I've been building a website using ColdFusion and jQuery which works best on a desktop PC.
Now I'm looking into taking the same basic web application and making it suitable for a smartphone. I appreciate that there are extra features on a mobile such as being able to access native features like the camera which may come into play at some point.
I could try to learn and develop an app for iOS, Android, Windows Phone but I like the idea of developing a Mobile App once and then deploying it on all devices. However it must be app, not just a mobile-friendly version of the same website.
I'm confused with how to do this and the options available. I have only briefly seen things about Flex and the new ColdFusion 11 + PhoneGap features. Does anyone know the advantages and maybe the better way to develop an Mobile App that works on on almost all devices, that uses a ColdFusion backend?
I think the best option for you is to use PhoneGap(To access Native features) + Simple HTML5,CSS3 and Javascript to develop your app.In this way it will be cross platform, cost effective and faster. You do not need to worry about all the platforms.
For server side interaction you can use REST services from ColdFusion which is very simple and easy to understand. Regarding ColdFusion 11 mobile features I am not sure , as many CF community members criticized these features and suggested not to use it.