mobile web vs. native apps | design4mobile
DESCRIPTION
Presentation given at Design4Mobile conference about choosing between native apps and mobile web.TRANSCRIPT
http://www.flickr.com/photos/hi-phi/54828371
Native vs WebJason Grigsby • Design4Mobile@grigs on Twitter • [email protected]/blog • mobileportand.com
SLIDES: bit.ly/grigs-d4m2010
Why are we fighting?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jeff-bauche/2230236391/sizes/o/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/acaben/541334636/
“We have been trying to come up with a solution to let developers write applications, yet keep the iPhone secure and safe. We’ve come up with a sweet solution.”
Web Developers
Mac Developers
Web Developers
Mac DevelopersWeb Developers
Mac Developers
Web Developers
Mac Developers
“That is a bold idea. Very forward
thinking... This is the coming out
party for web apps. We are very
excited about this. These are
exciting times.”
— Jason Fried, 37signals
Web Developers
Mac Developers
“Perhaps it’s playing well in the
mainstream press, but here at WWDC,
Apple’s “you can write great apps for the
iPhone: they’re called ‘web sites’” —
message went over like a lead balloon.
If all you have to offer is a shit sandwich,
just say it. Don’t tell us how lucky we are
and that it’s going to taste delicious.”
— Jon Gruber, Daring Fireball
Which is better? Who’s going to win?http://www.flickr.com/photos/jsymmetry/166749290/
October 2007 AnnouncementAppStore Launch July 2008
Surprise Story of 2008
Flickr photo by Drift Words: http://www.flickr.com/photos/44124413076@N01/11846265/
Web 2.0Web-based Apps
Services & MashupsSoftware as ServiceCloud Computing
iPhone App StoreNative Apps
Few APIs between appsNo Recurring Revenue
Local Storage
Flickr photo by Civisi: http://www.flickr.com/photos/civisi/2611679744/
Carriers App Store
Openness
Entry Cost
Revenue Split
Restrictions
Releases
Micropayments
Closed, Seek permissionOpen to anyone
who signs agreement
Thousands of dollars $99
60/40 to 50/50 70/30
Many Few
Difficult, Timely 1 to 2 weeks
Inconsistent iTunes for every phone
What makes the App Store successful?
http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2009/02/shoot-is-iphone.html#c148364123
http://www.newsweek.com/id/174266
http://businessweek.com/@@0M43kIYQYKPISw0A/technology/content/sep2008/tc20080930_257832.htm
120 million devices
315,634 apps
6.5 billiondownloads
http://www.flickr.com/photos/digobaptista/3270435022/
Native Mobile Apps
vs.
Mobile Web Apps
Mobile is Bigger than Just Apps
Native Mobile Apps
vs.
Mobile Web Apps
Plants vs. Zombies
URLs Don’t Open Apps
The ‘U’ in URL stands for Universal*
* it actually stands for ‘uniform.’ close enough ;-) http://www.flickr.com/photos/laughingsquid/255852260/sizes/o/
A mobile
website
for every
iPhone
app.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/fotoosvanrobin/4932854288/sizes/l/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/earlysound/2710970750/ Creative Commons
More ways iPhone AppStore skews perceptions
http://www.flickr.com/photos/fxp/2374147405/sizes/l/
Do Apps Create Platform Lock-in?
If you've bought $200 worth of applications for your smartphone, you're much less likely to switch to a different model in the future.
In short, high spending on smartphone apps ensures long-term platform loyalty.
App Cost
Twitter for iPhone Free
Reeder $2.99
Instapaper $4.99
Facebook Free
1Password $9.99
Total $17.97
Do Apps REALLY Create Platform Lock-in?
Switching Costs are Lower
Are App Stores Essential to a Platform’s Success?
http://www.techpaparazzi.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/apps.jpg
Android Outsold iPhone in Q2 2010
2%2%5%
14%
17%
18%
41%
Symbian RIM Android iPhone Windows LinuxOthers
Android 17%, iPhone 14%http://www.gartner.com/it/page.jsp?id=1421013
Why compare mobile to the PC market?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mesq/413104380/sizes/o/
Ringtone Apps
(FYI: Justin’s app is out soon. FitnessTrack. $2.99)
http://twitter.com/justin/status/1210786170http://furbo.org/2008/12/09/ring-tone-apps/http://furbo.org/2009/02/16/raising-prices/
0
3750
7500
11250
15000
0 1.99 3.99 5.99 7.99 9.99 11.99 13.99 15.99+
Ringtone Apps
http://148apps.com/10000
Brutally Honest iPhone App Sales:$32k Spent vs. $535 Revenue
http://www.streamingcolour.com/blog/2009/03/09/the-numbers-post-aka-brutal-honesty/
Dapple
Throwaway Apps
http://www.pinchmedia.com/appstore-secrets/
Throwaway Apps
http://www.pinchmedia.com/appstore-secrets/
Success Determined by Top Lists & Features
http://appcubby.com/blog/files/financial_realities.html
More Open ≠ No Gatekeeper
96%Approved
(what about that 4%?)
10 Rejected Applications
http://www.pcworld.com/article/159887-2/rejected_10_iphone_apps_that_didnt_make_apples_app_store.html
• Obama Trampoline
• MyShoe
• I Am Poor
• The South Park App
• Pull My Finger
• iBoobs
• Slasher
• Murderdome
• Podcaster
• Freedom Time
"Even though my personal political leanings are Democratic, I think this app will be offensive to roughly half our customers. What's the point?" — Steve Jobs
“We view Apps different than books or
songs, which we do not curate. If you
want to criticize a religion, write a book. If
you want to describe sex, write a book or
a song, or create a medical app.”
