Q:

Xamarin- Getting started with Cross Platform mobile app

Goal: To build a cross platform application that works at least on iOS & Android using Xamarin.
OS available: Windows 7 & Mac
Questions:
1) There are different tools from Xamarin like Monotouch, Monodroid, Xamarin Studio and this is really confusing for me. Which tool should i use? 
2) I am basically a C# developer and heard that we can develop mobile app in Visual Studio 2010 using xamarin. Is it possible to develop a cross platform app from it or only one platform target at a time?
3) Is it a good choice to use the Mac or Windows for me (question 2 related) to develop the cross platform app using Xamarin? 
4) To develop a cross platform app using Xamarin Studio, do we need to create 2-3 different project in Xamarin solution according to the number of target platforms or only a single project that runs on multiple platforms? Any video link for cross-platform development beginner tutorial using Xamarin will be appreciated.
Thanks in Advance.
Regards,
Saurav

A:

1) Xamarin Studio is an IDE, the recently released replacement for MonoDevelop.  MonoTouch was the name of the iOS framework, now called Xamarin.iOS; likewise MonoDroid has become Xamarin.Android.
2) You can develop in VS2010, but to deploy to iOS you'll need to have a Mac build agent with which it can communicate.
3) If you just wish to support iOS and Android, it's probably better to get a Mac, unless you really need Resharper. If you're also going to be supporting Windows RT, you'll need to have both machines.
4) Yes, multiple projects. There are a few options for how to do this. See here: http://docs.xamarin.com/guides/cross-platform/application_fundamentals/building_cross_platform_applications/part_3_-_setting_up_a_xamarin_cross_platform_solution. An example cross-platform application is PropertyCross: https://github.com/tastejs/PropertyCross.

