By Rich Holdsworth

Over the last few years, the world has gone totally mad for native mobile apps. These downloaded apps can certainly provide a rich user experience on whatever smartphone they have been developed for. They can access the very heart of the device, which brings a whole raft of possibilities that arguably you won’t find through a mobile browser right now. Graphics are animated, phonebooks can be integrated, rotation can be registered, GPS data can be shared and so on.

While there is no doubt that apps can be great, it is important to look at the bigger picture when looking to develop an application for mobile users.

Firstly, not everyone owns the latest smartphones, nor are they likely to in the near future. By developing an installed app for the iPhone or Android, for example, it will only be accessible to a small proportion of the total market when you consider every single mobile phone out there. Not only that, but just looking at the smartphone market there are iPhone, Android, Symbian, Windows Mobile and other me-too manufacturers to develop for. The costs quickly multiply and app development gets very expensive, very quickly. With a browser-based approach, it is possible- using the right publishing platform- to significantly cut development costs with a “build once for all” approach that embraces every mobile user. And for the user, no upgrade installations are ever required.

As for promoting an app, developers are, at present, at the mercy of the relevant app stores and their policies for acceptance, pricing and promotion. Going down the browser-based web service route makes the application easy to promote and what’s more, only a single URL needs to be ‘advertised’ because the same one will work for all. The browser-based approach presents an opportunity for unrestricted connection with audiences. The user is no-longer required to install and you don’t have to battle to, or pay for, the top of an app store. You are free to promote and distribute your services as you see fit.

One advantage native apps claim to have is that they work even when there is no internet connection, but with more and more 3g coverage and wi-fi, along with unlimited internet access packages, this is becoming far less important.

Of all the arguments for the native apps, the fact that installed apps can provide a richer experience has been the most compelling. However, HTML 5 looks set to change all that and may well prove to be the native app killer. For example, HTML5 will bring a multimedia richness to the web apps without a Flash or Silverlight plugin.

The future will move away from installed applications and towards browser-based services. These are available anywhere, any time, on any operating system and are continually - and importantly for the user, seamlessly - refreshed and updated. We have already seen the benefits of applications in the cloud with the bigger brothers in the software space.

The app brigade will tell you that Mobile Internet sites don’t compare to apps. From a certain point of view, they are right. And although the release of HTML 5 will go a long way to making web-based mobile services a richer experience, the decision to choose either a Mobile Internet strategy or one based on apps will depend largely on exactly what you want to achieve. For single purpose apps, such as spirit levels and tilting pints of beer, it’s apps all the way. For anything that offers dynamic data, interactive services and user participation, then you really should give Mobile Internet a go. It’s more dynamic, cheaper to develop and update, more flexible, easier to promote and it opens up your market place to any internet capable handset.

About the author

Rich Holdsworth is co-founder & Chief Technical Officer at Wapple. A recognised name within the mobile industry for having true, proven, foresight into mobile internet Rich has been key in the creation of Wapple core technology. Rich has 8 years background in Web and Mobile Development and 8 years within Video Games Creation and Development as Lead Designer on 'Number 1' products. He was credited in the Sunday Times for creating the first ever WAP game.

About Wapple

Wapple’s products make it possible to create innovative and rich mobile websites, applications and marketing campaigns that are automatically optimised for every mobile device, on any network, anywhere in the world. Wapple CanvasTM, the award-winning design and publishing platform, enables anyone to develop highly functional, creative and scalable mobile sites; while Wapple ArchitectTM allows developers to take existing web content and applications and deliver them in a mobile-friendly format. This ensures that brand owners are correctly delivering their websites to the 5% or more of visitors already accessing it from a mobile device. Wapple ExhibitTM is a powerful, dynamic profiler and delivery engine that ensures all content is automatically optimised and displayed perfectly on any mobile phone, PDA or games console. Using its market leading technology, combined with over 6 years of experience designing and developing for the mobile internet, Wapple also offers bespoke mobile web development services.

http://wapple.net