflexible [license schemes](https://store.xamarin.com/). You can get by with the $300 indie edition, but it is pretty clear they want people to go the $1000 business edition route.

>The biggest deterrent to the [Xamarin](http://Xamarin.com)  platform is the high cost of licensing.

With no sliding scale prices based on organization size, or project scope [Xamarin](http://Xamarin.com)  is a tough sell *(especially for open source projects)*.

### Student Discount

Xamarin, does provide a student discount. They give 90% off for enterprise edition, and for those of you whom go to school this is almost a must buy. You could probably make it back with this simple formula.

>Flappy bird-like animal + Mario pipes + admob = $$$

## Verdict

Personally I like [Xamarin](http://Xamarin.com)  platform. The ability to re-use code for multiple mobile platforms can be helpful. For most of us tinkerers out there [Android Studio](http://developer.android.com/sdk/installing/studio.html) is probably enough. For serious businesses, with a major focus on c#; [Xamarin](http://Xamarin.com)  is probably the prefered method of development.

### Room for improvement

Before I can fully back [Xamarin](http://Xamarin.com)  I'd like to see better componants that provide more mobile platform abstraction, increased automation tools (visual studio macros could help here), and better documentation. From the activity of there web pages, I suspect all of these things are coming.
