Today, if you wish to make an income, it's inadequate to simply have a job. You need at the least 2 or 3 different sources of income to ensure that you can pay your entire bills in case something unfortunate happens. Technology has evolved so much that in the past few years many people have found another way to earn money: they develop mobile applications. Many entrepreneurs have made a name for themselves by developing mobile apps, and if you're interested in learning how to produce mobile apps yourself, keep reading this article.

Mobile app development is really a rapidly growing industry because people are finding more methods to earn money through their smartphones. Everyday the number of active users keeps growing. Here are some numbers that'll illustrate just how large the is becoming:

- How many smartphone users worldwide is expected to attain 1 billion in 2014 ( source ).

- Based on statistics there have been nearly 35 million iPhone developers by December 2010 ( source ). This figure shows an increase of 25% over the previous year's figures!

If you wish to develop mobile apps then you'll need several things before you start. This will also apply to any type of development, nevertheless, you especially need these:

- Skills and knowledge – You'll have to know just how to code, and you'll also need to learn about design concepts like UX (User Experience) and HCI (Human Computer Interaction).

- Some type of computer – Needless to say! Ideally it must be a laptop/netbook that runs Windows or Mac OSX since most computers nowadays run one of these operating systems. However, if your skills are good enough then you may be able to produce an app on Linux as well.

- A smartphone – It's not necessary for developing apps, nonetheless it will surely help since you can test them on your device. In the event that you don't have a smartphone then you might always work with a friend's or a household member's device.

- An IDE – A computer software development kit (or IDE - Integrated Development Environment) is important to generate applications for Android, iOS and Windows Phone platforms. Popular IDEs include Xcode , Eclipse and Deniz Gueney Visual Studio.

- The developer license – You are able to develop apps without paying anything, but if you wish to publish them on app stores then you'll need to cover the annual fee that is currently $99 for Apple App Store and Google Play Developer Console. Several payment methods can be found, including credit cards, PayPal and wire transfer from your bank account.