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HTML5 apps are good for the company making them, not for the user using the app. Almost all the best apps (i.e. the apps you want to use not the apps you have t

HTML5 apps are good for the company making them, not for the user using the app. Almost all the best apps (i.e. the apps you want to use not the apps you have to use) are native. That doesn't mean they're worthless, they're great for getting an app out quickly (e.g. Wunderlist, who released non-native then made a native app). LinkedIn put a lot of time and effort into their app, it is pretty good, though a little laggy even on a Galaxy S2 which should be powerful enough. The Financial Times doesn't really care too much about user experience I'd imagine, as long as the users get the content. But er, I resent being called stupid for betting against HTML5 for mobile app development. No need for such a confrontational title :-)

bornhuetter 14y ago
I think thats very much personal preference. As a user, I almost always prefer the browser version. The main reason for this is that the browser controls are always there. For example, forward and back are always there, save for offline reading, and bookmarking is always there. Always in the same place. I've tried a few native apps for news and social sites, but I've removed almost all of them because I found them harder to use than the browser. Some other people seem to love native apps though.
- kaolinite 14y ago
  Browser is different to a HTML5 mobile app. A HTML5 mobile app is one you download from the app store. I'm a big fan of the browser and I'm a big fan of native apps - I just don't like it when I download an app (especially if I have to pay) expecting a native app, and then I get a HTML5 app.
  - bornhuetter 14y ago
    Gotcha, I thought you were arguing against HTML5 in general. I agree that HTML5 mobile apps are not currently as good as native, and I'd prefer native as a user. I think in the future HTML5 mobile apps will be good, especially if Winmo8 and/or Firefox OS gain traction, but if I were a developer in that space I would stick with native for the moment.
- dmorgan 14y ago
  >I think thats very much personal preference. Yes, but as every personal preference it's also a statistical quantity. E.g liking sugary sweets or not is a personal preference, but 90% of the population likes them. I think the patterns we've seen tell us that people engage more with native apps than with webpages. (Apart from all the other advantages of native that cannot ever be repeated by mobile --except by, extension APIs, which are bridges to native themselves).
  - bornhuetter 14y ago
    > I think the patterns we've seen tell us that people engage more with native apps than with webpages. What are your sources for this? I just googled it, and the first thing that came up is this - "Twice as Many Mobile News Readers Prefer Browsers to Apps [STUDY]": http://mashable.com/2012/10/01/mobile-tablet-news-consumption-study/ http://mashable.com/2012/10/01/mobile-tablet-news-consumptio... As I said above, there are some clear advantages for browser based apps, and for me they outweigh the advantages of native apps. I have no real idea how many people are in each camp, but I don't think it's an overwhelming majority in either direction.
    - dmorgan 14y ago
      >What are your sources for this? Lots. E.g """Today, Mark Zuckerberg revealed that Facebook’s mobile strategy relied too much on HTML5, rather than native applications. (...) According to Zuckerberg, people are consuming twice as many feed stories since the update to the new iOS app, which is great.""' >I just googled it, and the first thing that came up is this - "Twice as Many Mobile News Readers Prefer Browsers to Apps [STUDY]" This is not really relevant. It amounts to "people use their mobile web browser a lot", which is obvious. For one, tons of sites don't have a native app version to start with, so people read them on their mobile browser. The relevant comparison would be between two cases of the SAME service, e.g NYT native app vs NYT website on mobile. And it would be even more relevant if we were talking not merely for news sites (which are simple, and can work equally well on the browser), but for more involved apps. How many people used the Mail app for Gmail vs going to Gmail on the browser? How many people used twitter clients vs going to twitter.com on the browser? Those are the comparisons that matter.
- crististm 14y ago
  I don't know about the apps you're using but I tend to use GoogleEarth more often then GoogleMaps.
mike-cardwell 14y ago
I'm hoping that the mobile Firefox OS that comes out next year will blur the line between HTML5 apps and native apps.
thekingshorses 14y ago
2-3 months ago I talked to LinkedIn's main lead, and he said that android is 80-90% native and only 10-20% HTML5.

bornhuetter 14y ago

I think thats very much personal preference. As a user, I almost always prefer the browser version. The main reason for this is that the browser controls are always there. For example, forward and back are always there, save for offline reading, and bookmarking is always there. Always in the same place. I've tried a few native apps for news and social sites, but I've removed almost all of them because I found them harder to use than the browser. Some other people seem to love native apps though.

kaolinite 14y ago
Browser is different to a HTML5 mobile app. A HTML5 mobile app is one you download from the app store. I'm a big fan of the browser and I'm a big fan of native apps - I just don't like it when I download an app (especially if I have to pay) expecting a native app, and then I get a HTML5 app.
- bornhuetter 14y ago
  Gotcha, I thought you were arguing against HTML5 in general. I agree that HTML5 mobile apps are not currently as good as native, and I'd prefer native as a user. I think in the future HTML5 mobile apps will be good, especially if Winmo8 and/or Firefox OS gain traction, but if I were a developer in that space I would stick with native for the moment.
dmorgan 14y ago
>I think thats very much personal preference. Yes, but as every personal preference it's also a statistical quantity. E.g liking sugary sweets or not is a personal preference, but 90% of the population likes them. I think the patterns we've seen tell us that people engage more with native apps than with webpages. (Apart from all the other advantages of native that cannot ever be repeated by mobile --except by, extension APIs, which are bridges to native themselves).
- bornhuetter 14y ago
  > I think the patterns we've seen tell us that people engage more with native apps than with webpages. What are your sources for this? I just googled it, and the first thing that came up is this - "Twice as Many Mobile News Readers Prefer Browsers to Apps [STUDY]": http://mashable.com/2012/10/01/mobile-tablet-news-consumption-study/ http://mashable.com/2012/10/01/mobile-tablet-news-consumptio... As I said above, there are some clear advantages for browser based apps, and for me they outweigh the advantages of native apps. I have no real idea how many people are in each camp, but I don't think it's an overwhelming majority in either direction.
  - dmorgan 14y ago
    >What are your sources for this? Lots. E.g """Today, Mark Zuckerberg revealed that Facebook’s mobile strategy relied too much on HTML5, rather than native applications. (...) According to Zuckerberg, people are consuming twice as many feed stories since the update to the new iOS app, which is great.""' >I just googled it, and the first thing that came up is this - "Twice as Many Mobile News Readers Prefer Browsers to Apps [STUDY]" This is not really relevant. It amounts to "people use their mobile web browser a lot", which is obvious. For one, tons of sites don't have a native app version to start with, so people read them on their mobile browser. The relevant comparison would be between two cases of the SAME service, e.g NYT native app vs NYT website on mobile. And it would be even more relevant if we were talking not merely for news sites (which are simple, and can work equally well on the browser), but for more involved apps. How many people used the Mail app for Gmail vs going to Gmail on the browser? How many people used twitter clients vs going to twitter.com on the browser? Those are the comparisons that matter.
crististm 14y ago
I don't know about the apps you're using but I tend to use GoogleEarth more often then GoogleMaps.

mike-cardwell 14y ago

I'm hoping that the mobile Firefox OS that comes out next year will blur the line between HTML5 apps and native apps.

thekingshorses 14y ago

2-3 months ago I talked to LinkedIn's main lead, and he said that android is 80-90% native and only 10-20% HTML5.