the App Internet – and why its still all about native apps

With the ubiquity of HTML5 on mobile browsers and the success of JavaScript styling libraries such as Sencha Touch, JQuery Mobile, and SproutCore, its certainly possible to create better mobile web pages, and a more satisfying web browsing experience than ever.   However, as discussed earlier here,  usage of the modern smartphone has always been about native apps.  This is primarily due to the ability to use rich interesting device capabilities such as GPS, PIM contact and calendar information,  camera and all of the new features that the massive innovation in the smartphone space is creating.  It is also due to the value of being able to work offline whether or not you are connected.  And the performance gains from not sending pages down to the device realtime.   As a result native smartphone app usage continues to dominate web app usage, despite the availability of better mobile browsers.

[

Source: Appsfire SAS & Apple, Inc., December 2010

But still many developers do not necessarily want to learn a dated low level language like Objective C. Or rewrite their app for four or more smartphone operating systems, with different languages and SDKs. The productivity and portability of using HTML5 for interfaces is pretty compelling for the millions of web developers out there. With a framework like Rhodes though, you can “have your cake and eat it too”. You can write your interfaces in HTML5 and still get the device capabilities, offline use, higher speed and overall ease of use of native smartphone apps. And with use of HTML5 JavaScript styling libraries, the interfaces are as good or better than what you might write in iOS Objective C, Android Java or the BlackBerry SDK.

More importantly this advantage of native apps is not short term. Its part of the general move to the “App Internet” and away from a “browser-centric” user experience. As pointed out by Forrester here:

Two ways of computing have dominated over the past 20 years. The first I’ll call the “Microsoft model” — where local personal computers do most of the work. The second model is the Web/Cloud model, in which most of the work happens on remote servers. Both are outmoded. The Microsoft model fails to leverage the economies of scale in the Cloud; Web/Cloud fail to leverage the exponential growth in the power of local storage and processors.

So what comes next? Something I call the “App Internet.” In this model, powerful local devices (PCs, smartphones, tablets) run applications that simultaneously and seamlessly take advantage of resources in the Web/Cloud. If you want to see this model in action, check out iPhone and Android applications.

The App Internet is about “computing at the edge”. Internet standards are valuable for providing easy connectivity and access to backend applications. And HTML5 is very valuable for interface development. But more and more, it will all be in service of an that is running locally on the device. Rhodes lets you leverage all of the goodness of HTML5 and associated toolkits, but still take advantage of the move to the App Internet today.