In our previous blog article, we looked at whether you should develop on iOS (ie Apple) or Android platform. This article looks at the issue at a level higher ie whether or not to develop via HTML 5 or native app (iOS or Android). This blog post will provide a brief description of what an HTML 5 and native app is and provide some guidelines to make that decision.
What’s the difference?
HTML 5 is a markup language for the Internet which structures and presents content. It is still under development and is aimed for completion by 2014. It also aims to provide mobile users richer web applications and improved usability. Applications developed on HTML 5 lives and breathes online and not on your mobile device. Users need to access them through their mobile device’s web browser. So you would save time getting your application uploaded onto the App Store or Google Play. This also means that your mobile device requires internet connection to access the application. Finally, a key thing to note is that HTML 5 applications will not be able to access all of a phone’s features eg camera phone.
Native Apps are developed based on your mobile phone’s platform. iOS programs developed for iPhone and Android programs for… well Android phones. These programs have to be downloaded via App Store or Google Play, typically. Your app can then run off your mobile phone and doesn’t require an Internet connection (unless you are doing updates online or are pulling content).
So in short – HTML 5 mobile applications are accessed from the internet whereas native apps are downloaded onto your mobile device and runs from there.
Which one should I choose? It all depends on
Where your traffic comes from. CNET News hosted an article on how CBS Interactive assessed this decision. If your users access your site directly via Bookmark or typing in URL (eg Facebook, CBS.com) a native app is recommended. Some useful features can be included in the app ie push notifications and offline storage. But if your site has intermittent traffic and users normally access it via other sites (eg Google, Facebook, Twitter) HTML 5 would be the ideal place to develop your site. It was also recommended that if you have both types of traffic, then you may want to look at developing both an HTML 5 mobile web and native app.
What your application is designed for. If it is mainly to push content from the website, static information such as company information, HTML 5 mobile web will do a sufficient job. But if you are trying to create a unique mobile experience with enhanced functionalities (eg accessing a phone’s hardware, calendar, contacts) then the native app would be the choice to go with.
What is your budget for both time and money. Based on a Microsoft Developer Network article, HTML 5 mobile web is less time and cost intensive. Whereas native apps require more resources. MDG Advertising concurs with this point via this infographic.
What’s everyone doing? By everyone I mean Facebook.
Recently, Facebook launched its iOS app and moved away from HTML 5 to use Objective-C (development time,9 months). The result, faster response time all around (as reported in TechCrunch). It is interesting to note that the amount of code to write in Objective-C increased compared to HTML 5. Facebook could very well be thinking about improving the experience for their users when making the iOS app more responsive. I think it’s brilliant because faster response times means higher user engagement, and more time spent on the app. More time spent on the app, the higher the likelihood one may be inclined to buy something from it. That’s my two cents on the matter anyways.
Summing Up?
If your mobile app requires the access of a mobile device hardware capabilities (eg GPS location, accelerometer, camera phone), then native apps are definitely the choice you need to make. But if there’s only basic information being provided and no fancy functionalities, HTML 5 mobile web would be the recommended path. As HTML 5 matures, it is conceivable that the capabilities for mobile web improves. We hope to report blog about it when that happens!
Simple Disclaimer: We’re not agents/resellers for either iPhone/Apple or Android/Google. We were interested in the subject and wanted to share our findings. Please ensure that you do plenty of research before launching head first into any app development. Peace.
PS If I’ve misquoted or did not properly attribute, please contact me and I will get it fixed. Any mistake was not done intentionally as I’m after all human… well at least I’d like to think that 
HTML5 is the new buzzword. I would prefer making apps compatible on different platforms rather than writing code for all them individually. No doubt native apps are better, but I don’t want to spend money on for each of them separately when I have the provision of cross-platform app development!