The HTML 5 vs Native Apps divide – Five takeaways from a great debate

By , 18 December 2012 at 11:28
The HTML 5 vs Native Apps divide – Five takeaways from a great debate
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The HTML 5 vs Native Apps divide – Five takeaways from a great debate

By , 18 December 2012 at 11:28

By Wayne Thorsen (@waytho), VP of Global Partnerships atĀ TelefĆ³nica Digital

Last week, I drove 16 hoursĀ (a shut down at Seattle International airport) to be part ofĀ theĀ APPNATION IV conferenceĀ as a panelist inĀ ‘Welcome to Thunderdome! Native apps vs HTML 5/ mobile web’.

The long drive was absolutely worth it.

Wayne Thorsen at APPNATION hosted by Ina Fried

The aptly titled session took the shape of an in-depth panel discussion chaired by Ina Fried of All Things D (see above), along with Todd Simpson (Chief Innovation Officer, Mozilla), Chris Martin (VP Engineering, Pandora) and Mark Young (VP, Mobile and Connected Devices, NBC Universal).

WeĀ debated the current state of the mobile app ecosystem, and in particular the HTML 5 vs Native App divide. So hereĀ are my five key takeaways from the discussion:

  • Consumers donā€™t care – the best user experience will win: regardless of the platform, whether HTML 5 or native, open or closed, Mozilla OS, iOS or Android, the user experience is key.
  • The capabilities of HTML 5 apps will become indistinguishable from native apps: As Todd Simpson of Mozilla explained, the Mozilla OS is intended to deliver developers the level of control and access they need to offer users HTML 5 web app experiences, which are on par with anything available from an app store.
  • Native apps are not standing still and will continue to innovate, as will OSĀ platforms. Projects such as Google Glass are developing entirely new use cases for users, content providers and developers.
  • HTML 5 has a key role to play in reinventing app discovery: innovators such as Mozilla and Everything.Me are enabling more active and aware methods of app delivery. Rather than a simple passive app download app model, future web apps will be able to proactively ā€œdiscoverā€ new users.
  • HTML 5 apps offer an openness which can benefit consumers, businesses and developers. I pointed out that one of the reasons why HTML 5 is exciting for web-based businesses and platforms is the ability to extend their web presence seamlessly into the mobile space. This openness has great indirect benefits for the consumer too, as it will enable experiences that wonā€™t be available via closed platforms.

My final word? The best experiences are going to come from somewhere thatā€™s truly open. And some recommended reading you must take a look at below…

Debunking five big HTML5 myths – Christian Heilmann,Ā Principal Developer Evangelist at Mozilla for HTML5 and open web

The Making of Fastbook: An HTML5 Love Story –Ā Jamie Avins and Jacky Nguyen, engineers at Sencha

Slideshare:Ā Firefox OS will save the Web on mobileĀ – Carlos Domingo, CEO of Telefonica I+D

Mozilla Hacks – the web developer blog

 

 

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