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by wvenable 5296 days ago
The reason why this conversation is coming up again is that so many applications that are web applications on the desktop are more commonly accessed as native apps on mobile. For example, on iOS I use a native client for IMDB, my bank, Mint, Wikipedia, and so on. But on the desktop I use web sites for these services. There has been a shift back to native on mobile.

I agree that we'll end up with both but perhaps more importantly is that the difference between web and mobile will blur together even more.
1 comments
politician 5296 days ago
I think the real reason that you see apps on mobile devices is that an app puts an easy to use branded icon on the "desktop" instead of requiring the user to open a browser and navigate to the site. I don't think it has anything to do with lack of access to capabilities (e.g. Mint doesn't need access to my camera).

Try this thought experiment: What do you think would be the reaction from users and developers if Apple simply renamed Safari's "Add link to home screen" option to "Install App"?

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wvenable 5296 days ago
I never said anything about "lack of access to capabilities". Native applications, in the vast majority of cases, are just better in every way than the similar web versions. They're faster, cleaner, and more capable. If both are being offered, it makes no sense to choose the web version.

My company makes an iOS-compatible web application with no plans for a native client right now. We use some JavaScript[1] to remind users to add us to their homescreen. But if we had the resources, we would build a native client -- it's a no brainer.

[1] http://cubiq.org/add-to-home-screen

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