[hurds]

So I was 'checking out the competition' and heard some interesting opinions on apps.


At around 27:45 they start to talk about apps vs browsers (definitely been talked about here before). The interesting part to me is that they seem to somewhat agree that you don't need apps for a lot of things that can just be done in safari. They actually made some points as to where apps are a worse experience. Definitely goes against what a lot of the pro-app people here say.


http://www.imore.com/2011/11/25/iter...paign-monitor/

[trsbbs]

Why post this in a forum full of BB users?

I would think it would work better in the iphone or android sections.


Tim

Sent from my BlackBerry

[Mystic205]

you mean they are saying exactly the same thing as RIM with regard to HTML5?...

..and secondly, I would assume those "pro-app" folks you are referring to are simply trying to get certain functionality on their BB device... they probably do not give a rats how it is done..

So I was 'checking out the competition' and heard some interesting opinions on apps.


At around 27:45 they start to talk about apps vs browsers (definitely been talked about here before). The interesting part to me is that they seem to somewhat agree that you don't need apps for a lot of things that can just be done in safari. They actually made some points as to where apps are a worse experience. Definitely goes against what a lot of the pro-app people here say.


http://www.imore.com/2011/11/25/iter...paign-monitor/

[hurds]

It amazed me how people post while only seemingly glancing at the content of the OP.

Guess people ignore it cause its goes against what they believe. This podcast has apple users saying apps arent all they are cut out to be which is something BB users get ridiculed for. Ignorance is bliss.

[Alex_Hong]

people have different views regarding apps. but there are many sides to this, many points for considerations as well. Such as user interface on a smaller screen, viewing size, bandwidth, processing power...etc. A well-designed app is probably one that is optimised for use on a small screen, while still providing the same functionality of the full site, without any compromise in terms the things you can do with it. Certain apps even provide a better experience and more features on apps compared to websites. This is what I call a quality, well-designed app.

A few example.
- Manga Reader app on Windows Phone. With the app you can get repositories from many different manga sites, meaning you don't have to spend time searching around various websites for the manga you want to read. Just one single location to search for all of them. Next, you are able to download the chapters you want for offline reading. Download it over wifi, read it everywhere else without the need to waste bandwidth. Which is another additional feature. So overall, it provides a better experience and more usability as compared to a browser.
- Next is a youtube app on Windows Phone that i tried as well. Super tube or something like that. It allows viewing of youtube videos, but it also allows user to download videos of desired quality on it, even HD. One click. And boom, available for offline viewing. Compared to on a browser on a desktop, where you have to download the video separately, then convert it, load it into the phone. Overall a more efficient way as well.

This is the same as mobile site, versus a full site. Which mobile sites typically takes away certain features to accomodate better viewing on a smaller screen. Except these days, its with apps.

I do follow the iterate podcasts, as well as androidcentral, wpcentral, and imore podcasts (what can i say, mobile tech is my interest). The guys at iterate are simply being objective in looking at the quality and design of apps these days. There are good apps that works almost as good, or even better than full sites, and there are sub-par apps that takes away certain functionality as compared to the full site, has a bad user experience, and user interface. thats all. It doesn't really goes against anything at all.

[addicted44]

So I was 'checking out the competition' and heard some interesting opinions on apps.


At around 27:45 they start to talk about apps vs browsers (definitely been talked about here before). The interesting part to me is that they seem to somewhat agree that you don't need apps for a lot of things that can just be done in safari. They actually made some points as to where apps are a worse experience. Definitely goes against what a lot of the pro-app people here say.


http://www.imore.com/2011/11/25/iter...paign-monitor/

I disagree for now. It is possible that HTML5 based apps will be as good as local apps in the future, but we aren't there yet. Assuming no radical improvements in native apps, I think we will be there in about 2 years.

But to get there, we really need a change in the W3C structure which moves way too slowly

[Hyphenation]

HTML pages lack support for multitouch or swipe gestures. That's a significant handicap when compared to app interfaces.

[psufan32]

Let's look at this from a couple of angles...

