Developer Debate: Web vs. Native App, Not An Easy Answer

Developers have often lamented that they wanted to be able to create web-based apps that look, feel and act like native applications, that is, applications developed to take advantage of the native functionality of specific devices. The line between the two is getting more and more blurred through the use of HTML5, JavaScript libraries and CSS3.

Through the use of these technologies, developers will be able to create compelling, immersive experiences that typically would only have been possible in native applications. Right now, the lack of HTML5 tools and varying degrees of HTML5 support from web browsers is still holding some developers back.

Most of the experts in the industry agree that both web apps and native apps will continue to co-exist. Some devices, such as the iPhone and iPad, however, will encourage developers to create apps that work equally well on those devices as well as standard desktop browsers.

Consider the Angry Birds game that was recently released on the Chrome Web Store…it was initially released on various mobile platforms, and later made it to the web. The experience of playing the game is pretty much the same whether you are playing it on an Android device, an iPhone or a desktop browser. This is exactly the type of experience that blurs the line between native apps and web apps, and you will see many more like it in the next few years.