— Apple AppStore Guidelines
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/04/30/the-hundred-million-dollar-mobile-app-question/
Where is the scale & recurring revenue?
Flickr photo by André-Batista: http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=408700622&size=o
Objective C
Java ME
WebOS
C++
.NET Compact
BREW
Dalvik
Visual Basic
C
Symbian Windows Mobile
Palm
Google Mobile — App Challenges
•Pressure from CEO for rapid releases
•10+ platforms to support
•Over 100 different builds
http://www.flickr.com/photos/83731031@N00/445924458/ • http://www.flickr.com/photos/mcdave/142758127/http://www.flickr.com/photos/nataliejohnson/290541732/
Flickr photo by .Hessam: http://www.flickr.com/photos/essamo/1070527547/
Fragmentation:This is what the
web is supposed to solve.
14%
1%4%
14%
20%
47%
SymbianBlackberryiPhoneAndroidWebOSWindows/Others
2009 Smartphone Market Share (Gartner)
Phones currently shipping or projected to ship using WebKit in blue (85%).
WebKit & HTML5: Dominant Mobile Platform
By contrast, 10 smartphone operating systems.
The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated
http://www.flickr.com/photos/stuckincustoms/2743756315/sizes/l/
Find a single report that doesn’t showexponential growth for mobile web.
CHALLENGE:
Flirtomatic $15M in Revenue
• $12 per month from 175,000 paying customers
• 30% use the service seven times a day
• Sold 28,000 virtual gifts in the five days between Boxing Day and New Year’s Eve
Source: http://bit.ly/cck1xE | http://bit.ly/dpHbak
Our iPhone app has been a Top 10 iPhone
reference application for almost two years with
almost six million downloads, and even with
all of the great chart positions and visibility –
just as many iPhone consumers use our
mobile website as the application.—Kevin Nakao, Chief Operating Officer, Whitepages.com
http://mashable.com/2010/06/10/why-you-may-not-need-a-mobile-app/
Carriers App Store Mobile Web
Openness
Entry Cost
Revenue Split
Restrictions
Releases
Micropayments
Closed, Seek permission
Open to anyone who signs agreement
Completely Open
Thousands of dollars $99 None
60/40 to 50/50 70/30 100%
Many Few None
Difficult, Timely 1 to 2 weeks Instantaneous
Inconsistent iTunes for every phone Not yet
Mobile Web Distribution
Ok Hot Shot, How are You Going to Create Super Monkey Ball with HTML?
<div id=”bridge” class=”rope”>
<div id=”bubble”><span id=”monkey sprite-replace”>Monkey</span>
jquery-banana.js
Some Applications Have to Be Native
Six Common Reasons for Native Apps
Performance
Offline Mode
Findability
Device Attributes
Monetization
ExperienceFlickr photo by John Wardell (Netinho): http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=760902403&size=l
Flickr: Uploaded February 11, 2007 by hawridger
Not for all applications
Good enough for many applications
Javascript Performance improving
Hardware Accelerated CSS
Web developers must improve
Javascript Speed Wars
http://webkit.org/blog/189/announcing-squirrelfish/http://news.cnet.com/8301-1001_3-10030888-92.html
http://weblogs.mozillazine.org/roadmap/archives/2008/09/tracemonkey_update.htmlhttp://webkit.org/blog/214/introducing-squirrelfish-extreme/
We’ve Become Bandwidth Gluttons
Since 2003:
• Web Page Size Tripled• # of Objects Doubled
Since 1995:
• Web Page Size: 22x• # of Objects: 21x
Source: http://www.websiteoptimization.com/speed/tweak/average-web-page/
Yahoo!’s 14 Performance Rules (Now 34!)
1. Make Fewer HTTP Requests
2. Use a Content Delivery Network
3. Add an Expires Header
4. Gzip Components
5. Put Stylesheets at the Top
6. Move Scripts to the Bottom
7. Avoid CSS Expressions
8. Make JavaScript and CSS External
9. Reduce DNS Lookups
10.Minify JavaScript
11.Avoid Redirects
12.Remove Duplicate Scripts
13.Configure ETags
14.Make AJAX Cacheable
Source: http://developer.yahoo.com/performance/rules.html
Offline Support
• HTML 5
• Client-side Database Storage API
• Application Cache
• Essentially SQLite in browser
• Available on iPhone since 2.0
• Google Gears, Android, Nokia soon?
Gmail Using HTML5
http://148apps.com/10000
315,000 Apps
&
Findability?
Geolocation API
Camera
Address Book
Accelerometer
Flickr photo by Lyza Gardner: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lyza/49545547/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/esi_design/4548281713/sizes/l/
Immersive Experience
Mobile Web Experience Biggest Challenges
Position: Fixed
Accelerated Scrolling
Flickr photo by Thomas Purves: http://www.flickr.com/photos/thomaspurves/744225198/
What Can You Do With PhoneGap?
http://phonegap.com/projects
Hybrid Apps?
Yes we can
http://mobiforge.com/designing/story/effective-design-multiple-screen-sizes
Mobile Progressive Enhancement
[content]
Device Detection Phone GapAdd Functionality
iPhone App Generated $400M in 2009
Apps for Your Most Loyal Customers
Reward People for Downloading Your AppTake Advantage of Mobile Capabilities
Native vs WebWe’re all brothers here.
Overtime Debate Format: Battle Rap
Matthias Shapiro & Jason Alderman, Ignite Salt Lake
Mobile Web vs. Native vs. Hybrid? Yes.
Jason GrigsbySlides: bit.ly/grigs-d4m2010 @grigs • [email protected] • mobileportand.com
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jphilipson/2100627902/