What percentage of the market carries Tom Tom devices? It sounds like a tiny, tiny percentage. What would I be doing there other than proving the market for someone with the stomach to make the real money on the iTunes store?
True. Or u can kill ur tom-tom market with ur own iTunes app.
The thing about tom-tom is it's a gps device. So u get easy adoption for a gps service. Because you get the pre-established intent to use a gps service.
Basically get noticed with the Tom-Tom(more likely because of pre-established intent) and then come up with an app for other devices. Or like I suggest a browser based app( I don't know if this is currently possible, but am sure it will happen soon)
I don't think so, but you can still try to keep as much logic as possible on the web. (E.g. by providing a browser window to your website and a button that does a POST to your API, and nothing else...)
Postabon's mobile website can access the users GPS location, if that capability is present on the user's device. smanek can chime in here. (I wrote their iPhone app.)
If I was making a product that wouldn't be done for a year, I'd think about targeting next gen tech. But for apps that take at most a month or two? No way.
My limited experience so far echoes this. I'm in the middle of scratching an itch my wife has in such a way that it's useful to more people than just her, and part of that is a mobile application.
Sencha (and jQTouch before it) is absolutely gorgeous; I wanted very much to fall in love with it. On a webkit browser on my desk, it produced visually stunning results.
And then I tried using it with both an iPhone 3G and a G1. Yes, they're old tech, but they're the hardware I have on hand right now to test on (and not exactly uncommon in the field), and performance is abysmal.
I would assume the same tests run against an iPhone 4 or an HTC Evo would blow me away, but my wife has a G1, and I'm building this for her first. :)
visit www.gmbhnews.com from your iphone/android/BB to see how it looks as a webapp in a field where you mostly find native apps. It may be a bit difficult to market mobile webapps from my experience, since peoples don't use search on their smartphones (I think, this stateent is from Steve Jobs), but it's definetly worth it. and you can still create a native app , if it's really the point, and target a specific platform.
What's wrong with the following pattern:
1. build an HTML5 app
2. build a native app that embeds a Web control
3. package the app and HTML5 app together using application cache
4. distribute on AppStore
You get the a) offline support b) monetization c) distribution via AppStore
the html5 app won't be capable of using device specific input, such as accelerometer, compass, multitouch, etc. All of that is not yet part of the html 5 spec.
So when we compare html5 vs mobile apps it's just an apples against bananas type of comparison
Well, the strategy i'm describing involves a native app. In that case, would it be possible to expose device-specific API to JavaScript?
Also, multi-touch is actually supported by webkit. There a nice WWDC video that intoduces this capability if you'd like to learn more.
To be clear the idea above isn't new of course. For instance http://www.appcelerator.com/ provides a native app with a thin wrapper around a web control.
Phonegap provides a thin wrapper around a webview.
Titanium changed course with their 1.0 version, and now compiles the Javascript to native code. (they used to do the webview thing).
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[ 5.0 ms ] story [ 53.1 ms ] threadSee http://www.electronista.com/articles/10/04/29/tomtom.to.use....
Basically get noticed with the Tom-Tom(more likely because of pre-established intent) and then come up with an app for other devices. Or like I suggest a browser based app( I don't know if this is currently possible, but am sure it will happen soon)
ie, right now they don't. I don't plan to wait.
I tried making an iPhone web app... tooo slooow.
Sencha (and jQTouch before it) is absolutely gorgeous; I wanted very much to fall in love with it. On a webkit browser on my desk, it produced visually stunning results.
And then I tried using it with both an iPhone 3G and a G1. Yes, they're old tech, but they're the hardware I have on hand right now to test on (and not exactly uncommon in the field), and performance is abysmal.
I would assume the same tests run against an iPhone 4 or an HTC Evo would blow me away, but my wife has a G1, and I'm building this for her first. :)
* Native performance.(getting better, still not there).
* Offline is way harder (possible, with manifests, but harder).
* Monetization is harder: you can't just 'sell' a webapp.
* The appstores (can be) a great distribution and promotion channel.
* The web has way less access to the device: No contacts, camera, etc.
It's getting better, but native apps do have their advantages.
What's wrong with the following pattern: 1. build an HTML5 app 2. build a native app that embeds a Web control 3. package the app and HTML5 app together using application cache 4. distribute on AppStore
You get the a) offline support b) monetization c) distribution via AppStore
Also, multi-touch is actually supported by webkit. There a nice WWDC video that intoduces this capability if you'd like to learn more.
To be clear the idea above isn't new of course. For instance http://www.appcelerator.com/ provides a native app with a thin wrapper around a web control.