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Ios, Android, WP7 - who cares?

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Re: Ios, Android, WP7 - who cares?

#41

Post by toddmorey »

6ren wrote: post #21

As a question of fact, has the mainstream switched from apps to webapps on the desktop? e.g. for spreadsheets, word processors, text editors, photoshop, compilers. If not, then the argument becomes "I think B will happen because I think A will happen". One argument is that the main barrier to webapps is performance, and as soon as hardware gets fast enough, webapps will beat desktop apps. Firstly, there's a question…

The hardware isn't only getting faster, it's also getting more innovative. Here's a really important point: The new capabilities of the hardware (like accelerometers, for example) will always come to native apps first. Color couldn't be a webapp. There's natural urge from develops to want the full potential of a device. Meanwhile, no device maker is going to wait for their new feature to become a web standard before they ship it. You just can't do hardware innovation through the browser, because the whole point of the browser is to abstract the hardware away into a common generic, platform.

Re: Ios, Android, WP7 - who cares?

#42

Post by yaix »

I don't think that the OS "war" will necessarily lead to an open, web based standard. It may well be that one of the contenders manages to make their "platform" so irresistible to users that they flock to that one OS, and we all will have another "MS" for a decade or two.

Its also the job of every developer to "guide" the users towards the best choice. More apps should have a browser version, for instance.

Re: Ios, Android, WP7 - who cares?

#43

Post by wallflower »

statictype wrote: post #26
qusiba wrote: post #18

My boss told me, you can not sell a web application on App Store, that's why we have to hire an iphone programmer to build a client app.

You could charge for web apps. And on the plus side, if you do, you don't have to pay anyone 30% off your price.

Don't underestimate the peer pressure to have an app on the AppStore or, to a lesser degree, the Marketplace.

Web apps are like the place the cool high school kids and poseurs avoid

Re: Ios, Android, WP7 - who cares?

#44

Post by sogrady »

If I'm Apple, Google, or Microsoft I'm going to care a lot because - native or web - users need a platform for applications, and those platforms represent a) revenue potential (see the iPad business) and b) a potential control point (see MSFT for the past two decades). As far as I'm concerned, the native vs web application question is secondary to the platform question. We're going to have both, and yes web clients will increase share. That doesn't change the fact that whoever is supplying the most popular platform for apps - web or native - will have control and profit potential in spades.

Re: Ios, Android, WP7 - who cares?

#45

Post by leon_ »

stanleydrew wrote: post #31
leon_ wrote: post #24

> the web literally blew away the platform differences to something that is comparable to a flavor rather than a huge technical difference or advantage. yeah, web photoshop and web office are real alternatives ...

This isn't a particularly insightful comment, but I get your drift. The thing is, for the generation of teenagers and young adults, web-based software is actually relatively easier to use than native software because they grew up on the web. Even if you sacrifice some functionality using Google docs instead of Word, many people prefer the benefits of an instant-on, no-install, free, auto-syncing solution. So yeah, it…

Yeah, but it doesn't mean the desktop war was lost/won.

Desktops are the niche of professional (or power) users. Tablets are where the web will point - because tablets (and phones) will be how the casual user will "compute" in the future.

So to me, web apps will never (well not in the near future) win the desktop war - just because they can't offer the speed and power a professional user needs.

Re: Ios, Android, WP7 - who cares?

#46

Post by statictype »

wallflower wrote: post #43
statictype wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You could charge for web apps. And on the plus side, if you do, you don't have to pay anyone 30% off your price.

Don't underestimate the peer pressure to have an app on the AppStore or, to a lesser degree, the Marketplace. Web apps are like the place the cool high school kids and poseurs avoid

Web apps are like the place the cool high school kids and poseurs avoid

IOW, webapps will (continue to) be making good money 5 years down the line while iOS apps are bagging groceries at the local supermarket? :)

Re: Ios, Android, WP7 - who cares?

#47

Post by csomar »

I don't see the desktop becoming obsolete. I can't think of another way to do my daily tasks without it. I can't think of another way for my clients too. A tablet and a smart phone are a great addition for my client X, but they don't replace his desktop computer. The iPad, iPhone and Xbox are enough for the kids to have fun, but when they want to browse the Internet and do a presentation, I doubt that the iPad is flexible and powerful enough. I doubt also that Google SpreadSheet is flexible and powerful as Microsoft Office Powerpoint.

A new trend has emerged (Internet + SmartPhones) because we have (the citizen of Planet Earth) become excessive technology users. We have become data holics. We like communication and Internet had just made it easier and more accessible. People got addicted to Information and the awesomeness of technology. That's why they buy the iPad. If they affrod it, they'll pay for it. People pay for the desktop because they need it. Different people have different usages. Some poeple don't use a PC everyday, but a one week usage justifies the purchase.

Re: Ios, Android, WP7 - who cares?

#48

Post by maxklein »

Qz wrote: post #40
maxklein wrote: post #33

People don't seem to really understand the difference: a web app sits on a server. A native app is on the device. A web app will ALWAYS have a round trip time - the web is not instantaneous. So it will ALWAYS be slower than a locally run app, by its very definition. Furthermore, a browser imposes buttons and bars on the application that it does not need. In a mobile app, space is at an extreme premium, and the space…

If we solve these two problems, by making all web based apps download their logic to the client, and by disappearing the browser entirely, then that's a native app. It's running locally and it's independent of the browser. I agree with you on this, although the one quibble I can see is that part of the appeal of web apps has been the idea that you (the user) don't have to update them, because that all happens on the…

Chrome auto-updates, you never realise it.

Re: Ios, Android, WP7 - who cares?

#49

Post by rbanffy »

daleharvey wrote: post #39
6ren wrote: post #21

As a question of fact, has the mainstream switched from apps to webapps on the desktop? e.g. for spreadsheets, word processors, text editors, photoshop, compilers. If not, then the argument becomes "I think B will happen because I think A will happen". One argument is that the main barrier to webapps is performance, and as soon as hardware gets fast enough, webapps will beat desktop apps. Firstly, there's a question…

Web Apps do not need to go and fetch from the internet every time you click a link. There are lots of differenct ways web apps can be built without ever even touching the network

That, and having your data as a single entity you can manipulate and collaborate from any platform is, IMHO, a killer usage.

Re: Ios, Android, WP7 - who cares?

#50

Post by rudiger »

The problem isn't with the Web, it's with current Web standards. The concept of a secure platform for rapid application development and world-wide distribution is great, but Web standards (HTML5 + CSS3 + JavaScript) are really failing to deliver on their promise.

There are apps written in HyperCard 20 years ago that are richer than anything that has been created on the Web that I know of. With iOS, Android, WP7, developers are developing better apps faster than is possible with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. The Web needs better standards to compete; HTML, CSS, and JavaScript are a dead-end.

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