Feb 2, 2010 0
HTML5 Vs. App
The google voice iPhone site that launched yesterday shows just how much you can do with html5 and browser side storage on the iPhone. Like the gmail site and techmeme mobiles site before, the “site” feels like an app.
I’m not one of these anti-app folks that thinks everything should be in the browser. It’s just that for casual experiences, where a user won’t be using the application ten times a day, a great mobile site that he/she can access without an app download is what makes sense.
One dogpatch company wants to create a great mobile registration app for signups at events. I urged the company to do html5 instead. This way when the crowd is urged to signup there is no download attrition. Also people will likely only access this site on a mobile basis occasionally. Mobile web makes sense.
The same is true for a content site that I met with this week that drives traffic via Twitter and email. Again, I urged great mobile web experience vs. iPhone app. This way links can be passed an opened with a great mobile experience without any download.
If I was building a social networking experience or business productivity site, I would build an app. But for many more cases great mobile web is where I’d make my investment.
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