[Nagyman]

It's really something all businesses building apps (native or otherwise) should be concerned with. Until we have one global network provider (haha), I don't see them cooperating with each other any time soon in any way that doesn't line their pockets. There are some EU roaming laws progressing in that direction, but I don't expect that for North Americans in the near future.

Latest example I had while I was travelling - the AirBnb "app" couldn't show me my accommodation details without internet access. Really, what's the point of the app then if you can't cache the data locally?

Browser caches should also be less aggressive about getting fresh data too. Caching is hard, but not everybody stays in one place with access to the internet until later. Do I have to continue printing on paper? Most web apps and pages don't pay enough attention to those cache headers.

I used Maps.me while in Europe and it worked well except for the occasional crash, and the offline routing was very welcome for navigating the cities.

[roel_v]

Another one that barely works offline, incredibly: TripIt. WTF? Theoretically TripIt would be the bee's knees, and then you stand in line at the checkin desk and you want to show them the pdf eticket they emailed you - 'oops just hold on while this app starts - uhoh can't connect - uh it was here just a while ago - just wait a bit - yeah I'll be back later'.

A travel app that doesn't work off line? Never doing that again.