Apps Rule The Phone, But The Mobile Web Is Still Alive And Well

BIINative apps continue to dominate mobile usage, and this has threatened development of HTML5 mobile Web apps.

But mobile Web apps have improved. And the use of Web technologies like HTML5 and Javascript for app development can complement native platforms. It's not an either/or choice.

Mobile Web apps built around HTML5 are equivalent to feature-rich desktop Web apps like Gmail. They can be accessed through mobile browsers like Safari or Chrome, and can also be wrapped in a shell of native code and deployed to the main native app stores. Alternately, developers can build ground-up native apps for Android or iOS, and then target the rest of the mobile user base with an HTML5 Web app.

In a recent report from BI Intelligence, we explore why HTML5 mobile Web apps are not yet down for the count. We also detail what disadvantages must be overcome by HTML5 if it is ever going to see a sustained increase in mainstream development and usage.

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Here are some of the key advantages and issues surrounding HMTL5 mobile Web apps:

• As device types and operating systems proliferate, the case for universal mobile Web apps becomes more and more pressing. The ability to develop apps that work across all devices is increasingly attractive.
• Feature gaps were often cited as HMTL mobile Web apps' major disadvantage, but these are being closed, and performance wrinkles are being ironed out.
• In terms of mobile developer interest, HTML5 has seen an uptick recently and ranks well ahead of other contenders for third-place status in the mobile platform wars, such as Windows Phone and BlackBerry 10.
• Monetization remains a problem for HTML5 mobile Web apps. iOS and Android apps generate significantly more revenue for developers. Until HTML5 mobile Web apps become better able to successfully generate money from users, developers will have little incentive to create these universal apps.

Our report includes downloadable charts and spreadsheets and over a dozen datasets from our ongoing coverage of HTML5 and mobile.

In full, the report:

• Details the statistics behind consumer attachment to native mobile apps and the recent uptick in developer interest in HTML5
• Analyzes the chicken-and-egg platform problem that HTML5 faces
• Reviews the progress made by the W3C, the nonprofit collective in charge of HTML5's development, in closing the performance and feature gap with native iOS and Android apps
• Performs an in-depth analysis of the monetization challenges faced by HTML5 mobile Web apps and HTML5 developers

To access BI Intelligence's full report on HTML5 and native, sign up for a free trial subscription here.