2 ms·

What I'm arguing for is not technology (which already exists), but technology support in the form of official frameworks, which subverts the "3rd party middlewa

by joshwa 17y ago

What I'm arguing for is not technology (which already exists), but technology support in the form of official frameworks, which subverts the "3rd party middleware" argument, and for equal access to distribution and payment channels. I have no motivation to create iPhone web apps if I can't easily get them in front of iPhone users monetize them. A few other points: - MobileSafari already has access to many hardware functions: gps, accelerometer, maybe compass? There are some great iTunes U videos on this if you're a member of the iPhone dev program. Obviously it would be good to have access to all the hardware features. - Every time I hear about the App Store being "curated" for "high quality" I choke a little (iFart?). There's no reason why html5 apps in the app store wouldn't go through the same review process. - The Google results for "congress" have no relationship whatsoever to "congress" in the App Store. Web pages != web applications. "I don't understand why some enterprising YC person doesn't simply start making a web App Store app for the iPhone that allows people to sell web applications to iPhone users, handle fulfillment just like the App Store does, and handle curation, just like the App Store does." Not a bad idea, in fact. A few big hurdles, though: 1) you can't install apps on the iPhone except via the App Store (or asking a mobilesafari user to create a home screen icon themselves) 2) payment system inertia-- who's going to sign up for another micropayment account when they're already set up with Apple? EDIT: while I was writing this, nailer said it better and more succinctly.

stcredzero 17y ago
I don't see any reason why HTML5/Javascript apps couldn't be in the App Store as some sort of "featured" section, with a means to install them as icons on the home screen, except that Apple would be diluting the market for the native apps. That's not in the developer's interest, but it might well be in Apple's interest to have more decent free stuff on the iPhone.
- joshwa 17y ago
  who said anything about free? my point is that mobile web apps have no way to monetize, and that could be fixed by letting web apps in the app store, via a native bridge.
cjoh 17y ago
So I think we're in (nailer) agreement, though I don't see why anybody has to wait on Apple to make a web app store. I think there's money to be made even with all the marketing hurdles. I want to explain myself in regards to your response here: "- The Google results for "congress" have no relationship whatsoever to "congress" in the App Store. Web pages != web applications." In a lot of cases this is true. But I, for instance, make web apps about members of congress. My mission is to get people information about members of congress wherever they're at. In order for those web apps to get discovered, I have to rely on Google for people to discover them (as well as good marketing and PR and all sorts of other things). I'm simply point out that the App Store is, in fact, a less competitive environment than the web for the dissemination of information, which a lot of web applications, and iphone applications do. Type "Weather" into the App Store, and there's a few hundred applications. Type it into google? 319,000,000. I'd wager to say that 99% of "Weather" applications on the iphone are about the dissemination of weather information. So while, yes, web pages != web applications, many web applications are about the aggregation and dissemination of information. And search-- whether it be through Google or through the App Store-- is an important factor to their discovery and use. Being in the "top 25" apps for a search result in the App store is valuable, just like being in the top of Google search results. And right now, the App Store is far less competitive than Google search results.

by joshwa 17y ago

stcredzero 17y ago

I don't see any reason why HTML5/Javascript apps couldn't be in the App Store as some sort of "featured" section, with a means to install them as icons on the home screen, except that Apple would be diluting the market for the native apps. That's not in the developer's interest, but it might well be in Apple's interest to have more decent free stuff on the iPhone.

joshwa 17y ago
who said anything about free? my point is that mobile web apps have no way to monetize, and that could be fixed by letting web apps in the app store, via a native bridge.

cjoh 17y ago

So I think we're in (nailer) agreement, though I don't see why anybody has to wait on Apple to make a web app store. I think there's money to be made even with all the marketing hurdles. I want to explain myself in regards to your response here: "- The Google results for "congress" have no relationship whatsoever to "congress" in the App Store. Web pages != web applications." In a lot of cases this is true. But I, for instance, make web apps about members of congress. My mission is to get people information about members of congress wherever they're at. In order for those web apps to get discovered, I have to rely on Google for people to discover them (as well as good marketing and PR and all sorts of other things). I'm simply point out that the App Store is, in fact, a less competitive environment than the web for the dissemination of information, which a lot of web applications, and iphone applications do. Type "Weather" into the App Store, and there's a few hundred applications. Type it into google? 319,000,000. I'd wager to say that 99% of "Weather" applications on the iphone are about the dissemination of weather information. So while, yes, web pages != web applications, many web applications are about the aggregation and dissemination of information. And search-- whether it be through Google or through the App Store-- is an important factor to their discovery and use. Being in the "top 25" apps for a search result in the App store is valuable, just like being in the top of Google search results. And right now, the App Store is far less competitive than Google search results.