Hello...

Darren Cousins

Senior UX Developer / Mobile advocate - Reading Room

Lead internet developer for 12 years in financial services

CIM post grad in marketing

Hype & Reality

Native app coding is currently where flash was in its prime,capable of delivering what browsers can’t

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Markets

App stores superiority

Speed to market

Market awareness

Ease of installation

Monetisation

Competitive threat comes from a potential web app store and a closing technology gap between mobile browser capabilities and native functionality

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Clients have realised they don’t need an app to be visible in the mobile space

Client demand

It’s all about consumption

It’s all about consumption

2 hours per day32% on games68% on data consumption

Gaming is largest single activityDoesn’t usually require internetSelf contained content is the value layer

All other activities are data consumptionRequire internet accessDelivered content is the value layer

A locally installed, fast opening app isn't as useful as the data it connects to

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Usage patterns

Top 3 uses of the desktop internet

• Social networking• Search• Video

Usage patterns

These don't require a dedicated app, they all work within the browserMobile browsers are amply capable of delivering all of these services

When the mobile-desktop crossover point occurs, desktop patterns will transpose onto mobile, email has already become a mobile activity

Games might not always be the top activity“

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Technology

NativeWeb growth featuresPerformanceUpdates

Native

Usual advantages for "going native", speed, native features and smooth UX

Aren't core requirements for what most people actually do with their phone, consume information

Technology

Speed - will always be a function of device capability, not the development platform,mobile hardware advances will reduce performance gap of native approach

Smooth UX - requires thought-out animation using optimised libraries and a modern GPU to deliver performance increases

Web growth features

Browser APIs are providing more access to native features

GPS / local storage has already happened

getUserMedia provides nascent camera and microphone integration

http://www.html5camera.com/

Technology

Performance

Local storage is faster than browser cache and offers buffering for intermittent network connections

DART and other attempts to simplify JS offer speed improvements

Video codec's can now be written in JS (Otoy) allowing constant improvements which are independent of apps and OS

Technology

Updates

App updates can be ignored

Can affect brand perception and conversion potential

Web apps deliver updates instantly to all users

Everyone is using the latest and greatest version

Technology

Resources

Development& Cost

Resources

Development

The knowledge-barrier to entry for native code development is higher than web.

Progress in developer tools will cater for the masses, and with millions of web developers the knowledge hurdles will be removed by means of hybrid frameworks

The native language of the internet becomes the lowest common denominator to the widest array of platforms and devices.

Resources

Cost

Cost of native development is high, both financial and time

The average user expects an app to cost zero

User loyalty is practically non-existent and migration is expected

Only financial winner from apps are the app stores.

Summary

Burberry, New York Times and the Financial Times have already created web apps

Step change in mobile traffic occurring very soon, mobile usage will also change

As more people turn to mobile as a primary device, device fragmentation is inevitable in every ecosystem

App development can't scale quickly enough to match rapidly expanding diversity

The most cost effective and scalable approach is responsive mobile web apps that can be deployed to a diverse range of devices sized from smartphones to cars