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BlackBerry 10 is Going to Have the Best Web Browser of Any Mobile Platform

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Re: BlackBerry 10 is Going to Have the Best Web Browser of Any Mobile Platform

#11

Post by nodemaker »

arihant wrote: post #6
smallsharptools wrote: post #2

Wow, if BlackBerry really thinks a better browser will help them retain more customers they really don't get why people prefer iPhone and Android phones. And consulting with the HTML5 team at Facebook which just rushed to quickly rewrite their mobile apps to 100% native apps after failing to leverage an HTML5/Native hybrid approach they are just digging the hole that much more. The reason the iPhone is so popular is…

Have you even tried developing for BB10? Converting a mobile webapp to BB10 to native app takes merely few hours. BB10 supports Phonegap out of the box (their dev tools have simulator for it). They have their own version of something very similar to Phonegap but a little richer. You can port any Phonegap app to BB10 and use their JS API's for deeper integration. BB10 is RIM betting on HTML5 for native apps as well. I…

In five years, native apps will be much better too. So it would require HTML5 apps to not only be better than native apps from now but also native apps from the future to be considered as cool. I dont think this a very good bet since in the end the browser itself is a native app!

Re: BlackBerry 10 is Going to Have the Best Web Browser of Any Mobile Platform

#12

Post by hemancuso »

Predictably there are a lot of haters on the thread, but can't we look at this as a good thing? A great browser won't be anywhere near enough to win, but a crappy browser is game over. I, for one, would like more competing platforms rather than fewer.

Re: BlackBerry 10 is Going to Have the Best Web Browser of Any Mobile Platform

#13

Post by maratd »

smallsharptools wrote: post #2

Wow, if BlackBerry really thinks a better browser will help them retain more customers they really don't get why people prefer iPhone and Android phones. And consulting with the HTML5 team at Facebook which just rushed to quickly rewrite their mobile apps to 100% native apps after failing to leverage an HTML5/Native hybrid approach they are just digging the hole that much more. The reason the iPhone is so popular is…

> Wow, if BlackBerry really thinks a better browser will help them retain more customers they really don't get why people prefer iPhone and Android phones.

Blackberry doesn't have a choice. They're in a tough spot. They need to "skip" a generation, if they have any hope of survival.

Things are moving toward web/html5 tech and that is the future. Not now, but in a few years. All of the direct-hardware-access stuff is being worked on right now.

Even now, you can build metro/Windows 8 apps using html5. There's Firefox OS. WebOS is barely alive, but still kicking.

And, of course, there's the simple argument that the most important and popular app on both iOS and Android is the web browser.

Re: BlackBerry 10 is Going to Have the Best Web Browser of Any Mobile Platform

#14

Post by SwellJoe »

WrkInProgress wrote: post #4

I believe it was Elop who said it is now a war of ecosystems. And he was very right. I don't think having the best web browser is going to do much beyond making life a little easier for early adpoters.

If your ecosystem is "the entire Internet", I'd say it's a pretty good ecosystem to start with for BB10. I'm not particularly excited about BlackBerry, and never have been their target audience, but a good browser is absolutely one of the most important factors in my phone decision.

I still believe in the power of the open web over closed ecosystems, despite the billions Apple makes from their App Store. I'm hopeful that the open web will win on the phone, just as it has begun to win on the desktop. And in that world, it won't matter what OS you run, as long as your phone has a competent browser. Sounds like BB10 will have a very competent browser.

That's not to say I believe RIM can pull out of this nosedive, but at least they're making moves in the right directions, for the first time in years (I think; I haven't seen anything else from them that makes me think they understand the new reality of the mobile landscape).

Re: BlackBerry 10 is Going to Have the Best Web Browser of Any Mobile Platform

#16

Post by uzusan »

arihant wrote: post #6
smallsharptools wrote: post #2

Wow, if BlackBerry really thinks a better browser will help them retain more customers they really don't get why people prefer iPhone and Android phones. And consulting with the HTML5 team at Facebook which just rushed to quickly rewrite their mobile apps to 100% native apps after failing to leverage an HTML5/Native hybrid approach they are just digging the hole that much more. The reason the iPhone is so popular is…

Have you even tried developing for BB10? Converting a mobile webapp to BB10 to native app takes merely few hours. BB10 supports Phonegap out of the box (their dev tools have simulator for it). They have their own version of something very similar to Phonegap but a little richer. You can port any Phonegap app to BB10 and use their JS API's for deeper integration. BB10 is RIM betting on HTML5 for native apps as well. I…

Having just finished writing a phonegap app (or Cordova as it is now known), this makes me much less likely to want to use BB10. I've only used Cordova on ios and android (simply because blackberry has such as small percentage of the target it is not worth the investment).

Native apps are much nicer and easier to code, regardless of the platform. And don't even get me started on the mess that is trying to use JS frameworks such as Jquery mobile to actually do something useful. Such as facebook or twitter integration.

Cross platform app development is a good ideal but none of the current platforms can do it in a way that isn't a horrendous pain.

Re: BlackBerry 10 is Going to Have the Best Web Browser of Any Mobile Platform

#18

Post by aes256 »

hemancuso wrote: post #12

Predictably there are a lot of haters on the thread, but can't we look at this as a good thing? A great browser won't be anywhere near enough to win, but a crappy browser is game over. I, for one, would like more competing platforms rather than fewer.

BlackBerry aren't even in the competition anymore.

It's over for them.

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