The web (browser) is inside every (mobile) application.
The Web succeeded because it was simple.
Even now, iPhone apps and iPad apps and Android apps are powerful because they have the Web inside them:
Facebook’s iPhone application is the most popular native mobile app. It makes extensive use of Web technologies by “putting an actual browser inside the app.”
Microsoft’s Bing application is written in HTML5 and essentially the same across all native clients and the Web.
Google’s native Gmail application on iOS is “just a wrapper around a UIWebView”.
LinkedIn’s native mobile applications consist of “Web content most of the time, all within a native frame”.
Thank you for the article about this, lukew: http://www.lukew.com/ff/entry.asp?1441
PhoneGap is right. HTML and JavaScript are the languages of the future.
I disagree @Adam. I think the verdict is still out on HTML5 / JS. The native UI experience still beats the experience on UI via HTML 5 / JS / WebKit view hands down, the signs you point are very interesting developments that should help bring change soon (hopefully!)...
So instead if you suggested HTTP as web standard that is driving everything I would have to just shut up.
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Thank you for the perspective, Ashish. Sometimes I get caught in my Web-dominated world view.
The verdict has been out on HTML and JavaScript for the last 15 years, and it will continue to be for the foreseeable future.
HTTP drives everything. HTML and JavaScript still have a lot of hard work to do. :)
You reminded me. We need a better 'WebKit'. Not the lame version that is part of iOS or Android. I could see how some really innovative approach on this small widget could potentially close the gap between native and html5 apps.
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