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A comment on Gmail Sidesteps the App Store.

Re:Gmail Sidesteps the App Store by stephencelis on Wednesday April 15, 2009 @08:05AM (#563331)
The fact that Google is utilizing HTML5 client-side storage is cool.

The emphasis this article places on a nonexistent battle between the App Store and web apps is misleading.

Google didn't "sidestep" the App Store. Google took advantage of the web platform Apple provides because that platform makes more sense.

Web apps do miss a few things, though:

  * Speed-ups from stepping outside of a UIWebView
  * Instant Springboard real estate
  * Instant monetization via Apple "one-click"
  * All the APIs wep apps don't have access to
I don't mean to imply it makes sense to port every web app over, but the platforms are quite different, and those differences should probably not be understated.
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Re:Gmail Sidesteps the App Store by ZeroGravitas on Wednesday April 15, 2009 @08:53AM (#563361)
"Instant Springboard real estate"

You can easily add web apps or pages to the iPhones home screen, it's the button right below "bookmark". You even get a nice icon if it specified correctly using the appropriate HTML5

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Re:Gmail Sidesteps the App Store by stephencelis on Wednesday April 15, 2009 @09:14AM (#563388)
"Easily", but not "instantly".

If you download an app, it goes to your Springboard till you remove it. If you visit a web page, it doesn't go to your Springboard till you take action and bookmark it. But yes, the "apple-touch-icon" is a nice touch.

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Re:Gmail Sidesteps the App Store by tvon on Wednesday April 15, 2009 @10:03AM (#563455)
You're adding weight to actions and ignoring weight on other actions. "Go to app sore, find app, click 'buy', enter password" isn't really any simpler than "Go to URL, click '+', click 'add to home screen'".

Neither is "instant", though the App store process is streamlined to a specific purpose.

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Re:Gmail Sidesteps the App Store by stephencelis on Wednesday April 15, 2009 @02:06PM (#563873)
The difference is that you can visit a website without adding it to your Springboard. You can't try an app, however, without adding it to your Springboard. I'm weighing requirements vs. options.
[ Parent | on HN ]