It depends on the purpose of the app. There will still likely be carrier restrictions on bandwidth, and general connectivity issues. Open wifi is far from ubi

It depends on the purpose of the app. There will still likely be carrier restrictions on bandwidth, and general connectivity issues. Open wifi is far from ubiquitous and many carriers still have poor coverage (AT&T has no usable signal in many parts of my house), not to mention situations like wanting to play a game or use an app while on an airplane. Some kind of hybrid model may evolve instead. You install an "app" that is little more than a data cache and a skin/UI for the phones browser. In a connected scenario you are using the app in "web app" mode. In a situation when it can't connect, there is enough intelligence to rely on a local data store or something. It doesn't cover all scenarios, but might bridge the gap a little better.