When the Apple App Store first launched, there were very, very few mobile versions of websites. Apps made for convenient viewing of information. That has changed, particularly over the past year plus, with a dramatic shift to mobile website companions to the full, desktop versions.

For that reason, I don't have an Engadget app, for example. I don't have apps for my favorite sports websites. I take in that information through the browser. Same with the NY Times and WSJ. The browser experience meets and often times beats the app experience.

There are, however, some exceptions. I use Facebook and Twitter through apps. I use the dedicated YouTube app. I also use banking apps, instead of websites. I find the app experience to be better, and faster to launch/faster to use.

As well, there are functions that simply don't work well through a browser. Streaming and/or playing music is one of them. IM chatting is another. Google Maps and Google Drive/DropBox are infinitely easier/faster through apps. I also use apps such as miCoach, ScoreMobile, TripIt/FlightTrack, BeWeather, etc., through apps. A lot of the time, I'm switching back and forth quickly between those apps, and the ability to have multiple apps open in the background and to be able to simply jump right back in is a feature/functionality that I couldn't get if trying to jump between tabs on a browser.

There are also some apps that require to be downloaded and run as an app. SwiftKey is an example. It is a keyboard, but it is also an app that I downloaded. Gmail is another example. I use the Gmail app for my email, rather than the built in "app" for email. I like knowing that if I want a new keyboard, I can simply download one. If I want to get my email in another manner, I can download a new app that would serve as my default place for email.

Lastly, apps, as a part of their general purpose, are built to run very lean. No matter how good the browser is, the browser is still a heavier use/experience.

[omniusovermind]

I have mixed feelings about this so I'll break it down a bit.

-RIM appears to be taking an interest in HTML5 apps. There was a recent article linked here that mentioned HTML5 apps having the potential to minimalize the advantage Apple/Android has because they'll be server-side cross platform with no app store required, which means the smartphone market could end up competing based on hardware and UI, and not so much app selection. This would be huge for RIM (and Windows Phones)

-someone tempered the response to this, mentioning that WebOS banked on html5 apps and it never panned out. Maybe they were too early to bank on it? Either way, RIM is playing their cards well because they aren't putting all their eggs in one basket. They're also still actively pursuing a native apps approach with cascades etc.

-I've used an android phone for over a year and I can tell you this much... I honestly don't feel like I need the selection that I have. Pretty much all of the apps I use on my android phone are on BB app world, or have an equivalent. I will say this much though - App World's layout does suck compared to Android's. I hope they'll be addressing that on BB10 launch day or sooner.

One thing I'm not sure about is how well maps/navigation apps on a BB are compared to google apps. I use my google maps and nav heavily with my phone in a car dock. My phone also has an alternate UI option for cars with big easy buttons.

[Tre Lawrence]

So I was 'checking out the competition' and heard some interesting opinions on apps.


At around 27:45 they start to talk about apps vs browsers (definitely been talked about here before). The interesting part to me is that they seem to somewhat agree that you don't need apps for a lot of things that can just be done in safari. They actually made some points as to where apps are a worse experience. Definitely goes against what a lot of the pro-app people here say.


http://www.imore.com/2011/11/25/iter...paign-monitor/

Interesting interpretation. Wow.

It sounds like they are talking specifically about the Google search app (makes sense; I understand how some people would want a search app, but if I am using the browser already...).

They also seem to NOT like being kicked out of apps to browsers. The one speaker specifically complain about the Netflix app re-routing him. They point out that this is an easy way to tick people off. They want apps to be dedicated apps, not browser launchers.

Somehow, you see them saying that apps are not needed, and you only need the browser.

LOL.

[hurds]

Interesting interpretation. Wow.

It sounds like they are talking specifically about the Google search app (makes sense; I understand how some people would want a search app, but if I am using the browser already...).

They also seem to NOT like being kicked out of apps to browsers. The one speaker specifically complain about the Netflix app re-routing him. They point out that this is an easy way to tick people off. They want apps to be dedicated apps, not browser launchers.

Somehow, you see them saying that apps are not needed, and you only need the browser.

LOL.

Same to you.