Every browser has its own quirks, as well, not to mention the magnitude of front-end technologies, back-end technologies, and everything in between. That is, d

Every browser has its own quirks, as well, not to mention the magnitude of front-end technologies, back-end technologies, and everything in between. That is, developing for the web doesn't magically make these fragmentation issues you attribute to native development disappear. The cost is lower because the quality expectations are lower, both in terms of the end-product and the developers putting the product together. Put another way, if browsers become sophisticated enough to make them an appropriate medium for native-like apps that are more sophisticated than basic form data entry, what makes you think the cost to find competent, quality developers to write these apps to the level of quality expectation the end users will have won't be higher than it is today?