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The Decline of the Mobile Web

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Re: The Decline of the Mobile Web

#41

Post by rimantas »

digitalengineer wrote: post #27
Dirlewanger wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, you are, along with most users here. But it's not stopping companies from wanting to control UX entirely though a mobile application. One of the reasons for this is that in general, mobile webpage performance is complete ass. A thorough but by-no-means complete diagnosis of the problem can be found here: http://sealedabstract.com/rants/why-mobile-web-apps-are-slow...

TL;DR? Anyone recommend a fast frondend set? HTML5 boilerplate or Bootstrap, or...?

You don't get fast by adding frameworks, you get fast by removing them.

Re: The Decline of the Mobile Web

#42

Post by rimantas »

IpxqwidxG wrote: post #39
mmahemoff wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The "HTML5 will catch up" argument is a common fallacy. It assumes native apps are standing still, when in fact they are moving rapidly forward. If anything, the gap continues to grow. The web isn't even in their cross-hairs, there's just so much effort for each native platform to keep surging ahead of the others. If you think Android and iOS are "done", consider where they are headed and you can see they are barely…

Yes, but the growth aspect will move away from new native apps to new web apps as soon as 'UI side of the web' stops trailing too far. I agree with you that the competition will push either sides forward, but by how much at each end? - that is the question.

  > as soon as 'UI side of the web' stops trailing too far
Except not likely it ever will.

Re: The Decline of the Mobile Web

#43

Post by unclebucknasty »

gitah wrote: post #30
msvan wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not a scrapeability problem; it's a freedom problem. The article mentions this. Why should the app stores decide what can and cannot be on our phones, and why should they add a 30% tax on everything that is published on mobile? There are a lot of claims that the tech industry is disrupting the big music and books businesses, for the benefit of consumers, but these new players are acting like the middlemen they a…

Apple and Google gets to act as middle men because their app store provides value to the end user. Users are free to use the mobile browser on their phones but most of the time native apps are a better experience. And guess who develops the framework and tools to create these value-adding native apps. This is the free market at work.

>This is the free market at work

The free market sometimes leads to a not-so-free market, which is ultimately bad for consumers. This is the entire reason there is anti-trust law.

Re: The Decline of the Mobile Web

#44

Post by nobbyclark »

fidotron wrote: post #10

I'm of the view this is a lot of fuss about nothing. Big deal if people prefer apps over the "open" web. The reality is a large number of people use the likes of MSN and Yahoo as web home pages, and unless you were linked to from them they were unlikely to find you. The app launcher situation is an improvement over that. The big problem is that dipping your toes into something via a website (assuming you don't hit an…

What about traffic from Google?

For any existng online platform that's already established itself on the web, you're probably seeing 50%+ of your traffic coming from Google and a big chunk of that will be mobile. Some of your userbase may be loyal enough to your brand to want to install your app but the rest will be lost if you don't have a decent mobile web presence.

In short: apps vs mobile web? Both

Re: The Decline of the Mobile Web

#45

Post by unclebucknasty »

rimantas wrote: post #37
msvan wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not a scrapeability problem; it's a freedom problem. The article mentions this. Why should the app stores decide what can and cannot be on our phones, and why should they add a 30% tax on everything that is published on mobile? There are a lot of claims that the tech industry is disrupting the big music and books businesses, for the benefit of consumers, but these new players are acting like the middlemen they a…

How about letting me to decide what I want on my phone? And if I prefer apps to the ad-ridden, third-party-tracking-code infested web pages, so be it?

>And if I prefer apps to the ad-ridden, third-party-tracking-code infested web pages, so be it

Cool. And now, I'd like to introduce you to the world of ad-ridden, third-party-tracking-code infested apps.

Re: The Decline of the Mobile Web

#46

Post by gopher1 »

rimantas wrote: post #37
msvan wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not a scrapeability problem; it's a freedom problem. The article mentions this. Why should the app stores decide what can and cannot be on our phones, and why should they add a 30% tax on everything that is published on mobile? There are a lot of claims that the tech industry is disrupting the big music and books businesses, for the benefit of consumers, but these new players are acting like the middlemen they a…

How about letting me to decide what I want on my phone? And if I prefer apps to the ad-ridden, third-party-tracking-code infested web pages, so be it?

Just so you know, apps are also using any number of third party tracking services, and many are also ad-ridden.

Not to mention that apps usually have more/deeper access to your personal information.

Re: The Decline of the Mobile Web

#47

Post by angryasian »

milesskorpen wrote: post #35
jsnk wrote: post #13

I wrote about this problem here ( http://serv.github.io/blog/2014/02/20/unfortunate-state-of-m... ). Mobile Web sucks because there's an incentive problem. No one really has strong incentive to make mobile web better. Performance issues are largely an effect of this root incentive problem. (edited from "cause" to "effect") - Users have a strong preconceived notion that websites on mobile just suck compared to native…

Your assessment seems to suggest this is a perception issue. But even the best mobile websites really are second-tier to solid (not even top tier) native apps. And as smartphones become more and more sophisticated sensor platforms, this will become even more problematic.

>But even the best mobile websites really are second-tier to solid (not even top tier) native apps.

This goes back to his original point , no one really has strong incentive to make mobile web performance better. The two primary gatekeepers (apple, google) are benefiting hugely from their app stores in terms of profit and pushing their agenda.

Re: The Decline of the Mobile Web

#48

Post by cannuk »

izend wrote: post #32
rschmitty wrote: post #2

Am I in the minority that I don't want an app for every. bloody. webpage. I visit?

I prefer the reddit native app than the website reddit.com on my iphone 5, in my opinion navigation is faster and the information is presented more clearly.

Hmm, I am the opposite. Infact, the reddit mobile site is one of the few mobile web apps I use on a daily basis.

Re: The Decline of the Mobile Web

#49

Post by wvenable »

rschmitty wrote: post #2

Am I in the minority that I don't want an app for every. bloody. webpage. I visit?

Apps are usually better in every way than web sites (I'd love a good HN app for my iPhone). If I visit a site frequently, I'd want an app for it.

But for infrequently used sites, the hassle isn't worth the benefit.

Re: The Decline of the Mobile Web

#50

Post by 001sky »

ChuckMcM wrote: post #25

It seems 'mobile apps' are like Flash was in the 90's, basically a way to take full control over the UX to achieve some particular goal. Given the preponderance of such apps it seems as if home screens are due for a make over that looks more like iPod music libraries than 'desktop.' Basically something which supports dozens if not hundreds of apps on a device.

Also the data is tied to the id
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