This reminds me of the dichotomy that Apple and Microsoft faced when developing their empires. There are two major camps I think: one that ties in hardware + so

This reminds me of the dichotomy that Apple and Microsoft faced when developing their empires. There are two major camps I think: one that ties in hardware + software (native apps) and one that relies on software with disregard to the underlying hardware (the web). It's really tough to say what the clear winner is. There are advantages and disadvantages to both approaches. AFAIK, Apple has always bet the bank on the first approach and it's done well for them. History would seem to suggest that the first approach provides a richer end user experience where as the latter provide ubiquity. I'm not sure which will win out in the long-run.