Back in 2004 when Dennis and I were getting dodgeball off the ground we always saw having a downloadable application as somewhat of a Holy Grail - not the Holy Grail mind you, but we thought it was not only pretty cool, but also “important” that we have one.
Once we found ourselves in a place where we could have one (circa 2005), we determined that building out a mobile-optimized XHTML site was a much better use of our time and resources: 1) more people could use it, 2) there was no “installation”, 3) it was easier to code and 4) it was easy to update as often as we wanted. The biggest drawback was most certainly speed but that’s something that has (and will continue to) get better. What more could you possibly want?
Well it seems like things have certainly continued to trend that way, with the iPhone scoring a ton of points along the way for the Mobile Web, and many are getting ready to sound the death knell. Take a moment to read Michael Mace’s excellent article detailing the landscape. I also want to credit Todd Walker for identifying the best quote to pull from the piece:
“The business of making native apps for mobile devices is dying, crushed by a fragmented market and restrictive business practices. The problems are so bad that the mobile web, despite its many technical drawbacks, is now a better way to deliver new functionality to mobiles.”
Read more: Mobile Opportunity: Mobile applications, RIP
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