Building the best mobile user experience: web apps or native apps?

A round-up of mobile web app versus native app discussions. More to come.....send along any links that have been missed.

Why mobile web apps should stop trying to act like native apps

"Pretenders are mobile Web apps that try to replicate the native experience. You’ve no doubt seen Web apps with iPhone-style back buttons, awkward attempts at implementing gestures, laggy scrolling and the like."

HTML5 Is An Oncoming Train, But Native App Development Is An Oncoming Rocket Ship

"Let’s be honest: right now, most HTML-based mobile apps are a joke when compared to their native counterparts. It’s not even remotely close. In fact, you could argue that the discrepancy isn’t much smaller than it was three years ago."

iOS 5 Brings Native-Style Scrolling to Web Apps

A "new inherited CSS property, -webkit-overflow-scrolling, is available," these notes explain. "The value touch allows the Web developer to opt in to native-style scrolling in an overflow:scroll element."

Facebook’s Focus In 2011: Better Cross-Platform Unification Led By HTML5

“When we update something, there are about 7 different versions we have to update,” Taylor said. He rattled off a few: facebook.com, m.facebook.com, touch.facebook.com, the iPhone version, the Android version, etc. “It’s an incredible challenge,” he said. “And there’s feature-skew,” he continued. ... He did acknowledge that HTML5 was still a bit quirky when compared to native applications. “But the gap is closing,” Taylor concluded. Google Continues To Embrace Native iPhone Apps As Google Translate Hits App Store "Google Translate has previously been available on the iPhone via an HTML5 experience since mid 2008. But again, now iPhone users are getting a native experience with some significant new additions." Scrollability, New iOS Physics Project from Facebook for iPhone Creator, Joe Hewitt

The goal of Scrollability is to give mobile Web applications "a pretty darn good approximation of native scrolling," the description reads on GitHub.

The State Of Web Development Ripped Apart In 25 Tweets By One Man

"As someone who has tried to do both cutting edge native and web iPhone apps, iPhone Safari is a joke compared to iPhone Cocoa."

The myth of the “native” app

"I think the basic point should be emerging. Users really aren’t all that concerned that an app “follows the conventions of a native app”. Like much to do with these debates, such observations are mere assertions, unsupported by any evidence. From the perspective of the user, the “native” app is a myth. If “nativity” were such a compelling user desire, would 90% of the top paid iPhone Apps use little if any CocoaTouch UI elements? ... When building web apps, don’t ape “native” (that is iOS) user experiences. User’s it would seem don’t actually give a damn."

Goals for mobile journalists (reporters, editors, designers, photographers and developers)

Ahead of some exciting mobile news in my neck of the woods - I'm publishing the goals I wrote up for newsrooms using smartphones.

Please add comments below, or tell me on Twitter or send me an e-mail about what else should be added and what should be removed.

Remember, this is intended for all journalists (reporters, editors, designers, photographers, developers, etc.) and I want to keep it short. This is not a list of demands that should be given to a smartphone-wielding journalist, just a list of journalism goals that are believed to be served by using a smartphone. Side note: The section heads below are based on our audience-based workflow.

LISTEN
Sourcing for content ideas and components should come from a diverse variety of people and places.

  • Listen to current and new audiences.

 
ENGAGE
Conversations and exchanges across platforms and groups are necessary to drive and constantly inform coverage.

  • Ask powerful and thoughtful questions.
  • Ask for and acknowledge contributions.
  • Share ideas and ask for feedback. Be approachable.


DISCOVER
Learn about content topics by participating in and observing the culture surrounding your beat to inform your coverage.

  • Learn based on listening.
  • Question and evaluate new ideas using critical thinking.


PRODUCE
Create content that builds and grows communities. Choose the storytelling and delivery methods that best help audiences connect with the content.

  • Tell compelling stories in a variety of formats for your various audiences.
  • Provide clarity, truth and fairness.
  • Curate content from various sources.
  • Correct errors swiftly and publicly.


SHARE
Grow a loyal audience by providing access to you and your coverage via useful and relevant tools that make sense for the coverage.

  • Share your own work and the work of others. Curate what you share based on your audiences' wants.