[pwim]

For most, starting with a mobile website is the best option as the cost is lowest to develop and you reach the widest audience.

If warranted, you can follow up with apps for specific platforms.

[Concours]

I fully agree with you, mobile apps are the way to go, and you can still build native apps for advance feature or mnetisation as well as part of a strategy to reach a broader audience, I use http://www.gmbhnews.com as a base for mobile apps to help bloggers achieve this.

[zweben]

I agree. Native apps are great if you have some features you want to implement that aren't practical in a web app, but I can't think of any case where a website with a native app for mobile devices has any good excuse not to also have a web app to fall back on.

[webdragon]

With things like games, you can see that an app could be the only option. While HTML5 is almost there, it still doesn't offer the performance and capabilities of a native app, while Apple's stance on Flash means Flash-based games are a no-no.

[webdragon]

That's the best approach for most companies. User feedback and usage stats will then determine the next step.