How would I get started with mobile application development?

[alan2796]

I Vote Android.

Ubuntu Software Center > Eclipse. - Download and install

Then go read This

After you have android working on eclipse I would start here:
Java Tutorials

Android and iOS have Emulators for testing applications. so no need to own an Android or iPhone. but it's recommended.

and as stated before you would need a Mac to be able to publish on the Apple App Store.and nothing will compare to OSX's development tools(Xcode).

[lykeion]

I work as a mobile developer (Android, iPhone, Blackberry, etc) and my tip is to start with Android development and just dive into it. You don't need to read abunch of Java books first, just go to Android Developers' site and go for it. For simple apps you can get a long way with the tutorials on the site without any pre-knowledge of Java. Next tip is to get a device and run your apps on it, because it's a real motivator to actually run your developed apps on a real device instead on just an emulator. If you get into Android development I'm sure you get deeper into Java along the way.

[MindSz]

^ this ... The ADT Plugin for Eclipse page was my starting point. You can find pretty much anything on the web to help you get started with code. It's always a good idea to start with the HelloWorld tho