Echoing comments made by TIGA CEO Dr. Richard Wilson on PocketGamer.biz yesterday, board member Oli Christie has called on mobile devs not to overlook tablets.

Christie, who is also Neon Play's CEO, believes tablets can reach consumers in ways smartphones simply can't, with those who pay out for iPad and co. also likely to be bigger spenders when it comes to parting with cash for apps.

We caught up with Christie for his take on the opportunities tablets represent for mobile devs, and while the success of Google's Nexus 7 can only be a good thing, even for overstretched studios.

Pocket Gamer: Do you think it's taken developers a long time to understand the opportunities tablets represent, both on a technical level and a consumer level?

Oli Christie: The mobile games market moves so quickly and the iPad has indeed created huge new opportunities as the sales have exploded over the past two years.

Being an iPad owner also means you probably have a reasonable income, so it seems they have a greater propensity to spend money on games and in-app purchase than, for example, a lower-end Android smartphone freebie hunter.

Some developers may have taken time to see the table opportunity, but surely now it would be foolish to ignore such a massive market which will only grow as the tablet replaces the laptop and the PC for many consumers.

Should games be specifically designed for tablets, or are universal apps okay?

I think it depends really. Because of the larger screen size, clearly some games are better suited to tablets and vice versa. Some studios are looking purely at tablet-only games and that is fine.

However, I personally feel if possible that you should look to design for both tablet and smartphone, purely because if you discount one, you are missing a huge potential market.

For obvious reasons, consumers would rather have universal apps as opposed to different versions for e.g., iPad and iPhone and I feel that going forward, this is what developers should do if they want to retain goodwill.

Otherwise it just feels like you're ripping people off. But there are always exceptions of course.

Nexus 7 finally seems to be brining some momentum Android tablets way. Is this good for developers, or will their loyalties – and development time – be split as a result?

It's no bad thing having new competition in the tablet market and the iPad has had such a dominant lion's share of the tablet market and for good reasons - it's an incredible device.

For small developers like Neon Play, we don't have the resource to be able to target each new device, so realistically it's a matter of waiting to see which device actually sells well, has an excellent app store and user experience. And most importantly that it monetises well.

For example, the Amazon Appstore has been getting some excellent feedback as a way to monetise well on Android, so we're on the verge of releasing Traffic Panic London for the Amazon App Store.

What do you make of Microsoft's Surface? What type of consumer do you think Microsoft will target, and what opportunities will that present?

It's certainly a brave and creative step from Microsoft and the device looks great.

Pricing is going to be the key element to its success because unless it dramatically undercuts the iPad and is comparable to the best Android devices, it's going to be tough for the Surface to find its niche.

For developers, clearly having Microsoft behind a new tablet will create some opportunities, but in this fast-moving market with so many new devices launching each quarter, the jury will probably be out until we see the sales figures, the device itself and the potential to invest time and money developing games for it.

Overall, where can tablets go next, and what can developers do to make sure they take advantage?

Tablets are taking over our lives and you only have to see how they are changing the way we consumer digital media.

For many home users, they have 100 percent replaced the laptop and PC. For many business people, it has become the de facto device for business travel and presentation. For families it has become an entertainment hub.

And for millions of non-technical, "normal" people, it has opened their eyes to a whole new world of information, news, games, apps and endless other avenues of excitement. Developers need to see this and embrace the tablet now before it is too late. Game on!
Thanks to Oli for his time.